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Speaker 1: Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel and I am Matt.

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Speaker 1: Today we are asking the question, is lifestyle creep inevitable? Yeah? Man,

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Speaker 1: this episode is going to be all about lifestyle creep,

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Speaker 1: which is, you know, the way we see it, lifestyle

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Speaker 1: creep is this unconscious continual upgrading of our lifestyle where

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Speaker 1: it ends up costing us money. Uh. And I've got

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Speaker 1: a good quote here from the book Sapiens that kind

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Speaker 1: of speaks to the danger of lifestyle creep. And the

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Speaker 1: author talks about how that we've got these luxuries right,

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Speaker 1: and they tend to become necessities and spawn new obligations,

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Speaker 1: and so once people get used to a luxury, they

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Speaker 1: take it for granted, then they count on it, and

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Speaker 1: then finally they can't live without it. And we all

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Speaker 1: know that when you can't live without something, that means

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Speaker 1: you're paying for it. It's something thing that you've absorbed

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Speaker 1: into your budget. And so that's why we're talking about

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Speaker 1: lifestyle creep today. Yeah, lifestyle creep is a huge problem,

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Speaker 1: and I think it's something that you know, we need

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Speaker 1: to shine a line on because, like you said, Matt,

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Speaker 1: it can be done unconsciously most of the time. It's

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Speaker 1: not like a choice on purpose. It is just going

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Speaker 1: with the flow, and going with the flow can ruin

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Speaker 1: our finances. But before we get to that, Matt, let's

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Speaker 1: talk about pets for a second. You want to know

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Speaker 1: what the best pet is, Joel, what's the best pet?

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Speaker 1: A free pet. I'm not gonna I'm not gonna disagree

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Speaker 1: with that. I feel like, yeah, paying money for pets

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Speaker 1: is also overrated when there are lots of animals out

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Speaker 1: in the wild that you can capture adopted bobcat squirrels

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Speaker 1: for instance. I will say so recently, we caught a

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Speaker 1: tree frog. There's a the American North American tree frog,

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Speaker 1: you know, like the little green frog. You can find

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Speaker 1: them stuck to your house. Well, that is exactly what

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Speaker 1: we did. We found one of those jokers stuck to

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Speaker 1: the house. I was with the kids. We caught it.

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Speaker 1: You know, they're looking at it, and I was getting

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Speaker 1: ready to let it go. Uh, when you get the inevitable,

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Speaker 1: can we keep it? And I was about to say no,

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Speaker 1: because that's my default, right, just no. Sometimes I'm I'm

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Speaker 1: kind of a wet blanket, right, But then I thought,

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Speaker 1: you know, why not? Why not keep it? And so

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Speaker 1: we kind of had a little project. We've got a

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Speaker 1: little empty tank down from the attic. We created a

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Speaker 1: little terrarium, created a habitat for the frog, and it

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Speaker 1: was a lot of fun and specifically, man, what I

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Speaker 1: enjoyed was the fact that we were able to to

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Speaker 1: teach the kids that's having a pet requires work, right,

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Speaker 1: And so we looked up not only what it's habitat

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Speaker 1: is supposed to be like, but also what it eats.

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Speaker 1: And so we've spent the past few days now capturing

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Speaker 1: different little bugs and moss that we would you know,

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Speaker 1: throw into the tank and which which is totally cool

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Speaker 1: watching the frog like down a moth and like gobble

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Speaker 1: it up and eat it. Uh. Yeah, I feel like

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Speaker 1: we're doing it right. But I feel like the best

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Speaker 1: part of a free pet is that, you know, since

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Speaker 1: it's wild, its wild frog, we can go into the

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Speaker 1: backyard and let it free and it can just resume

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Speaker 1: it's natural life, uh, not being stared at by by

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Speaker 1: all of my kids. And so that just struck me

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Speaker 1: because oftentimes we have to learn that lesson uh in

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Speaker 1: a more spensive way. Right, Like, so say you get

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Speaker 1: a pet like a dog or something like that, Well,

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Speaker 1: if you realize that having a pet isn't for you,

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Speaker 1: right because of the responsibility. Uh, I mean oftentimes it's

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Speaker 1: left to the parents, right, Like it's first it was

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Speaker 1: the job of the kids to go take the dog

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Speaker 1: for a walk, and now you're the one picking up

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Speaker 1: the poop, right, So it takes a lot more time

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Speaker 1: and effort in work, I think than kids realized. But

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Speaker 1: for us, man, it's been a way for us to

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Speaker 1: learn some of those lessons, for us to teach those

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Speaker 1: lessons to our kids without taking on a large amount

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Speaker 1: of responsibility or having to spend a lot of money

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Speaker 1: as well. There you go, and I think that's a

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Speaker 1: great idea. So I guess now my kids want a pet,

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Speaker 1: and they're they're asking me about they want the pony, right, yeah,

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Speaker 1: they want a pony. And I'm like, well, that's definitely

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Speaker 1: not gonna happen a dog or a cat or something

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Speaker 1: like that. And and and one one thing actually that

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Speaker 1: you just made me think of is a lot of

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Speaker 1: people did get a pet during the pandemic. Pandemic puppies

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Speaker 1: were a real thing. But now a lot of those

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Speaker 1: people are going back to work in person, and so

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Speaker 1: some of them are realizing that they're not gonna be

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Speaker 1: able to to keep um, this this dog on hand

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Speaker 1: any longer. So for some of the families out there

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Speaker 1: who do want a dog, that might be a good

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Speaker 1: place to turn, like your your neighborhood, Facebook association or

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Speaker 1: even the Humane Society, because chances are you can get

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Speaker 1: a really great dog for next to nothing these days. Um,

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Speaker 1: if that's what you're into, I'm still gonna try to

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Speaker 1: hold my kids off. We'll catch to frog ourselves or something.

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Speaker 1: Plus I like the idea too of adopting a dog

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Speaker 1: in your neighborhood and like, you know, they have to

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Speaker 1: go back to work or whatever, they realize that they're

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Speaker 1: not cut out for for dog life. Something about that

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Speaker 1: dog being able to walk the same streets that it

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Speaker 1: used to walk makes me happy inside keeping it in

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Speaker 1: the same hood. I like that. Yeah. Also I had

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Speaker 1: another idea too, which is you ought to like look

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Speaker 1: at getting like alpacas or something like that. You could

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Speaker 1: have your own little farm and then you could have

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Speaker 1: like a little side hustle or your girls or taking

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Speaker 1: these alpacas and maybe EMUs or something to like neighborhood

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Speaker 1: birthday parties. What do you think about that it might

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Speaker 1: be easier to start with like chickens and selling the eggs.

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Speaker 1: There might be a simpler pet. But I like it.

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Speaker 1: They're not very cuddly though, the chickens. That's true and

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Speaker 1: from what I hear well. For an aw, let's mentioned

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Speaker 1: the beer we're having on the show. This one's called

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Speaker 1: hob nay l. It's by Urban Artifact and so Blueberry Sour.

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Speaker 1: Big thanks to listener Sandra for sending this one our way.

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Speaker 1: We'll give our thoughts on this one at the end

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Speaker 1: of the episode. But Matt, let's get to the subject

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Speaker 1: at hand. We are talking about lifestyle creep. Is it inevitable?

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Speaker 1: And speaking speaking of frogs, it just made me think that,

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Speaker 1: you know, we've all heard the boiling frog and water experience. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: we've all heard about that. We're all rebably taught that

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Speaker 1: in elementary school or whatever. Basically, like a frog who's

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Speaker 1: tossed into a boiling pot of water, Supposedly they're supposed

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Speaker 1: to hop out immediately, right, But if you put that

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Speaker 1: same frog in a vat of cool water and you

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Speaker 1: slowly turn up the temperature, supposedly they get boiled to death. Right,

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Speaker 1: Like they they're just not smart enough to hop out

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Speaker 1: as the water continues to increase. That is the urban legends.

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Speaker 1: It turns out frogs just don't know how to relax

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Speaker 1: in a hot tub. Yeah, chill out, guys. But yeah,

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Speaker 1: I feel like that's such a good analogy, even though

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Speaker 1: I think from what I've read that's not scientifically accurate.

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Speaker 1: It's like an old wives tale that we've been taught.

