This is the best way to get depressed. It's always significantly easier to negotiate a $1k raise than it is to reduce your spending on basic stuff by $1k.
Focus on earning more, not saving (on useless expenses).
Focus on earning more, not saving (on useless expenses).
Ideally. But in reality with bad habits you will spend that extra $1K you started earning.
>>Focus on earning more, not saving (on useless expenses).
Both. Without discipline its all useless. Why else do you think so many athletes or lottery winners lose those millions?
Do you know how many people pay the listing price of a car, yet cut coupons to save a few euros/dollars? A lot. It's ridiculous.
Some of the joys in life are simple things, such as drinking a $2-3 coffee or having a cocktail in a nice bar, etc.
The idea is that those small daily expenses tend to add up, and there may be a lot more of them than you realized.
"If you had stopped smoking 10 years ago you could afford to be driving around in a Ferrari right now."
"Do you smoke?"
"No."
"Then where's your Ferrari?"
Point is don't sweat the small things. Sure they add up, but you should dedicate a portion of your cash flow towards investments at the start of the pay cycle, not "what's left at the end." Then the rest can be spent on anything arbitrarily with a clear conscious.
The MMM philosophy isn't to deprive yourself. It's to learn to find satisfaction without the high cost.
Personally, I hate eating out every day. Packing a tupperware with leftovers is much more my style. I save about a thousand a year because of this, but I don't feel deprived at all.