Flourish My Dear

Have you ever stopped to think about how much your monthly expenses are actually costing you? Would you believe your manicure might be worth $14,000?

We each have our priorities in life. Hopefully, creating financial freedom is near the top of your list. And if it is, then you need to evaluate what I call “pleasure” expenses – those things we really don’t need but make us feel better.

We tend to get into habits without really thinking about them. Maybe you have a cup of Starbucks every morning before work, or a mani or pedi every few weeks, how about a subscription service to Spotify or Netflix? These little pleasures we indulge in can have a real cost to our financial freedom.

For example, let’s say you get a manicure about every 3 weeks. The average manicure is $20. That adds up to about $340/yr, over 25 years that’s $8,500. If you invested that money instead of spending it, with a moderate interest rate of only 4%, you would have $14,000! So that manicure is costing you $14,000 in the long run. That $3.15 coffee every weekday would amount to over $32,000. Netflix service, $7,000. I think you get my point.

Thanks to compound interest, every dollar you save early in your life, can really add up, including what may seem like trivial amounts. Taking these expenses and converting them to savings early on makes a huge difference in your financial situation. Investor.gov has a great compound interest calculator that’s fun to play around with and what I used for these calculations.

I’m not saying don’t do these things. But maybe you evaluate what is truly important to you. If you’re not independently wealthy, you may want to pick one pleasure expense to indulge in periodically. After all, we have to enjoy life while we’re here. But we must also plan for the future. Keep it all in balance for your best life.

Now go flourish my dear.