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Speaker 1: But that same sentiment is true when it comes to

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Speaker 1: our personal sinances. It's a good analogy of what lifestyle

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Speaker 1: creep does to us. As we get complacens, we can

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Speaker 1: easily be like that frog who's tossed into this nice

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Speaker 1: cool pot of water and then the temperature just slowly increases.

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Speaker 1: We have a hard time recognizing that fact. And then similarly,

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Speaker 1: we have a hard time putting our finger on how

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Speaker 1: our expectations of what normal spending looks like change over time.

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Speaker 1: We have a hard time recognizing that in ourselves, but

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Speaker 1: over time it has a really adverse impact on our

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Speaker 1: spending and our our ability to like save and make

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Speaker 1: progress with our personal finances. I feel like this is

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Speaker 1: another argument for having a detailed zero some budget Joel,

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Speaker 1: that you can look back on because I can look

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Speaker 1: back and you know, and see in two thousand and eight,

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Speaker 1: how much did we used to spend in entertainment what

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Speaker 1: are we spending now? And kind of like slap myself

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Speaker 1: up side the face, right, But uh, I mean it's

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Speaker 1: true though, you know, like we want to be able

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Speaker 1: to take a step back and recognize that. And yeah,

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Speaker 1: an example you gave that the temperature is slowly cranking

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Speaker 1: up when it comes to our personal planningss Uh, it

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Speaker 1: really does seem like we spend more money on everything

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Speaker 1: than we used to. And I feel like I can

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Speaker 1: say that's true about myself and you know, sure this

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Speaker 1: does have something to do with inflation, but we're also

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Speaker 1: just consuming more goods where we're paying more for quote

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Speaker 1: unquote luxury goods and services, and generally, I think we

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Speaker 1: are just wanting more as well. Our our sense of

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Speaker 1: of what is normal has changed over the years, and

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Speaker 1: it's incredibly hard for us to to see it when

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Speaker 1: we're living life in the day to day. So uh,

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Speaker 1: that's you know, on this episode, we're going to focus

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Speaker 1: on the topic of lifestyle creep and how you can

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Speaker 1: combat it in your life, because it's crucial if you

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Speaker 1: want to acquire more financial freedom, right, It's it's hard

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Speaker 1: to have a handle on your personal finances if your

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Speaker 1: expenses continue to climb year after year unchecked. Yes, so, so

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Speaker 1: so let's give kind of like some maybe societal examples

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Speaker 1: of how Americans in general have inflated their lifestyles over

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Speaker 1: the years. I think this definitely points to the problem

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Speaker 1: that shines a light on it. So, like, maybe what

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Speaker 1: was normal for our grandparents generation is basically not even

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Speaker 1: close to normal these days. You must be broke if

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Speaker 1: of living like the way your grandparents used to live,

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Speaker 1: the general attitude towards it. Yeah, And and in some ways,

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Speaker 1: like the progress we've been able to make, the ways

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Speaker 1: that we're able to live better is a good thing.

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Speaker 1: But in other ways, we should strive maybe to live

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Speaker 1: a little bit more like our grandparents, or at least

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Speaker 1: understand that it's possible to live that way. Like, for instance,

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Speaker 1: let's talk about housing. The prevailing narrative is that homes

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Speaker 1: cost more than what your grandparents had to spend. You know,

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Speaker 1: you hear that stat your grandparents house cost dollars or something,

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Speaker 1: and you're like, boy, they yeah, yeah, yeah, And but

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Speaker 1: in inflation is obviously like you said Matt. One reason

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Speaker 1: that homes cost more of these days, But it's not

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Speaker 1: even close to the only explanation because the median house

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Speaker 1: size in let's say nineteen fifty was like nine and

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Speaker 1: fifty three square feet and by night, uh, the average

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Speaker 1: home size in our country was closer to undred square feet, right,

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Speaker 1: and now in the year homes are on average two thousand,

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Speaker 1: seven hundred square feet. Well, yeah, so that's some serious

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Speaker 1: lifestyle out creep right there. That's not just inflation. That's

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Speaker 1: the fact that we want more and more and we

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Speaker 1: want bigger houses. And not to mention to parents are

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Speaker 1: having fewer kids and so like they have their smaller

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Speaker 1: houses back then when there were more kids in the

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Speaker 1: household and now there are fewer kids, but way more space,

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Speaker 1: that's right, more square footage per person by far. And

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Speaker 1: so yeah, not to mention to the fancy stuff we're

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Speaker 1: filling our homes with, even refrigerators with TV screens like

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Speaker 1: on them. Um, it's just kind of all when you

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Speaker 1: when you look at it, it's like that points to

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Speaker 1: a whole lot of lifestyle creep there. Yeah. Well, speaking

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Speaker 1: of TVs, let's talk about how many TVs the average

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Speaker 1: household has Nielsen reports that the average household has two

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Speaker 1: and a half TVs, but folks have four or more TVs.

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Speaker 1: That's that's way more than we have a lot of.

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Speaker 1: I mean, in my mind, like, why do you need

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Speaker 1: more than a singular TV? Like you've got the big

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Speaker 1: one TV. You know that y'all like sit down and

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Speaker 1: watch a movie on even two and a half. Kind

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Speaker 1: of sounds extreme to me, But I don't know. That's

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Speaker 1: just who we are, I guess. But the thing is, man,

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Speaker 1: that is on top of the other screens like iPads

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Speaker 1: and smartphones that we you know, carry around with us constantly,

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Speaker 1: not to mention the tiny little screens on your wrists

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Speaker 1: as well. And it's not just that prices have gone up,

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Speaker 1: it's that our societal desires have increased substantially as new

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Speaker 1: products that make our lives easier or or that allows

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Speaker 1: to be entertained more easily come along. Yes, so TV

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Speaker 1: screens as certainly one measure of livestock creep. Can't imagine

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Speaker 1: many households back in the nineteen sixties having you know,

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Speaker 1: more than one television and just having one television was

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Speaker 1: a big deal, right, But there are other indicators to right, cars.

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Speaker 1: Not not just that cars have become more expensive, but

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Speaker 1: that cars they have they have, But cars have also

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Speaker 1: gotten bigger too and fancy. Here there's some interesting charts

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Speaker 1: Matt showing just how much cars have increased in size

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Speaker 1: over the decades. I would say, on average, looking at

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Speaker 1: the stats, are roughly a third bigger than they used

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Speaker 1: to be. That means, like the size of a Toyota

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Speaker 1: camera today is way bigger than the Toyota camera which

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Speaker 1: was my first car. Like, it's probably the size of

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Speaker 1: a Corolla or maybe even smaller now that camera that

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Speaker 1: I used to own. So yeah, that the larger the car,

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Speaker 1: the more money it's gonna cost. In the fancier that

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Speaker 1: car gets, the more options you have on it too.

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Speaker 1: We're roll in luxury, uh in the vehicles were driving.

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Speaker 1: And of course it's gotten easier to sell expensive cars

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Speaker 1: to to Americans because of longer and longer financing terms.

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Speaker 1: So as the cars get nicer as they get bigger

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Speaker 1: than the price tag goes up. But we're able to

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Speaker 1: keep our paints the same by taking on longer loan terms,

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Speaker 1: which again implodes your finances. Yeah, do you miss your

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Speaker 1: old school camera? Uh? Yeah, yeah, that stick shift actually

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Speaker 1: got onto such a good car. Such a good car.

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Speaker 1: Cameray is a good car. And you even mentioned like

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Speaker 1: the baseline Corolla. I saw that back in Corolla costs

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Speaker 1: somewhere like around four thousand dollars. A Corolla today, dude,

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Speaker 1: cost about more. And that's even adjusted for inflation as well.

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Speaker 1: So even just the baseline, bare minimum vehicle has gotten

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Speaker 1: a lot fans here today. And so you mentioned housing,

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Speaker 1: we're talking about cars. Uh, food as well, man, that's

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Speaker 1: another big expense in our in our lives. And even

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Speaker 1: though the cost of food has gone down over the decades,

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Speaker 1: over consumption is it's quite literally a massive problem in

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Speaker 1: our country. Portion sizes have gone up quite a bit

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Speaker 1: at fast food restaurants over the decades. Uh. What it

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Speaker 1: is that we're being served, you know when we go out,

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Speaker 1: it's far more than what our parents generation was being

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Speaker 1: served in terms of like Graham's and calories, you know, sodium, saltinus.

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Speaker 1: What what Morgan Spurlock was trying to tell us back

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Speaker 1: when you released Supersize Me was totally on point, dude.

