When I lived in Paris, having a wonderful cup of coffee with a pain au chocolate (bread stuffed with chocolate) was a wonderful way to start my day. In fact, whenever I find myself in Europe, taking time to sit with friends over a coffee or a glass of wine is a luxurious and wonderful way to build connection and community. The majority of my cups of coffee are a part of how I socialize. When I prepare a meal for myself, family or friends, I’m unwilling to compromise on the quality of food that I would buy. And, yes, I traveled while paying off debt.
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What I Value
People often get in their feelings about the Latte Factor and Avocado Toast discretionary spending debate. Both of these expenses have become the poster children for expenses run rampant. But, the reality is that they are just metaphors on spending and how that spending reflects one’s values. How do I know this? Because it makes sense and I also had the pleasure of hearing David Bach talk about the Latte Factor (and meeting with him) and he made it very clear that the Latte Factor was just a metaphor for values and value based spending.
When I was deep in the debt-repayment process, I had to be mindful about what I said “yes” and “no” to. Eating bad quality food just wasn’t going to happen. As a foodie, I was unwilling to lower the quality of my food. In fact, whenever I travel you can find me wandering around markets, grocery stores, and popping into small food stalls to enjoy the hospitality that each country offers over a plate of well-cooked food.
My porn consists of the documentary Fat, Salt, Acid Heat. Yep, I’m that girl. As I go through my receipts and look at my spending, I’ve spent hundreds of dollars on coffee and thousands on good quality food. Are these bad choices? In my view-no. However, the reality is that coffee is for all extents and purposes…hot brown tasty water. Does it make sense to spend a couple of grand on that a year? In my view no. But, coffee shops are also places where I go to spend time with people. If I look at my spending from that perspective than going to my favorite coffee shop is worth the money. Why? Because spending time with the people I love is priceless.
Do I regret these expenses? No.
The coffee that I didn’t make at home represents hours working on projects, time spent laughing with my mom, and talking personal finance and Apartment Therapy with a pregnant friend who wanted to hang out with a friend instead of toddler time. Meta conversations with baristas obsessed with their craft and hours exploring my town and others through the lens of local coffee shops.
Turmeric lattes, chai, regular coffee, and specialty lattes are part of my financial footprint. Each shop is different and so was each experience. And, in case you’re wondering, I do know how to make all of these drinks at home.
What About Food?
Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Safeway are on my regular shopping rotation. Organic chicken, grass-fed beef, nut milks, and chocolate. Knowing how to cook frugally with great ingredients is a debt-reduction skill. The French understand the importance of delicious food created with simple, good quality ingredients.
I will admit that I don’t go out to eat too often for two reasons: I’m a really good cook and I have expensive taste. When I opt to go out to eat, I know that it’s not going to be cheap. So, I wait for special occasions and special discounted events that are affordable and allow me to enjoy going out to eat without going broke. I don’t eat fast food and very rarely eat fast-casual. By avoiding those two food habits I am able to allocate my food money towards better food related experiences.
Yes, I Traveled While Paying Off Debt
And, nope, I don’t regret it at all. When I first began my debt-repayment journey I knew that it was going to take years. Not two years-but a minimum of five years and that was being hopeful. There was no way I wasn’t going to travel during that time.
And, I was honest with myself about the fact that each trip would add time to my debt-repayment process. And, ultimately, I was ok with that. Where did I travel during debt-repayment?
- San Diego
- Portland
- Seattle
- Grandma’s House
- New York City
- Charlotte
- New Orleans
- Dallas
- Chicago
- L.A.
- Hawaii
- Sydney
- Melbourne
And, the majority of these trips were to attend conferences. Basically, I combined the purpose of my trips with business and worked hard to lower the cost of each trip. And, with the conference trips I made sure that I was leaving with projects and money in my pockets. In the past couple of years I haven’t gone abroad and hopefully that will change in 2019.
Last year I opted to stay home and not travel so that I could focus and work on my business…so that I could make more money and accelerate my debt repayment plan.
Grown A$$ Adult
At the end of the day, I’m a grown a$$ adult who understands that my financial life is a reflection of the following:
- How well educated I am about personal finance and money. It’s not a surprise to me that the more I learn about money and the longer I focus on my financial habits the better my finances have gotten. When I lacked financial education my finances showed it.
- Millions of money decisions happening every single day of my life. Good, bad, and ugly.
- Should I get new shoes? The old ones ripped.
- Should I get a new coffee pot? The old one broke?
- Should I stay home and save money?
- My clothes aren’t fitting…should I lose weight or buy new clothes LOL!?
- The company that I keep. I’ve learned that the company I keep has a profound affect on my money.
Happiness and Money
Ultimately, happiness and money are connected…but, not in the way that most people think. Having money that keeps the wolves at bay, having financial security, enough to eat, and stability is part of the foundation of creating a happy life. Having time to spend with loved ones, flexibility, the ability to enjoy nature, and time to better oneself-that’s true happiness. As I prepare to focus on another year of debt repayment, I’m struck by how much happier I am as my finances become simpler.
Thinking About Starting a Blog?
I love blogging! It has been an incredible experience, transformed my life, and connected me with a ton of amazing people. Blogging is a pretty cheap activity and I recommend hosting your blog with Siteground. Many bloggers have begun leaving HostGator and BlueHost and moving to Siteground. Myself included! Read why I’m leaving HostGator and BlueHost (I have 2 blogs one on each hosting platform) and moving to Siteground. If you’re a new blogger Sitegroundwill cost around $3.95 a month (depending on the size of your audience). They have great customer service and tutorials on how to host your new WordPress blog on Siteground
Online Business Resources
If you’re thinking about starting an online business, the resources below are a great way to get started.
- The Ultimate List of FinCon Community Products
- Courses
- Books
- Swag
- Make Money with Ebooks–There is more than one way to make money with your writing skills. I’ve created this course to help inspire, educate, and support writers who are sitting on a book idea…and are afraid to write it. This is YOUR year.Make Money with Ebooks is offered at three different tiers to meet different student needs.
- Self-Study
- Group Program-Includes access to the closed Facebook Group and twice a month live office hours.
- VIP Program-Includes access to the closed Facebook Group, twice a month live office hours, and 2 meetings with Michelle to work on book related strategies, goals, etc.
- $10KVA–Are you curious about becoming a Virtual Assistant as a side-hustle or a potential full-time gig? My friend Kayla Sloan is killing it as a Virtual Assistant and schooling other entrepreneurs in how to become a VA that earns on average $10KVA. This course is what I recommend as the first part of creating a virtual assistant business.
- Making Sense of Affiliate Income-If you’re looking to make affiliate income with your blog, Michelle Schroeder-Gardner’s course is the course that I recommend. She makes well over a $1 Million a year blogging and the biggest chunk of her income comes from affiliate marketing.
- IMark Interactive–Grayson Bell helps me with all of my website related tech issues and he is THE go to guy for WordPress related tech in the several different blogging niches (all the Personal Finance peeps work with him).
- Elite Blog Academy-Many bloggers have gone through this course and I consider this course the “Granddaddy” of all blogging courses. It’s not cheap, but in additional to getting all of the resources that are key to building an incredible blog, you’re also become a part of an insanely supportive (and huge) community of bloggers. Many of whom are making crazy money.
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