…or why you shouldn’t live like a broke uni student (unless you are one, in which case please save this article for the employment phase of your life).
Nicholas Nassim Taleb says that options make you anti-fragile.
It means having choices.
We have to pick an option, and we can choose.
They can help us live our best lives.
Used wisely, they can also stop us from hurting ourselves.
But too often we see them as inefficiencies or imperfections.
And we cut them loose.
Options are buffers
Options give you some room to work with.
Your emergency fund gives you options.
If you are out of work, you can choose to take your time to assess your career and your job hunt.
And if you don’t have an emergency fund, you cannot do that.
You must work to survive.
That means taking up something you would rather avoid.
Free time gives you options.
Free time is a block of time not allocated to any particular activity.
Which means anything unexpected can be handled.
Any problems in the house? No worry, you can handle it in your free time.
A friend is free? Let’s meet.
Want to play a game? If you aren’t Jigsaw, then use your free time to do so.
When your schedule is filled, you have no space for the unexpected.
And you can be sure that there will be unexpected things.
Expect the unexpected.
Keep some free time.
Frugality gives you options.
Spend less, and you have more to spend when the occasion comes knocking.
Want to take a short destination flight? Go ahead.
Splurge on a nice meal? All okay.
See a theatre play or watch a concert? Do it.
When your spending is high and obligatory, you lock yourself into them, and you lock yourself out of options.
High earners easily become high spenders.
And they don’t do it for lifestyle reasons.
It’s not always fancy restaurant dinners.
It’s well-meaning actions like buying a bigger house or spending on expensive education for their children.
You can’t pull Johnny out of his London university just because Mom and Dad just took a pay cut.
You can’t just move from an Orchard condo into a Bukit Panjang HDB overnight.
Housing and education are sticky forms of spending.
Keeping your spending low is a way of keeping your options open.
It’s not about being kiam siap (stingy). It’s about being prudent so that you have options.
Keep those options open. Future you will thank you.
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