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Speaker 1: I remember when that movie came out, and it was

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Speaker 1: I mean, it was so good. It was like a revelation,

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Speaker 1: it felt like for our society, and so many people

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Speaker 1: watched it, and I think you're right. I mean, I

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Speaker 1: think what he did, the links that he went to

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Speaker 1: to show us like how bad fast food is for us,

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Speaker 1: it was like, I don't know, we we all learned

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Speaker 1: a lot, but I don't know that we made that

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Speaker 1: many changes in our lives based on it, because obesity

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Speaker 1: continues to climb in our country to right, affecting our health,

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Speaker 1: not just what it is we're actually eating, but like

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Speaker 1: it's bad for our bodies. Yeah. So so yeah, as

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Speaker 1: those portion sizes grow, you know, partly in thanks to

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Speaker 1: what we're being served when we got to eat, and

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Speaker 1: then also our own ability just to say no. The

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Speaker 1: obesi rate in the early nineteen sixties was closer to

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Speaker 1: and now it's overt of Americans fall into the obese category.

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Speaker 1: So yeah, this lifestyle creep has not only made us

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Speaker 1: more broke than we otherwives would be, but it's also

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Speaker 1: made us like way more unhealthy. Yes, it's not only

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Speaker 1: affecting the amount of money that we spend every day,

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Speaker 1: but it's affecting our bodies that we inhabit every day

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Speaker 1: that we move around here on this earth. But man,

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Speaker 1: across the board, you know, we've seen increases in how

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Speaker 1: much money we're spending, especially for non necessities. According to

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Speaker 1: the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the percentage of our income

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Speaker 1: that we spend on on non essential items has climbed

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Speaker 1: from about to fift over the past one years. And

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Speaker 1: so despite advances in technology that has allowed for food

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Speaker 1: and clothing to be produced for less money, Americans are

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Speaker 1: still finding ways to spend every last dollar that they make.

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Speaker 1: And so basically, lifestyle creep has taken on a life

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Speaker 1: of its own in our country and it's costing us money.

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Speaker 1: But what can we do about it in our own lives. Well,

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Speaker 1: we'll talk more about that right after this break. All right,

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Speaker 1: we're back from the break talking about lifestyle creep, and uh, Joel,

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Speaker 1: you know, let's also mentioned as well that we you know,

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Speaker 1: we've so far we've positioned lifestyle creep as like a

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Speaker 1: purely negative concept, you know, that we should avoid. But

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Speaker 1: you know, I think there are some instances where like

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Speaker 1: one could argue that it could lead to more innovation

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Speaker 1: and more progress in our lives. You could say that

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Speaker 1: by desiring things that cost more money, that desire could

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Speaker 1: lead to higher levels of personal achievement. And so, for example,

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Speaker 1: let's say that you want a vacation house, right, maybe

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Speaker 1: a house of the beach. Well that takes a certain

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Speaker 1: amount of disposable income, which means finding uh like ever

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Speaker 1: increasingly creative ways to succeed. Uh you know, different ways

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Speaker 1: to get ahead in your career, different ways to make

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Speaker 1: more money. And so the way you see that in

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Speaker 1: your life is, you know, you work harder, or maybe

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Speaker 1: you create an incredibly successful business that solves a problem,

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Speaker 1: or you know it provides a benefit for folks. By

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Speaker 1: doing that, you've effectively made the world maybe a slightly

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Speaker 1: better place, you know, by your desire to have the

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Speaker 1: beach house. And so, I don't know, I feel like

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Speaker 1: this is one way that you could view lifestyle creep

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Speaker 1: as a slightly you know, beneficial thing. Like maybe it's

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Speaker 1: a cop out, but I feel like this is a

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Speaker 1: way that you can talk about lifestyle creep as something

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Speaker 1: that isn't completely negative. Um, you know, on a societal level,

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Speaker 1: many of us have jobs because of the different things,

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Speaker 1: the different goals we have set for ourselves that we

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Speaker 1: want to achieve. We are going to talk about goals

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Speaker 1: a little bit later on in the episode. But we

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Speaker 1: do feel that there is a difference between the unconscious

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Speaker 1: increase in spending that that happens to us without us

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Speaker 1: realizing it, compared to the intentional goals that we set

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Speaker 1: for ourselves. Yeah, I like to Matt, you said, a

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Speaker 1: lot of us have jobs because lifestyle creep exists on

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Speaker 1: a whole on that societal level. You're right, and like

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Speaker 1: of our economy revolves around consumer spending, the fact that

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Speaker 1: we buy stuff, of the fact that we are upgrading

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Speaker 1: our lifestyles. It does contribute to the general progress of

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Speaker 1: society and the welfare of us as an entire country.

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Speaker 1: But yeah, there are some negatives on the personal able

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Speaker 1: that really need to be discussed because that's what we

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Speaker 1: can control, right, is our own personal spending and the

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Speaker 1: way we approach livestock creep. Like we we just went

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Speaker 1: through some of the stats trying to communicate the livestock

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Speaker 1: creep is a problem, and basically, like, if we're going

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Speaker 1: to try to come about it in our own individual lives,

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Speaker 1: we're gonna be kind of like the salmon swimming upstream,

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Speaker 1: which always impresses me, like, I love, I love seeing

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Speaker 1: the video of the way you know, sam and swim

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Speaker 1: upstream to to spawn and even just seeing like the

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Speaker 1: bears trying to catch the salmon. It's like this is

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Speaker 1: really just the particles part right, It's like are hanging out,

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Speaker 1: hanging out by the river and they're just like fresh fish,

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Speaker 1: easy pickets. And hopefully we don't get like napped by

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Speaker 1: a bear in the process of trying to up end

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Speaker 1: livestyle creep in our lives. But basically we are going

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Speaker 1: to be kind of, you know, going against the mainstream.

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Speaker 1: We're gonna be trying to live life differently because the

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Speaker 1: world around us is constantly creeping forward, enticing us to

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Speaker 1: acquire more, inventing something new for us to be like,

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Speaker 1: oh yeah, I need that too. So yeah, is there

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Speaker 1: anything that we can do about livestock creep is the

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Speaker 1: question that comes up? Or is it just inevitable? And

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Speaker 1: also to like Matt, what's your opinion, like why why

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Speaker 1: does lifestyle creep um occur in the first place? Let's

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Speaker 1: maybe start there. Yeah, Well, we feel that age is

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Speaker 1: a part of it. It's pretty easy to see that

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Speaker 1: our perceptions change as we get older. That is evidenced

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Speaker 1: by what different age groups consider wealthy a recent survey

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Speaker 1: from Schwab, they found that different age cohorts had massively

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Speaker 1: different opinions of what net worth qualified as wealthy. Millennials

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Speaker 1: tend to believe that if your net worth is at

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Speaker 1: least one point four million, that you're a wealthy individual.

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Speaker 1: On the other hand, jen Xers believe that you need

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Speaker 1: at least one point nine million to be truly wealthy.

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Speaker 1: And then Boomers, uh, they say that it takes two

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Speaker 1: point five million dollars. Boomer. But before you say that,

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Speaker 1: you know, I think that this response has less to

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Speaker 1: do with like the individuals that that make up that cohort,

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Speaker 1: and more about how our perceptions of wealth change as

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Speaker 1: we age. You know, I'm sure you can think back

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Speaker 1: to what you're doing back in college and you thought, oh, well,

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Speaker 1: I don't need this. I can, like I can sleep

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Speaker 1: on someone's couch when I go traveling, when I go backpacking,

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Speaker 1: that kind of thing. But as we as we get older,

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Speaker 1: we have different standards. I do think that that's sort

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Speaker 1: of a natural part of growing up. But the degree

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Speaker 1: to which we sort of inflate our standards, that's what

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Speaker 1: we're questioning here. Agreed, Yeah, I think I'm thirty seven,

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Speaker 1: My standards are different than when I was twenty one. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: you're probably not gonna be as willing to do couch

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Speaker 1: surfing like you did back in the day on your

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Speaker 1: West Coast trip. Yeah. No, it was super fun while

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Speaker 1: it lasted, but I'm probably I can be doing couturfing

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Speaker 1: these days. Where your buddy met his wife, right, exactly,

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Speaker 1: and there's some positive benefits to culture. Right, you might

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Speaker 1: meet the love of your life. It's still like the

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Speaker 1: best story ever, Like one of the best happy endings

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Speaker 1: that I know. They've been together a long time now.

