What’s worth buying?

What I do: I spend on tasty food, convenience, and a good pair of running shoes.

“I should spend less on food/travel/going out”.

This is a common money mindset. It is also misguided.

Everything can be cut from a budget. We need to know what’s worth spending on.

Here are some principles for deciding what to keep in the budget.

1. Choose experiences over things. (Van Boven & Gilovich, 2003)
2. Consider things that contribute to the PERMA-V factors.
   • Positivity – Buy things or experiences that make you happy.
   • Engagement – Do activities that engage you fully until you lose sense of time (Not doomscrolling!)
   • Relationships – Interact with people! Go out with people that care about you and you care about, and do things with them.
   • Meaning – Do something meaningful like volunteering
   • Achievement – Do something difficult. I love hiking. When I finish a hike, I feel a sense of accomplishment.
   • Vitality – Care for your body and mind. It’s the only one we have.
3. Reflect on past choices. I don’t regret spending time with my friends. I do regret buying a journal that I’ve never written in. Regret shows us what matters.

Some things can’t be cut, like utilities, transport, and food. Some things can be cut, like waking up late and having to take a cab. And some things can be cut but shouldn’t, like eating cup noodles in the pantry instead of going for a proper meal.

I used to stay at home all the time. It was cheaper to watch videos on my phone than to go out and eat overpriced food, I thought. It saved me a lot of money. It cost me a lot of life experiences.

There is one big predictor of what makes people happiness. It is not money. It is not fame. It is not health.

It is our close relationships.

I would advise you to spend on the things that maintain your relationships.

Remember that money is a tool, not a goal. It’s something you use to create the life you want. It is not the measure of the life you’ve lived.

Now cut down your spending on everything else until you spend less than you earn. You do know how much you spend a month, right?

Next, let’s see what we can do with the money you save.