There is an excellent TED talk (which I recommend you watch) about investment bankers seeking their dreams and how many of
them feel that they can’t quit their (admittedly high-paying) jobs to do what they really want to do for fear of going bankrupt or being out of a job.
There are lots of fantastic ideas in that talk, but I’d like to focus on one – we’re going to need at least some money.
Sounds kind of duh but there, I had to say it. While you’re searching for your purpose, you’re still going to need to pay
your bills, feed yourself, go out to a movie once in a while etc.
But the thing is, we often don’t need as much money as we think we need. By cutting down on our unnecessary expenses, what
happens is that actually, the list of potential actions we can take gets bigger. What do I mean by that?
Well, money is a resource. (It’s also a lot of other things but let’s stick with this for the moment, ok?) You can buy
things with it, pay for services, get stuff done. Let’s use a simple example.
Let’s say you need to get from point A to point B. If you had 10 bucks, you could take a cab. 2 bucks, take a bus. None?
Then you’ll probably have to hoof it. Here, money is saving us time. Like what they always say, time is money.
Another example. It’s Friday night and you want to enjoy yourself. If you had 20 bucks, maybe you could go to a bar. 10
bucks? A movie. None? Probably going to be TV night. Now, I’m not saying which of these might be the most enjoyable, but
with money you have options. (you might still elect to spend the night at home) Without it, sometimes your options are more limited.
Think about that for a moment. What I’ve found is that people tend to think of money in terms of “good.” As in some is good
and more is better. It’s like calories and cholesterol but in reverse – if food has less fat it must be “better”, so having
more money is generally “better.” People attach lots of other meanings to money as well. But for the purposes of this
article I’ll be talking about how it can help you to save.
Saving money can actually be extremely empowering. You’re cutting down on what you don’t need to make room and time for
what you DO want to do. Think about what might help you find your purpose that needs cash. Night classes? A new computer?
A graphics tablet?
Then think about what you can give up in order to get it. One less pizza a week? Watching less movies? Buying a cheaper
smartphone? I think you’ll find that once you consider saving money as actually opening new possibilities,
it will be a whole lot easier to do it. Don’t just save money for saving’s sake, save it so that you can spend it on what really matters.
It doesn’t need to be a straight one for one deal. Say that you are really tired on Friday, so tired that you want to a taxi.
So do it. One night won’t break the bank.
Of course, the reverse is true, which is going out and MAKING more money. However, I must admit that most of my experience
has been in the saving of it, so you’re on your own when it comes to making it. (no pun intended) Also, it has also been my
experience that most people get so caught up in making money that they forget to search for their purpose or what it might
be.
What I’m saying here is that you don’t have to quit your day job (if you have one) to save money. You can trim the fat
and let those savings expand your life in all kinds of other ways.