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Speaker 1: Awesome via couch surfing. Super cool. So yeah, I mean, like,

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Speaker 1: it's okay that some of your standards go up. But

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Speaker 1: a big part of why our perceptions change is because

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Speaker 1: of how we're comparing ourselves to others around us, and

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Speaker 1: that's obviously just gotten more and more easy to do

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Speaker 1: over the last decade. Right, Americans were fascinated by the

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Speaker 1: lack styles of the rich and famous, or just the

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Speaker 1: rich or just the famous, right, and social media makes

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Speaker 1: it easier than ever to see how other people are living,

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Speaker 1: or at least get like a glimpse into how we

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Speaker 1: think they're living, and it's easier to constantly compare your

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Speaker 1: life to others, which often almost always leads to dissatisfaction

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Speaker 1: with your current situation because someone's got it better than you.

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Speaker 1: But we never really see the full picture. And Matt,

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Speaker 1: I think like oftentimes when I see that, I think

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Speaker 1: that that person is happier than I am, that they're

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Speaker 1: living a better life than I'm able to live. But

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Speaker 1: I feel like when we step back from it, there's

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Speaker 1: a powerful illusion happening there. The reality doesn't necessarily meet

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Speaker 1: the picture. The happiness level of the person we're seeing

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Speaker 1: on social media. It's easy to think that they're living

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Speaker 1: in a plus life and I'm living like a C

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Speaker 1: minus life, But that's that's just not true when it

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Speaker 1: comes down to it. We're only seeing the highlight reel

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Speaker 1: um as we all know, really, but it mentally, it's

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Speaker 1: hard for us to realize that in the moment. Absolutely,

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00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:54,640
Speaker 1: lifestyle creep happens not just because we're living in our

429
00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:56,960
Speaker 1: own bubble and we've decided that, oh, this is something

430
00:19:56,960 --> 00:19:58,960
Speaker 1: I want to spend more money on. It happens because

431
00:19:59,119 --> 00:20:01,600
Speaker 1: we're influenced by all the different things that we see

432
00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:03,919
Speaker 1: in our lives. Social media is definitely a part of that.

433
00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:07,440
Speaker 1: Another big part of the reason that our perceptions change, uh,

434
00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:10,840
Speaker 1: is because of what is called the hedonic treadmill. We

435
00:20:10,960 --> 00:20:13,520
Speaker 1: quickly get accustomed to those little upgrades that we've made

436
00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:16,119
Speaker 1: in our lives, and it's hard to go back, you know,

437
00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:18,720
Speaker 1: or to even remember how it is that we used

438
00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:21,439
Speaker 1: to live. So for instance, like maybe you used to

439
00:20:21,480 --> 00:20:24,840
Speaker 1: mow your lawn, right, I used to rack your own leaves,

440
00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:27,440
Speaker 1: but then you hired someone out to do it, uh,

441
00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:29,680
Speaker 1: and now it feels like a fixed cost. It feels

442
00:20:29,720 --> 00:20:31,480
Speaker 1: like that it's not something that you can go back on.

443
00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:33,400
Speaker 1: Think to yourself, like, how can I go back to,

444
00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:35,800
Speaker 1: you know, cutting my own grass and raking my own leaves,

445
00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:37,600
Speaker 1: now that you've had a taste of what it what

446
00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:39,400
Speaker 1: it feels like to have somebody else do that for you,

447
00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:41,960
Speaker 1: especially if it's not something you enjoy doing. Yeah, just

448
00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:44,920
Speaker 1: especially don't be the person who like is sipping lemonade

449
00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:47,600
Speaker 1: watching the person do it. That's when you're really bad off.

450
00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:49,600
Speaker 1: But but even I agree with a little jerk face,

451
00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:51,439
Speaker 1: you're just like sitting there with your feet kicked up,

452
00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:54,680
Speaker 1: you know, sipping on like a pumpkin spice latz while

453
00:20:54,680 --> 00:20:59,280
Speaker 1: the leaves are far following in the fall. But I

454
00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:02,159
Speaker 1: feel that it's it's easy for that to happen regularly

455
00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:05,080
Speaker 1: with different things in our lives. Jill makes me think

456
00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:08,639
Speaker 1: about that classic study on the different lottery winners, Uh,

457
00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:11,040
Speaker 1: And they kind of compared those folks to folks who

458
00:21:11,040 --> 00:21:14,280
Speaker 1: have been paralyzed in auto accidents, and essentially they're trying

459
00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:19,000
Speaker 1: to determine if their happiness levels were permanently affected by

460
00:21:19,119 --> 00:21:22,080
Speaker 1: one of those two actions happening. Uh. And not surprisingly,

461
00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:24,359
Speaker 1: since this is what we're talking about, the researchers found

462
00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:27,720
Speaker 1: that winning the lottery didn't increase happiness levels, and nor

463
00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:31,240
Speaker 1: did getting paralyzed in an accident decrease happiness in a

464
00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:34,000
Speaker 1: substantial way. Yes, there was the immediate reaction, right, so

465
00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:35,920
Speaker 1: you when when the lottery, your happiness kind of level

466
00:21:35,960 --> 00:21:38,959
Speaker 1: shoots up, but then it essentially returns to a baseline. Uh.

467
00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:41,600
Speaker 1: And in the same way, those who are paralyzed saw

468
00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:44,399
Speaker 1: a pretty dramatic decrease in their happiness, but then they

469
00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:47,040
Speaker 1: were able to creep back up to that baseline. And

470
00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:49,159
Speaker 1: that's what the researchers determined, right, was that there is

471
00:21:49,200 --> 00:21:51,760
Speaker 1: sort of like the set baseline level of happiness that

472
00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:54,320
Speaker 1: regardless of what happens to us in life, regardless of

473
00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:57,199
Speaker 1: how much money we're spending or earning, we returned to

474
00:21:57,280 --> 00:21:59,600
Speaker 1: that base level of happiness. So there's some good things

475
00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:02,679
Speaker 1: about the donic treadmill that when something terrible happens to us,

476
00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:05,280
Speaker 1: we we know that humans are able to push through

477
00:22:05,359 --> 00:22:08,560
Speaker 1: difficult circumstances and to bounce back and to live a

478
00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:11,480
Speaker 1: fulfilling life still even when something is hard is becoming

479
00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:14,879
Speaker 1: paralyzed in in an accident might happen to us. But

480
00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:17,040
Speaker 1: we also know the flip side of that is that

481
00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:20,040
Speaker 1: if you win the lottery or something incredible happens to you,

482
00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:23,640
Speaker 1: it's nice for a minute, but really it's not going

483
00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:26,280
Speaker 1: to move the needle in the long run. Yeah, you're

484
00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:28,800
Speaker 1: gonna go back to just being you. And yeah, the

485
00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:31,600
Speaker 1: same is something with even as small as having someone

486
00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:33,639
Speaker 1: miiliar lawn, Right, It's like it feels good for a

487
00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:35,639
Speaker 1: little bit, but then what's the next thing I can tackle?

488
00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:39,040
Speaker 1: And how can I um spend more money to alleviate

489
00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:41,359
Speaker 1: other problems that ail me in life? And then you

490
00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:43,399
Speaker 1: quickly find yourself in this trap. Right, So, like, what

491
00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:46,600
Speaker 1: are the antidotes to livestock creep. I think one is

492
00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:49,439
Speaker 1: that we all do better to lower our expectations. I

493
00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:51,679
Speaker 1: feel like Matt, that's not advice you hear very often.

494
00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:53,879
Speaker 1: Who whoever has given you that advice? Do you just

495
00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:57,280
Speaker 1: see to lower your expectations, lower your standards, Like in

496
00:22:57,320 --> 00:23:00,800
Speaker 1: the dating world, whoever was like, hey, what are your expectations?

497
00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:03,600
Speaker 1: You should be going for um, just crummier, Look for

498
00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:05,719
Speaker 1: a crummier partner in general, who doesn't really bring as

499
00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:08,720
Speaker 1: much to the table. Like, friends don't give that advice,

500
00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:11,440
Speaker 1: and you know most of your friends would encourage you

501
00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:14,560
Speaker 1: to raise your expectations. Stop dating folks who just aren't

502
00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:16,480
Speaker 1: good for you, right, But like when when it comes

503
00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:21,000
Speaker 1: to money, lower expectations can actually be really helpful. Basically,

504
00:23:21,040 --> 00:23:23,439
Speaker 1: if if you expect more from your life then you

505
00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:26,600
Speaker 1: currently have, you're gonna be unhappy. So what's in our mind?

