My Best Friend & I have Polar Opposite Attitudes to Money — here’s Why We’re Learning from Each Other!
The other night I was out with a best friend of mine for drinks. We both wanted to pay for the other’s drink but obviously both arguing that we should be the one paying. (In the end we paid separately!)
I always find it interesting how different people treat money; others and themselves! Some people find it hard to pay for others while some don’t like the feeling of being ‘paid-for’.
Either way, money is a curious thing and we all have different ways of doing things.
We got talking about travel plans for summertime (can it come already??) and this naturally brought up the convo of how we spend — and invest.
Disclaimer: My friend and I are on opposite ends of the money spectrum.
Part of the reason we get on so well is that we’re so different!
I told my friend I have a hard time spending money. Since I know what £1,000 now could potentially be worth in 10 years time it feels hard to part with that cash now.
I also calculate it as a % of my salary. Spending an entire month’s salary on one vacation seems a little much — for me anyway! (Psst: read here the downside to being a personal guru that no one talks about).
Everyone has their own way of handling their money and you can learn from them all
But everyone is different and that’s the beauty of personal finance. It’s just that — it’s totally personal.
I carefully plan what I’m going to splurge on and try not to be too impulsive about it!
I’m working on spending more & enjoying it because I know when I can’t quite afford it will feel better than when I can.
It’s the paradox of spending! We enjoy our buys the less we can afford them. This is because there’s more effort, sacrifice and sweat in those buys.
We like to work for things. And rewards feel better when we’ve put in some effort. Nothing worthwhile should come easily. Read here why our joy from spending is biggest when we can least afford it.
My friend on the other hand is a massive spender!
She has no clue what she earns each month let alone spends each month. She recently quit her job to set up her own interior design biz which means some months are healthier than others!
Her income goes up and down like a yo-yo which makes it hard for her to know how much she’ll earn in a given month.
This means she doesn’t budget or make a plan how much to save and this means she feels stressed.
She feels she’s not saving enough, if at all, and she said not thinking about her tiny savings account makes her feel better.
But she knows she can’t ignore it forever. (Read here why you must save now even if you have noting to save for…yet!)
Every one of your friends will have grown up in different households. Some were open with money; most weren’t.
Whatever the case, we can learn from everyone.
What I’ve realised is that no one really has a perfect handle on money
We all make mistakes and we’re all doing things we probably know we shouldn’t.
There’s always room for improvement and someone else will know something we don’t.
That’s why being open and honest with your inner circle can be a gamechanger.
These are the people who know you best and who should (hopefully) feel comfortable enough to point out our weak spots. And vice versa!
Money is too big a deal to not to talk about it
The more we talk about money the happier we’ll be since we’ll able to look after it better giving us the life we truly want.
And learning from other people’s mistakes is way better than making them!
Obviously we’re all going to make money mistakes, that’s a total given, but you don’t need to make the same mistakes as those around you.
That will be a wasted lesson!
Though if I’m honest with you, sometimes we gotta figure these things out for ourselves.
But if you’re able to, avoid the mistakes you see your friends making. And it goes both ways.
Money is not a dirty word. It’s not a taboo.
Talking about these things shouldn’t feel like you’re revealing some inner part of you!
Money is a tool. Simple as that.
You gotta know how to use that tool. But how can you learn how to use it if you won’t even talk about it.
I challenge you to talk to your circle about all things money!
It’ll also help when travelling together to avoid some uncomfortable moments and help manage expectations.
It’s okay to not want to splash out in the bahamas and it’s okay to want to.
The more we talk about money, the easier it will be. So get going and have those convos!
Disclaimer: This is not investment or financial advice. It is my opinion only. This is not a personal recommendation to buy/sell any security, or to adopt any such investment strategy. Always do your own research before you commit to any investment
This article has also been published on my site https://kneadyourdough.uk/
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