5 Things I HATE about Personal Finance
June 2, 2009 by: Dave Ozment
I suppose you saw this one coming after my recent article in this vein. Even as a Personal Finance disciple there are still elements that I dislike… So with tongue (mostly) in cheek, here is a list of 5 things I Hate about Personal Finance.
- Personal Finance dampens the fun of impulses – I want a new car! Specifically I want a new Acura TL. It is such a beautiful car. It is luxurious, but not overly so, and surely it would be lots of fun to drive. I work hard and have a decent income. Surely I deserve something better than a dumpy get-old-of-debt car. I could have it. The dealership would allow me to take one home today. What’s the hold-up? My budget is the hold-up. It will not allow me make such a purchase because it does not conform to my financial plans for the future. Stupid budget, what does it know about curb appeal anyways?
- With Personal Finance there’s always math involved – Add in the income and subtract out the expenses and divide my planned purchase by the number of months separating then and now and multiply this interest rate by… what’s the formula for compound interest again? Geez, spending all my money and then borrowing for the rest is so much easier to figure (in the short term).
- Practicing disciplined Personal Finance causes people to look at me funny – So when I tell people that I can’t go to dinner because it isn’t in the budget or when family members see my ratty car they kind of look at me in a strange way. They all know I have a good job – better than theirs in some instances – so what is my problem. ”Get outta wha…? This cat is crazy!” Is what so many of them say without having to say a word. I sometimes resent that I’m considered the odd ball when I’m the one trying to make my life better. Personal Finance makes me realize that something just isn’t right and I don’t like it.
- Sound Personal Finance tools cause me to wish away time – I love my Debt Snowball Scheduler. With it I can calculate exactly when I’ll be debt free! Yep, in 10 months and 14 days I’ll be free of all my non-mortgage debt and I can’t wait. In fact, I hate waiting. I simply can’t stand it…. 10 months, 10 months, 10 months…. I’d give anything if it were 10 months and 14 days from now, RIGHT NOW!!
- Personal Finance makes be consider doing weird things to save even more money – So I’m whiling away time until I’m debt free and I can’t help but think if I can cut expenses that I can achieve my goals faster. What if…. I cancel cable, and brown bag my lunches, and clip coupons, and call my credit cards companies to lower my interest rates. Hmm, I could use less toothpaste and change all my light bulbs, and reset my thermostat, and plant a garden, and make my own laundry detergent, and… hey, what’s this? Am I becoming? Have I become… Frugal?
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Dave,
Great column! It’s so true that even in the personal finance-get out-of-debt realm that instant gratification urge can coem screaming in:” I want to be debt free TODAY!!” Just liek I wanted my brand new Lexus hybrid SUV TODAY!!
And the reality is I’ll drive my get out of debt car until I can upgrade to something a little nicer, then save to upgrade again, etc etc, all the while chipping away at my debts (that seemed to arrive incredibly quickly compared to the time and effort to erase them).
Thanks for the lighthearted post.
Hey, thanks for the comment and I’m glad you enjoyed the article. It is funny and it is true… I’ve lived each of those elements as I’ve walked and continue to walk my debt reduction path.
Ya i agree with you, but at some point of time personal finance is very much essential for our future planning.
Hey Mark, I certainly agree with you… clearly I spend too much time on the topic to think otherwise.
More than anything, I was taking a stroll on the lighter side. Even things we love or enjoy dearly have components that are less fun and hey, sometimes being an adult isn’t as much fun as being a child… but that’s part of what separates the 2 and ultimately leads to the greater satisfaction derived from making the right/hard choices.
Yeah, you caught me with tongue firmly emplanted in cheek on this one.
Thanks for reading and commenting… I hope you’ll do so again.
Dave
Nice points, there! It does kill some of the fun… although we can replace impulse buying with adding up our numbers and wish-thinking, like you said! Lately I’ve been eyeing a lot of Toyota Corollas I’d really like… they’re nice. I’ll probably start with something more compact, though.
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You are right, we need to look at both sides of the PF puzzle before really making a judgement… I have to curtail spending but I also get to enjoy a debt-free life of abundance… hmm, that becomes and easy decision.
Thanks for sharing!
Dave
Personal finance, truly a love/hate relationship! I read both of your posts and enjoyed them heartily. I love that we’ve paid off our cars- and I hate that I drive a toyota with 116,000 miles and dents in the front and back bumpers- sigh… However, I’m going to continue to be a grown up. I’ll drive my car until it DIES and, in the meantime, save my pennies for the next one.
Hey Ann, thanks for the encouragement. I’m glad you enjoyed those articles. Yes, having paid off cars is great… but it can mean that we’re driving what I call “get out of debt cars”. I have an article on this topic in which I share about our car. But you’re point about being a grown up is spot on. Slowly upgrading from one used car to the next is a much better long time strategy.
Thanks for commenting.
Dave
I was laughing out loud as I read your post. I also count down the days until my debt is paid off, and we shouldn’t wish our lives away … just to eliminate debt.
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Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. Yeah, I know it’s crazy but I think that’s part of the intensity and passion for getting it down…. you simply can’t wait! But it’s good to wade through the process even once you’ve reached that point because that’s where the behaviors are seared into your psyche and a life free of debt becomes a welcome escape.
Thanks for commenting, hope to have you back.
Dave