506
00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:31,000
Speaker 1: Not the circumstances themselves actually help determine our quality of life.

507
00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:33,960
Speaker 1: So lowering your expectations it doesn't mean that you can't

508
00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:36,320
Speaker 1: strive for great things and that you can't work hard

509
00:23:36,359 --> 00:23:40,720
Speaker 1: towards making more money and making meaningful financial progress. But

510
00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:43,399
Speaker 1: it is important to question the default way of thinking

511
00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:47,119
Speaker 1: and to lower the expectation of what equals good in

512
00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:49,640
Speaker 1: your life. For example, Matt, you mentioned TVs in the home.

513
00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:51,439
Speaker 1: If we see that stat and we say I need

514
00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:53,360
Speaker 1: to be like everybody else, I need at least two

515
00:23:53,359 --> 00:23:55,480
Speaker 1: and a half TVs, that half TV might be a

516
00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:57,679
Speaker 1: weird way to do it. So you're you're like, all right,

517
00:23:57,720 --> 00:23:59,200
Speaker 1: I'm just gonna round up. I'm gonna go to three.

518
00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:02,440
Speaker 1: But if you decide that one TV is good enough

519
00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:04,520
Speaker 1: for you, or maybe zero TVs is good enough for you,

520
00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:07,720
Speaker 1: lowering those expectations is gonna help you save money, but

521
00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:11,440
Speaker 1: it's also gonna actually ensure a greater level of happiness too. Yeah.

522
00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:15,159
Speaker 1: It's it's crazy, man, that our expectations determine so much

523
00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:17,920
Speaker 1: of how we feel and how we respond to two

524
00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:20,920
Speaker 1: different things that we encounter in life. And they also

525
00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:23,239
Speaker 1: have an outsized impact on how we view money, how

526
00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:27,000
Speaker 1: we think about uh, just say, spending splurges, and our

527
00:24:27,119 --> 00:24:30,640
Speaker 1: views towards accumulating debt as well. I think one important

528
00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:33,679
Speaker 1: thing when it comes to combating lifestyle creep is, you know,

529
00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:37,119
Speaker 1: asking ourselves the question how much is enough? In a

530
00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:41,240
Speaker 1: society where consumerism has become a de facto religion. Essentially,

531
00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:45,159
Speaker 1: it's an important question to ask yourself. Um, but how

532
00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:47,520
Speaker 1: do you know when you've hit that point of enough?

533
00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:49,840
Speaker 1: You know, how do you strike a balance between allowing

534
00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:54,159
Speaker 1: yourself nicer things while while saving intentionally for the future. Basically,

535
00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:55,920
Speaker 1: what we're asking here is how much lifestyle creep is

536
00:24:55,960 --> 00:24:58,720
Speaker 1: actually Okay? Uh, And we'll actually get to that right

537
00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:09,600
Speaker 1: after this break. Alright, we're back from the break. We're

538
00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:12,479
Speaker 1: talking about lifestyle creep, and Matt, you and I were

539
00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:15,600
Speaker 1: all about striking a solid balance here on how the money.

540
00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:19,320
Speaker 1: We're not against owning things, right, Like, we're not about

541
00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:22,240
Speaker 1: that monastic existence. Some people might be into that, but

542
00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:24,840
Speaker 1: that's not really how we were all. We're also not

543
00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:29,080
Speaker 1: even anti beach house. That's a great band, right. I

544
00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:30,760
Speaker 1: thought you're gonna take it in like the vacation direction.

545
00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:33,160
Speaker 1: But yes, actually it's been a long time since I've

546
00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:36,520
Speaker 1: listened to Zebra. Yeah that's it's Uh. They have some

547
00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:41,160
Speaker 1: good songs, some good albums. Yeah, yeah, totally super chill.

548
00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:43,760
Speaker 1: But I'm also not even against somebody wanting to own

549
00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:46,320
Speaker 1: their own beach house. Like, that's fine if that's if

550
00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:48,800
Speaker 1: that's your goal. But really, the old saying the more

551
00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:50,879
Speaker 1: stuff you own, the more that stuff will own you

552
00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:53,399
Speaker 1: has some real truth to it, but it's important to

553
00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:56,760
Speaker 1: not let lifestyle creep happen by accident. You know, we're

554
00:25:56,760 --> 00:26:00,000
Speaker 1: all about making purposeful choices, so it's important to choose

555
00:26:00,280 --> 00:26:02,840
Speaker 1: which areas of your life you want to spend more

556
00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:06,600
Speaker 1: money on purpose, and then actively work to spend less

557
00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:08,760
Speaker 1: in other areas They don't mean as much. And I

558
00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:12,320
Speaker 1: feel like on purpose is really the key phrase there,

559
00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:16,320
Speaker 1: because it needs to be this really conscious decision. Yep. Yeah,

560
00:26:16,320 --> 00:26:20,000
Speaker 1: balance is crucial, but how much lifestyle creep is? Okay,

561
00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:22,240
Speaker 1: most folks don't want to continue to live like a

562
00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:25,200
Speaker 1: college students once they are out living in the real world,

563
00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:29,480
Speaker 1: once they have a legitimate paycheck coming in. Eating ramen

564
00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:31,720
Speaker 1: five times a week isn't nearly as nice in your

565
00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:34,480
Speaker 1: thirties as it was when you're twenties. It almost feel

566
00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:37,520
Speaker 1: like intelicacy when you're in your twenties. Well, now we

567
00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:41,320
Speaker 1: just kind of we've lifestyle crept into the boutique high

568
00:26:41,520 --> 00:26:46,080
Speaker 1: end alkaline noodle ramen like the nice noodles. Uh. But

569
00:26:46,240 --> 00:26:48,480
Speaker 1: you know the same thing is true for drinking incredibly

570
00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:51,520
Speaker 1: cheap beer. Uh. It has its place here and there,

571
00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:53,160
Speaker 1: but for the most part, we like the nicer stuff

572
00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:56,480
Speaker 1: these days. So how can we have some lifestyle creep,

573
00:26:56,920 --> 00:26:58,919
Speaker 1: the good kind that allows us to increase our standard

574
00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:01,600
Speaker 1: of living while affording some of the comforts that are

575
00:27:01,600 --> 00:27:05,560
Speaker 1: worth pursuing, without hopping on that hedonic treadmill, and without

576
00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:08,040
Speaker 1: crushing our finances, right, Like, that's the question we're asking here,

577
00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:11,800
Speaker 1: and also without getting into a cycle of constantly needing

578
00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:14,119
Speaker 1: to increase our lifestyle to be happy. That's what we're

579
00:27:14,119 --> 00:27:16,080
Speaker 1: trying to avoid. Yeah, that's a problem, and it's a

580
00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:18,280
Speaker 1: train that's hard to stop rolling once you're on that track.

581
00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:21,840
Speaker 1: And so yeah, there's a few ways we think that

582
00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:24,679
Speaker 1: you can do that, that you can uh increase your

583
00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:27,720
Speaker 1: standard of living when it's appropriate, but avoid livestock create

584
00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:29,520
Speaker 1: at the same time. And let's talk about a few

585
00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:31,360
Speaker 1: ways you can do that. The first is to budget

586
00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:34,600
Speaker 1: according to your goals. And this is obviously just huge, right.

587
00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:36,760
Speaker 1: We don't want you to budget according to the ways

588
00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:39,959
Speaker 1: that everybody around you is living. Right, If you do that,

589
00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:42,960
Speaker 1: you're never gonna have enough because you know you're you're

590
00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:45,359
Speaker 1: one neighbor's got a nicer car. The other neighbors got

591
00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:47,480
Speaker 1: a nicer house, the other neighbors going on cooler vacations.

