Expensive Games

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Personal Update

Hey there folks. It’s been a little bit but the time has come for another email. The last two weeks were full of traveling, fishing, and a lot of sweating (its HOT in Texas right now).

Also, the email name change has been decided and we’ll be starting to move forward with the transition. It’s been a very slow process between struggling to get a domain as well as splitting time with another business venture I have been working on. I’ll share more about it in the future, but it has to wait for now.

Investing wise, it’s been the same ole same old. I’ve been dollar cost averaging into my favorite ETFs including VUG, QQQ, VNQ, and SCHD. I’ve also transferred more of my savings into Fidelity’s money market account SPAXX to take advantage of the 4.9% yield it’s currently offering.

Let’s get into today’s piece. 👇️ 

Quote

“When you buy a bigger house, another luxury car, or a fancy boat, you are showing people that you used to have money.” - Christopher Manske

Expensive Games

Over the last two weeks of traveling I have seen countless million dollar bay houses, $150k boats, and golf carts that cost more than most people’s daily driver.

When you see these luxuries, one begins to wonder if people own high dollar things for their enjoyment, or if they are just spending money to show people that they have money.

Throwing money away, to hope that someone else views you differently, is a never ending game.

A hamster wheel, except the hamster is sweating hundred dollar bills.

The Origin

Most people want to be liked and respected.

This is a natural trait of humans. What’s different now more than ever is how much this feeling of being “cool” is intertwined with having a lot of money.

This connection between being “cool” and money has always existed, but has been made even more clear thanks to social media. Our parents didn’t pop open their smart phone and see their friend on vacation in Mexico, or the new car that Soosie just bought, or the new house Jose and Maria just moved into. Nowadays though, social media is a never ending feed of people doing “cool” things.

Our brains see this and think, “oh everyone must be doing this” so in order to be cool and fit in I need to go do the same.

Is it all social media’s fault? No. This influence is all around. Your neighbor just installed a new fence, or you friends are traveling to Europe, all are examples where one is tempted to spend spend spend in order to keep up.

Don’t fall into this trap of thinking that flashy purchases are going to make you any more likeable.

The Studies

In a 2022 study by Lending Tree nearly 40% of people surveyed admitted to overspending to impress someone. Younger people age 18-41 were the most likely to overspend compared to their older peers (you boomers get a pass for today).

This makes sense as when people get older they care less and less about what others think. If you can instill this “skill” at a young age, you’ll likely save yourself quite a bit of cash.

Here is a breakdown of why people overspent.

In The End, No One Wins

The unfortunate part about overspending is that it’s effect ends quickly. Think of the last time one of your family members pulled up in a new vehicle. It was cool checking it out for the first time.

You smelled the new leather. Took a quick spin around the block. And guess what, a week later…did you really care? Most of the time the answer is no.

Thousands of dollars for people to say “oh that’s cool” and then completely forget about how they felt a couple days later.

Conclusion

Spending to feel successful or impress others is simply trying to climb a ladder that has no end.

While that short feeling of accomplishment might be nice, you’ll never be satisfied. Not to mention how overspending can lead to issues with bad debt down the road which needs to be avoided at all costs.

So before you go and drop a check on something ask yourself “why am I buying this,” there’s a chance it might not even be for you.

Catch you in the next on my friend. ~ Cade

Cade's Finds

$0 To +$100M Before Age 30 - Podcast with Syed Balkhi who is one of the wealthiest people under 40 in the United States that you’ve probably never heard of. The dude didn’t even own a mattress till he got married.

Fina AI Expense Tracker - I’ve been using Fina for the last couple months to help track my spending. There customizable dashboard make is super easy to display the data that you actually want to see.

Nice Life Businesses - Cool thread on simple business ideas with a low barrier to entry, and high cash flow potential.

Best Memes

Sorry fellas, we don’t stand a chance anymore.

Nothing like a good 3/2 for a cool million.

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Nothing in this email is intended to serve as financial advice. Do your own research. Thanks for reading, if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, etc. about the email don’t hesitate to send me a reply.