Welcome back to weekend coffee chats, the Young Professional series.
This week let’s step outside from the office (or virtual office) for this post and consider our lives at home. Since being a working professional is a lifestyle let’s say. It seems that online these days there’s either the lifestyle of living and doing/buying everything you want regardless If that puts you in debt or leaves you with no savings, basically hyped up with those “clothing hauls” or “what I bought from shop x haul” or “what latest electronic device you need to buy”. Or on the other hand being frugal and saving everything you make and “never going out with friends or out for dinner so you can reach financial freedom”. I do enjoy these videos for entertainment, but it just seems that the average method is thrown out the window when it’s what many young working people offline are actually doing. Spoiler alert: you can still save, still go out with your friends, and have fun. Yes I know shocker. So what’s the mid-way solution since it seems that average is such a hated word these days?
Disclaimer: Below is general examples and not financial advice.
Assuming you have an average income and not minimum wage or below (as that’s a struggle no matter what some articles or videos will tell you) some financial advisors suggest that you deduct your expenses, then a percentage for your savings first, yes first, then you have an allowance. So examples below:
Say you make 2,000$ a month (estimate hypothetical situation)
Your expenses including rent are 1,000$
You then have 1,000$ but no wait, let’s say you want to save 20% from that. Then you have 800$ left; that’s your allowance /personal budget. And the 200$ from the 20% go to your savings account.
This way you are still saving and working towards your financial goals, but also can go out with your friends for dinner or that fun trip you’ve all been planning. Of course the percentages and actual amounts can vary based on your goals and income.
As much as it’s important to work hard for our goals, It’s important for us to remember to take a break and enjoy ourselves. I say this as a reminder and small steps for myself before anyone else, as it seems in our age and time overworking is highlighted as a positive while everything else could wait in line. Yet, work alone doesn’t seem to constitute a healthy or happy life based on research that keeps coming out or honestly miserable overworked people we see at the office or we ourselves become on busy stressful days/ weeks.
The common old saying of work hard in your 20s and start living in your 30s, is questionable these days. What do I mean ? I mean work late, take on those extra projects and responsibilities if you have to or want to; but also if your friend delivered a baby and you want to go spend the day with them and buy her a nice gift then also take time to do that too. (Heck plan it in your calendar if you have to)
See, we’re not guaranteed our 30s, starting with the least morbid of scenarios, those friends or opportunities you ignored in your 20s most likely won’t be there waiting for you in your 30s. Take a minute to swallow that. Now the more morbid ones, I have dear friends whom haven’t reached 30s yet and are suffering of life altering health issues.
But even back to you with the least morbid scenario, you could be in a different city than were you anticipated and can no longer do the things you’ve postponed (I’ll swim in the ocean on the weekends when I’m 30 and not busy and stressed with work, vs you’re 30 living in a cold ass city with no ocean or beach in sight).
So yes work, but don’t forget to take time and budget to go out; explore the city you’re in or visit one you’ve been looking forward to. Plan trips with friends or family, catchup with friends, even if for a 5 mins calls. (of course trips are pending the world going back to normal, but one can dream in the meantime ..)
I came across a cool reddit thread where the question was “If an alien offered you a one week trip across the galaxy and back with the catch being 15 years passes on Earth, would you accept or reject the offer and why?” The answers were taking the topic quite seriously and had some thoughtful responses on how for some they’d lose time with loved ones and it’s not worth it while for others who’d want to explore space it is.
It got me thinking that sometimes we’re making this trade off yet without consciously assessing it as that thread’s responses did. We don’t go into a career expecting we’ll spend 10 or 15 years in it or realizing how hectic it may be or which relationships or opportunities we will sacrifice in the process. We mostly take it a year at a time, and then look back and say wow I can’t believe I’ve missed all those things.
Of course we’ll have to sacrifice things along the way, but as long as we’re at least aware of what we are sacrificing and in exchange of what, I’d hope we’re less likely to regret it. (Or so I’ve heard…)
So back to those hauls videos, what I’d love to see instead is videos of compilations of months of saving to go on that cool trip with friends. The weeks of sitting in front of a laptop on calls to get your job/tasks done. The multiple interviews and job applications it takes so you get a better paying one that will help you reach your goals. Alas whom am I kidding barely anyone would watch that whole thing but you see my point ? (I mean I think we would watch the first 2 mins at least but who knows with the tiktok attention span these days .. )
As for physical items, sure buy what you need or what you want to treat yourself with (within your budget), but be wary of having purchases as the main comfort in your life. I love the line The Weeknd has about this where he sings:
“I don’t feel it anymore (yeah)
The house I bought is not a home (no)”
The Weeknd “Hardest to love”
Since it takes more than the material item alone to give us meaning and joy.
So to sum it up, some weeks we work extra hard, most weeks we try to save money with having a budgeted allowance for ourselves to live and enjoy life modestly, and some days we make time for people and things we care about. It reminds me of the words of my late grandmother that I used to underestimate but find quite meaningful these days “work is a means to an end not the end itself”.
I’ll leave you with that, till next time 🙂 !
Alien thread here if you’re interested in some of the responses: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/m7wdv6/if_an_alien_offered_you_a_one_week_trip_across/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
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