592
00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:50,040
Speaker 1: It's like never any exycle because you can't do all

593
00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:51,680
Speaker 1: of them. You can't live up to all those things,

594
00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:54,640
Speaker 1: nor will you necessarily be happy by doing any of them. Right. Yeah,

595
00:27:54,640 --> 00:27:56,680
Speaker 1: even if you did live up to all those things

596
00:27:57,040 --> 00:27:59,040
Speaker 1: and didn't find yourself in more debt, you might not

597
00:27:59,119 --> 00:28:01,560
Speaker 1: be happier. You've probab wouldn't be happier. You really need

598
00:28:01,600 --> 00:28:04,880
Speaker 1: to budget for your specific goals, and it's totally okay

599
00:28:05,080 --> 00:28:07,600
Speaker 1: if other folks aren't on board right with with how

600
00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:09,920
Speaker 1: you're living your life. It's your money and it's your life,

601
00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:12,879
Speaker 1: So do well you want to. It's gonna make you happy.

602
00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:15,200
Speaker 1: Do what's right for your income and for the way

603
00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:17,640
Speaker 1: you want to live. So yeah, this is where there's

604
00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:21,119
Speaker 1: some crossover between setting goals and then aspiring for different

605
00:28:21,119 --> 00:28:24,080
Speaker 1: things in life, like we talked about earlier, but identifying

606
00:28:24,119 --> 00:28:26,440
Speaker 1: that why behind your money is just such an important

607
00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:29,200
Speaker 1: part of identifying your goals and then being able to

608
00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:31,640
Speaker 1: budget for those things as well, like making sure that

609
00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:34,960
Speaker 1: the money is there to actually achieve those goals. That's

610
00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:37,960
Speaker 1: a crucial part of avoiding livestock Creed. That's right. You

611
00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:40,719
Speaker 1: gotta make that plan and then counter to that as

612
00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:43,360
Speaker 1: well as intentionally choose some areas in your in your

613
00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:46,320
Speaker 1: budget that you don't want to increase at all. Right,

614
00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:49,640
Speaker 1: So for us, transportation, that's one of those areas where

615
00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:53,040
Speaker 1: we've chosen to no longer make upgrades. And since we've

616
00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:54,840
Speaker 1: resolved that no more money is going in that direction,

617
00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:57,560
Speaker 1: it forces us to live within those parameters. Uh. So

618
00:28:57,680 --> 00:29:01,840
Speaker 1: we're not necessarily looking at the next cool electric car

619
00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:04,080
Speaker 1: that kind of catches my fancy, even though I kind

620
00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:06,239
Speaker 1: of like following them. I've decided that that's not going

621
00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:08,720
Speaker 1: to be a part of our life. Kate's on board

622
00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:10,320
Speaker 1: with that. I'm on board with that, and so we've

623
00:29:10,360 --> 00:29:13,080
Speaker 1: set low expectations for what will be spending on transportation

624
00:29:13,120 --> 00:29:15,800
Speaker 1: costs for our family moving forward. And it's easier now

625
00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:18,440
Speaker 1: to be content now that we've made that conscious decision.

626
00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:21,520
Speaker 1: Uh to to us, it doesn't feel like deprivation when

627
00:29:21,520 --> 00:29:24,360
Speaker 1: you've chosen that path on purpose. So choose, you know,

628
00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:27,040
Speaker 1: an area or two of your budget that you'll expand,

629
00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:29,640
Speaker 1: say when your income goes up, like perhaps adding twenty

630
00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:32,560
Speaker 1: bucks to that craft beer fund. But then choose others

631
00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:36,400
Speaker 1: that you want to specifically keep fixed at a low level. Yeah,

632
00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:39,840
Speaker 1: I think intentionally keeping something low in your budget and

633
00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:42,400
Speaker 1: not allowing it to inflate in any way form or fashion,

634
00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:46,000
Speaker 1: is definitely one way to help prevent lifestyle creep in

635
00:29:46,040 --> 00:29:49,400
Speaker 1: your life. Another two would be to make gradual changes

636
00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:52,880
Speaker 1: instead of maybe the quick, big ones, because Matt, I

637
00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:55,040
Speaker 1: think that you know the way the hedonic treadmill works,

638
00:29:55,280 --> 00:29:58,360
Speaker 1: those smaller and more incremental changes just aren't going to

639
00:29:58,440 --> 00:30:00,840
Speaker 1: hurt your finances in the same way that a more bigger,

640
00:30:00,880 --> 00:30:04,360
Speaker 1: more expensive shift will. But oftentimes, like we can realize

641
00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:07,040
Speaker 1: a similar amount of value or benefit by making just

642
00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:09,640
Speaker 1: a small squeak. For instance, you might decide that it's

643
00:30:09,640 --> 00:30:12,960
Speaker 1: important for your family to have help cleaning your house. Um,

644
00:30:12,960 --> 00:30:16,400
Speaker 1: if that's something you've prioritized, and that's okay, But don't

645
00:30:16,480 --> 00:30:19,160
Speaker 1: go from all d I Y right house cleaning every

646
00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:21,720
Speaker 1: Saturday as a family to having a cleaning company come

647
00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:23,520
Speaker 1: out once a week and you guys aren't cleaning at

648
00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:26,600
Speaker 1: all anymore. Instead, maybe have them come once a month

649
00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:29,080
Speaker 1: and then you do the other three weeks of cleaning

650
00:30:29,440 --> 00:30:31,560
Speaker 1: and you know, continue to do some of that regular

651
00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:34,200
Speaker 1: cleaning yourselves. I think you know the incremental change is

652
00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:35,880
Speaker 1: not only going to cost you less, but it also

653
00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:39,200
Speaker 1: makes that new spending line ONEm feel a bit more special.

654
00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:42,080
Speaker 1: The baseline isn't being raised the same degree. So so

655
00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:45,000
Speaker 1: instead of going from like zero overnight, maybe you know,

656
00:30:45,080 --> 00:30:47,840
Speaker 1: go from zero to five and kind of like bump

657
00:30:47,880 --> 00:30:50,760
Speaker 1: it up in small amounts. See how that spending decision,

658
00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:53,400
Speaker 1: that increased amount of spending, that new choice is treating

659
00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:55,760
Speaker 1: you and be willing to go back to if it's

660
00:30:55,760 --> 00:30:58,600
Speaker 1: not making enough of a difference in your life. And

661
00:30:58,680 --> 00:31:00,560
Speaker 1: one other thing, if you're cleaning your house us yourself,

662
00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:03,680
Speaker 1: don't save save it for the weekends. On a Saturday.

663
00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:05,239
Speaker 1: Saturday is your day to go out and have some fun.

664
00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:07,600
Speaker 1: Do it on Monday's. That's how we make Mondays suck

665
00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:11,680
Speaker 1: extra heart. That's vacuum day. Uh. In our household, you

666
00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:14,080
Speaker 1: basically always have a case of the Monday's No only

667
00:31:14,120 --> 00:31:18,240
Speaker 1: on vacuum days, which is Monday's, which is Monday. And

668
00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:20,960
Speaker 1: another way that we can keep lifestyle creep in check

669
00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:24,640
Speaker 1: is to hang out with folks who have similar goals. Right,

670
00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:27,800
Speaker 1: the people you surround yourself with will impact your ability

671
00:31:28,200 --> 00:31:31,440
Speaker 1: to to be content right and to avoid lifestyle creep

672
00:31:31,480 --> 00:31:33,640
Speaker 1: in a in a pretty big way. And keep in mind,

673
00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:35,800
Speaker 1: we're not telling you to ditch your all your current

674
00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:39,600
Speaker 1: friends to go find some new uh monk friends, right

675
00:31:39,880 --> 00:31:41,920
Speaker 1: although that would likely help you to cut down on

676
00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:45,240
Speaker 1: some unnecessary spending. If you are going to find monk friends,

677
00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:47,320
Speaker 1: you gotta go with the Trappist monks because those guys

678
00:31:47,320 --> 00:31:49,400
Speaker 1: grew great beer. At the same time, I will say, like,

679
00:31:49,440 --> 00:31:51,959
Speaker 1: I would totally be down with the lifestyle. I can

680
00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:54,160
Speaker 1: see us embracing It's just like, wait a minute, those

681
00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:58,040
Speaker 1: monks lift very simply, very frugally, but the drink good beer. Exactly.

682
00:31:58,080 --> 00:32:00,000
Speaker 1: I want some of those like St. Bernardist monk friends.

683
00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:03,360
Speaker 1: You know, it to be awesome. I mean, we're we're joking,

684
00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:05,000
Speaker 1: but do know that you know, the people that you

685
00:32:05,040 --> 00:32:06,400
Speaker 1: hang out with the most are going to have a

686
00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:09,400
Speaker 1: major impact on how you view quote unquote normal life.

