Filling the Void: Spend More on These 5 Areas To Live a More Fulfilling Life
The investments will have the most meaningful impact on your life.
Let money serve you, not the other way around.
These days, many of us are too keen on saving as much money as possible.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with saving. It’s fantastic — please continue saving and investing.
However, I’ve noticed in my own life that my excessive saving mindset has hindered aspects of my life.
Health. Relationships. And overall happiness.
Since realizing this, I’ve been mindful of teaching myself to not feel guilty about spending in certain facets of my life — one that I hope to share with everyone.
Note: I realize writing this comes from a certain level of privilege and that everyone’s financial situations differ. However, I hope that this can at least help you pinpoint areas in your life that you want to prioritize.
Physical and Mental Health
Health is more than wealth.
I wish I had realized this sooner. Why? Because the body keeps score.
Whether it’s physical or mental health, the longer we let it decline, the more we’ll suffer later on.
What you think is too much to spend on your health today might be 0.1% of what you’ll eventually need to spend.
Don’t wait.
Taking care of your health is the best thing you can do for yourself and your loved ones. It will positively influence your work life, relationships, and overall happiness.
And these don’t have to be significant investments at all.
For my mental health, I got memberships for Headspace (meditation) and Day One (journaling). Yes, I can find free alternatives, but these apps charge a fee for a reason: quality and convenience. And it’s 100% worth it.
For my physical health, I’ve broken it down to sleep, diet, and fitness. Here’s how I’ve spent money for each recently:
- Sleep: Buying blackout curtains and a humidifier
- Diet: Cooking more rather than eating out (usually healthier and much cheaper!)
- Fitness: Going to various fitness classes (using ClassPass free trial!)
Could I not have spent money on these things? Yes.
Do I regret it? Not at all.
Visiting Love Ones
This one is a personal pick that I don’t think all readers will relate to or agree with.
But I’m sure some will.
As someone living in a different continent from “home”, it’s easy to use money as an excuse to not visit. And don’t get me wrong, it’s really expensive.
However, my mindset is to think, “in 20 years, will I regret not spending this money and visiting more often?”
And the answer is always, always yes.
Life Experiences
We have limited time on this Earth. And there’s so much to do.
My belief is that when you get the chance to do or experience something that doesn’t come around that often, you should go for it.
Of course, it should be something you actually have some interest in. Some examples of worthwhile experiences (for myself) are:
- Concerts of artists that I love
- Road trips to National Parks
- Travels with close friends or my family
- One-time things that I would never do again (i.e. skydiving)
- Games of my favorite sports teams
The main mindset shift that allowed me to spend on these experiences is that I know these experiences happen infrequently. This allows me to be confident in my ability to budget for them.
My recommendation is to allocate a set amount of money per year or month that you’re willing to spend on these experiences.
Don’t regret missing out on these rare experiences!
Learning New Skills
The investment that 99% of people overlook: ourselves.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t invest in assets and the market; however, don’t underestimate what investing in yourself could achieve.
If you can invest in learning specialized, high-in-demand skills, you instantly provide more value to prospective employers. Chances are if you explore the right opportunities, you will be compensated higher than you currently are.
Why? For two simple reasons:
- You offer more value
- Fewer people have what you can offer
It’s a simple formula that so many choose to ignore. Myself included.
I remember during the pandemic lockdowns, I hesitated on spending $35 on a Udemy course that offered lessons in software development, thinking it was a waste of money.
And yet, I felt perfectly fine with spending the same amount on new clothes.
One investment that I did make was for the premium plan for Leetcode — an online programming platform to practice for technical interviews. Looking back, this is one of the best purchases I’ve made, helping me land internship offers when I was recruiting.
With that said, financial reasons shouldn’t be the only incentive to learn new skills. It’s not even the biggest reason. Your happiness is.
A Harvard study found that “happiness is positively associated with intrinsic motivation (a personal drive to learn) for all students”. I’m sure everyone has interests or areas of passion that they wish they were better at.
And I think we should all invest in them a bit more.
Time
We can always make more money. But time is limited.
It’s important to realize how much your time is worth and decide what you’re willing to spend to get back some time.
Of course, this is a difficult task since there’s no right answer as to how much our time is worth.
A rule of thumb that I think provides some context could be your hourly wage. I’m not saying your worth is tied to your salary, but this at least provides some information on what you can reasonably afford.
For example, if your hourly wage is $20, then I don’t think you should take a $150 Uber to save 20 minutes of travel time (under normal circumstances).
That’s just my take.
Examples of ways people may invest in their own time are:
- Living somewhere closer to work
- Getting a membership at a pricier gym that’s closer to where you live
- Ordering grocery or meal deliveries
- Running the dishwasher vs handwashing after a large meal
- Hiring cleaners to clean your apartment
- Getting a bike or scooter
- Buying apps that optimize certain workflows or tasks
Out of all the areas to invest in that I’ve mentioned, this is the one that you have to be most cautious with. Don’t mistake laziness or impatience with the idea of investing in yourself.
You have to convince yourself that with the time you save, you’re able to achieve something meaningful.
That’s what makes it worth it.
Thank you for reading!
Feel free to reach out to me at yyw.writing@gmail.com — I would love to hear from you! Also, be sure to follow my newsletter!