687
00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:11,560
Speaker 1: And so you try to find a few close friends

688
00:32:11,600 --> 00:32:14,720
Speaker 1: that have similar values to you, including the way that

689
00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:16,800
Speaker 1: they view their money, including some of the different savings

690
00:32:16,800 --> 00:32:19,120
Speaker 1: goals that they might have set for themselves. They may

691
00:32:19,160 --> 00:32:21,360
Speaker 1: not be exactly the same, but if they're within the

692
00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:24,160
Speaker 1: same vein as what you're trying to set out to achieve,

693
00:32:24,440 --> 00:32:27,640
Speaker 1: then that could significantly help. Yeah, and I know, you know,

694
00:32:27,760 --> 00:32:30,640
Speaker 1: we probably talked smack about social media on the reg

695
00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:33,560
Speaker 1: while also being on social media, right, So, but it's

696
00:32:33,600 --> 00:32:36,400
Speaker 1: best done in moderation at most, right And and so

697
00:32:37,120 --> 00:32:38,480
Speaker 1: you know, one thing that you can do, Matt, I

698
00:32:38,560 --> 00:32:41,000
Speaker 1: think it's important to have real life human friends close

699
00:32:41,120 --> 00:32:43,640
Speaker 1: by where you live that that do share similar values

700
00:32:43,640 --> 00:32:46,040
Speaker 1: to you, right, but also to the one the one

701
00:32:46,040 --> 00:32:48,000
Speaker 1: of the nice things, one of the only great things

702
00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:50,640
Speaker 1: about social media, in my opinion, is the ability to

703
00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:54,800
Speaker 1: connect with people that have similar values to you online

704
00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:57,560
Speaker 1: um and to form groups of people that are able

705
00:32:57,640 --> 00:33:00,480
Speaker 1: to share their wins and ask questions. And that's exactly

706
00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:03,000
Speaker 1: what that how the money Facebook group has become. There

707
00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:05,440
Speaker 1: are thousands and thousands and thousands of people and they're

708
00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:09,440
Speaker 1: asking questions, helping each other out and really getting motivated

709
00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:11,200
Speaker 1: by what other people are doing. And so I gotta

710
00:33:11,240 --> 00:33:15,160
Speaker 1: say surrounding yourself by some of those people in the

711
00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:17,800
Speaker 1: online world can be helpful too. As you're checking your

712
00:33:17,840 --> 00:33:20,720
Speaker 1: feed maybe and you know you're seeing the sweet vacation

713
00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:22,920
Speaker 1: that a friend took at the same time in that feed,

714
00:33:23,120 --> 00:33:25,440
Speaker 1: you might see somebody asking a question about how to

715
00:33:25,560 --> 00:33:27,920
Speaker 1: put more of their money away in their roth ira

716
00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:31,640
Speaker 1: and so it's at least like diffusing maybe some of

717
00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:33,520
Speaker 1: the anks that you might be feeling on social media

718
00:33:33,600 --> 00:33:35,800
Speaker 1: and actually propelling you towards your goal. So yeah, we

719
00:33:35,880 --> 00:33:38,480
Speaker 1: highly suggest you checking that group out. But really, yeah,

720
00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:41,160
Speaker 1: friends in real life or are crucial to Yeah, totally.

721
00:33:41,200 --> 00:33:44,440
Speaker 1: We would also recommend for folks to get excited about

722
00:33:45,160 --> 00:33:49,360
Speaker 1: future you, right, And so investing more doesn't have to

723
00:33:49,440 --> 00:33:51,520
Speaker 1: be done only out of drudgery, right. It can be

724
00:33:51,520 --> 00:33:54,360
Speaker 1: a way to get excited about the years where you

725
00:33:54,560 --> 00:33:57,200
Speaker 1: are going to actually be able to have more financial freedom. So,

726
00:33:57,240 --> 00:33:58,880
Speaker 1: for instance, I have no idea what I'm gonna be

727
00:33:58,880 --> 00:34:02,160
Speaker 1: like in thirty years, because that just feels like, uh seriously,

728
00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:05,200
Speaker 1: a long way. I can make some predictions. We've done

729
00:34:05,240 --> 00:34:07,000
Speaker 1: the face that before. We we have seen what we

730
00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:09,560
Speaker 1: look like when we're going to be eighty or ninety.

731
00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:13,080
Speaker 1: But continuing to make that connection to saving more and

732
00:34:13,160 --> 00:34:16,440
Speaker 1: investing being something that you're doing for future you, that

733
00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:19,080
Speaker 1: can really help you to feel more connected to the process,

734
00:34:19,400 --> 00:34:21,440
Speaker 1: and I think it will make you less likely to

735
00:34:21,480 --> 00:34:23,680
Speaker 1: spend all of that money that's coming in today. Yeah,

736
00:34:23,760 --> 00:34:25,960
Speaker 1: I think the future you thing is is really important. Man.

737
00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:28,400
Speaker 1: I think sometimes when we're just saving for quote unquote retirement,

738
00:34:28,640 --> 00:34:30,719
Speaker 1: it feels like we're we're saving for somebody else, or

739
00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:33,000
Speaker 1: it feels like we're putting money somewhere we're never going

740
00:34:33,080 --> 00:34:35,120
Speaker 1: to see it. But but it's not true, like we

741
00:34:35,320 --> 00:34:37,279
Speaker 1: are saving for our future selves. But it can be

742
00:34:37,320 --> 00:34:40,480
Speaker 1: hard to make that visceral connection and to actually realize

743
00:34:40,520 --> 00:34:43,319
Speaker 1: that we're saving for future us, even though we know

744
00:34:43,400 --> 00:34:45,359
Speaker 1: it in our brains, it's hard to connect that to like,

745
00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:47,920
Speaker 1: are the emotional side of our being, right, Yeah, I

746
00:34:48,040 --> 00:34:50,080
Speaker 1: feel like oftentimes it can, like, especially when it's coming

747
00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:51,839
Speaker 1: out of your paycheck, I think you can feel like

748
00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:54,120
Speaker 1: just something that's going off towards something that you're never

749
00:34:54,120 --> 00:34:56,640
Speaker 1: going to see, sort of like taxes. Right, it's something

750
00:34:56,640 --> 00:35:00,440
Speaker 1: that the government takes in theoretically it builds roads and

751
00:35:00,560 --> 00:35:04,440
Speaker 1: bridges and other programs. Just theoretically it does actuality, I mean,

752
00:35:04,480 --> 00:35:07,719
Speaker 1: but very small percentage right, actually goes the roads. But

753
00:35:07,840 --> 00:35:09,799
Speaker 1: I think it can also feel that the money that's

754
00:35:09,800 --> 00:35:12,160
Speaker 1: going away towards your four when k can also feel

755
00:35:12,160 --> 00:35:14,480
Speaker 1: like that money where it's just something you know that

756
00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:16,719
Speaker 1: you're who knows when it is that you'll ever be

757
00:35:16,760 --> 00:35:19,040
Speaker 1: able to actually drive on that road, right, Like, like,

758
00:35:19,080 --> 00:35:22,000
Speaker 1: who knows when you'll ever actually be able to experience

759
00:35:22,080 --> 00:35:24,040
Speaker 1: what it feels like to be retired. But keep in

760
00:35:24,080 --> 00:35:26,000
Speaker 1: mind that that is your money. That is money that

761
00:35:26,120 --> 00:35:28,080
Speaker 1: is going to fund your lifestyle when it whenever it

762
00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:30,200
Speaker 1: is that you do choose to retire. Yeah, And the

763
00:35:30,239 --> 00:35:32,640
Speaker 1: more you're able to talk away, the earlier you're going

764
00:35:32,680 --> 00:35:34,880
Speaker 1: to not have to work in order to continue to

765
00:35:34,880 --> 00:35:37,080
Speaker 1: make money. You're gonna be able to be financially independent,

766
00:35:37,080 --> 00:35:38,759
Speaker 1: and that's that's a great goal. Or the more beach

767
00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:40,759
Speaker 1: houses you can own, if that's your thing, that's right,

768
00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:42,799
Speaker 1: Or the more beach house albums, that's so much showing

769
00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:47,359
Speaker 1: more approachable way to spend your money. But yeah, yeah,

770
00:35:47,360 --> 00:35:50,080
Speaker 1: I think Matt in some ways livestock reed is inevitable. Right.

771
00:35:50,200 --> 00:35:52,880
Speaker 1: Inflation plays a legitimate role and the things that we

772
00:35:52,960 --> 00:35:55,240
Speaker 1: buy which do cost more over time. As we described

773
00:35:55,280 --> 00:35:57,960
Speaker 1: earlier in the episode, it's hard to undo some of

774
00:35:57,960 --> 00:36:00,319
Speaker 1: what's coming out of Pandora's box when it comes to

775
00:36:00,640 --> 00:36:03,239
Speaker 1: the way consumer goods are changing in our country, and

776
00:36:03,239 --> 00:36:06,799
Speaker 1: as societal expectations have changed, the goods and services the

777
00:36:06,800 --> 00:36:09,840
Speaker 1: businesses offer. For instance, the Toyota camera that we described

778
00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:13,759
Speaker 1: from the early nineties was a good bit smaller than

779
00:36:13,320 --> 00:36:16,400
Speaker 1: the model. There's nothing we can do about that, Like

780
00:36:16,440 --> 00:36:18,560
Speaker 1: we can't say no, no, no, no, go back and

781
00:36:18,600 --> 00:36:21,240
Speaker 1: make me the smaller thing that cost less money, because

782
00:36:21,440 --> 00:36:24,279
Speaker 1: that's just not realistic. But there is a whole lot

783
00:36:24,400 --> 00:36:26,239
Speaker 1: that we can do when it comes to changing our

784
00:36:26,280 --> 00:36:29,360
Speaker 1: perceptions of what it means to have enough. Just because

785
00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:32,279
Speaker 1: the average home size has more than doubled um from

786
00:36:32,320 --> 00:36:33,799
Speaker 1: what it used to be doesn't mean that we have

787
00:36:33,840 --> 00:36:36,959
Speaker 1: to aspire to have that size of a home. While

788
00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:39,640
Speaker 1: home prices are inevitably rising and will continue to rise

789
00:36:39,640 --> 00:36:42,440
Speaker 1: over the years, lifestyle creep is something that we can

790
00:36:42,480 --> 00:36:44,920
Speaker 1: severely limit in our own lives. And it's not just

791
00:36:44,920 --> 00:36:47,440
Speaker 1: gonna save us money and make us more financially secure.

792
00:36:47,960 --> 00:36:51,080
Speaker 1: We truly believe it's gonna make us happier. To those

793
00:36:51,120 --> 00:36:54,680
Speaker 1: lower expectations. Actually setting limits for ourselves below maybe even

794
00:36:54,719 --> 00:36:57,920
Speaker 1: what we can afford, is ultimately going to provide greater freedom,

795
00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:00,600
Speaker 1: a greater sense of security, greater happiness. It's a win

796
00:37:00,680 --> 00:37:03,040
Speaker 1: win win. It's just harder to do in reality, and

797
00:37:03,040 --> 00:37:04,719
Speaker 1: so that's why we wanted to talk about this today

798
00:37:04,760 --> 00:37:08,320
Speaker 1: lay out some principles for how we can prevent lifestyle

799
00:37:08,360 --> 00:37:12,080
Speaker 1: creep from just kind of running them up. That is correct, man,

800
00:37:12,200 --> 00:37:13,879
Speaker 1: let's the shift gears. Take it back to the beer

801
00:37:13,920 --> 00:37:15,880
Speaker 1: that we're sharing, or that we are each enjoying on

802
00:37:15,920 --> 00:37:18,960
Speaker 1: this episode, and you and I are both drinking a Hobnail,

803
00:37:19,360 --> 00:37:23,000
Speaker 1: which is a wild Canadian blueberry Midwestern fruit heart and

804
00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:26,400
Speaker 1: this is by Urban Artifact, sent to us by Sandra. Sandra,

805
00:37:26,480 --> 00:37:28,800
Speaker 1: thank you for donating this beer in the last episodes

806
00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:30,680
Speaker 1: beer to the show. Joel, what were your thoughts on

807
00:37:30,719 --> 00:37:33,760
Speaker 1: this one? Man? First things first, this beer's name Hobnail,

808
00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:37,520
Speaker 1: which makes me think of Larry Monster. Who. How do

809
00:37:37,560 --> 00:37:39,440
Speaker 1: you know about Larry Munson? Okay, so I worked for

810
00:37:39,440 --> 00:37:41,480
Speaker 1: the station that broadcast all the Georgia Bulldogs games, the

811
00:37:41,560 --> 00:37:44,759
Speaker 1: radio station. Yeah, so Larry Munson was the Georgia Bulldogs

812
00:37:45,160 --> 00:37:47,920
Speaker 1: radio announcer for the football team, my alma mater. And

813
00:37:47,920 --> 00:37:50,759
Speaker 1: we'll have to link to his call of in the

814
00:37:50,800 --> 00:37:52,959
Speaker 1: in the in the show notes, was that against Tennessee?

815
00:37:53,040 --> 00:37:55,000
Speaker 1: I think it was, And I don't remember who it

816
00:37:55,120 --> 00:37:57,359
Speaker 1: was that stepped on someone's face with a Hobnail Boot.

817
00:37:57,400 --> 00:37:59,719
Speaker 1: But that's how he called the game classic. It's a

818
00:37:59,719 --> 00:38:01,759
Speaker 1: class it called classic wine. So I will link to

819
00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:04,160
Speaker 1: that this show. That's obviously the first thing that made

820
00:38:04,160 --> 00:38:06,080
Speaker 1: me think of being someone who grew up, you know,

821
00:38:06,120 --> 00:38:08,600
Speaker 1: in the state of Georgia. Put onto the beer. It

822
00:38:08,680 --> 00:38:11,759
Speaker 1: was rich, it was sweet, it was slightly tart. There

823
00:38:11,800 --> 00:38:13,839
Speaker 1: was a lot of blueberry action going on, for sure,

824
00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:16,359
Speaker 1: I will say to it almost kind of tasted a

825
00:38:16,360 --> 00:38:18,799
Speaker 1: little like grape juice, almost like the Communion grape juice.

826
00:38:18,840 --> 00:38:21,160
Speaker 1: You might get, Uh, that's not a bad thing. I

827
00:38:21,239 --> 00:38:23,720
Speaker 1: like the Communiy grape juice you're saying, because it's purple,

828
00:38:24,600 --> 00:38:27,479
Speaker 1: Like it's very dark purple, and so like I feel

829
00:38:27,480 --> 00:38:29,560
Speaker 1: like if I were to have blindfolded you and then

830
00:38:29,640 --> 00:38:32,680
Speaker 1: been like, drink this, Joel and set it in a

831
00:38:32,719 --> 00:38:35,719
Speaker 1: creeper voice. But like, Joel, drink this, I feel like

832
00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:37,520
Speaker 1: you wouldn't have said it was maybe as sweet, but

833
00:38:37,680 --> 00:38:40,399
Speaker 1: because I mean, it really does have that classic like

834
00:38:40,760 --> 00:38:43,560
Speaker 1: grape juice color to it. Um but in my in

835
00:38:43,560 --> 00:38:46,319
Speaker 1: my opinion, it doesn't taste as sweet as it looks like.

836
00:38:46,400 --> 00:38:49,400
Speaker 1: So it says wild Canadian blueberries. And when Kate and

837
00:38:49,440 --> 00:38:52,200
Speaker 1: I were up in Maine for our anniversary a number

838
00:38:52,239 --> 00:38:54,399
Speaker 1: of years ago, when we went to Acadia National Park.

839
00:38:54,800 --> 00:38:58,320
Speaker 1: There are just wild blueberries everywhere. And they're not these fat,

840
00:38:58,400 --> 00:39:00,879
Speaker 1: juicy plum blueberries that you up at the grocery store

841
00:39:00,920 --> 00:39:04,400
Speaker 1: that are like basically like grapes um. They're much smaller

842
00:39:04,440 --> 00:39:06,279
Speaker 1: and they're much more tart. And that's what this beer

843
00:39:06,360 --> 00:39:08,279
Speaker 1: tastes like to me. And so for that reason, uh,

844
00:39:08,440 --> 00:39:10,400
Speaker 1: it's it tastes just more tart and more acidic to

845
00:39:10,440 --> 00:39:12,319
Speaker 1: me than kind of like I guess, like more of

846
00:39:12,320 --> 00:39:15,680
Speaker 1: a classic blueberry beer or something like that. But also

847
00:39:15,719 --> 00:39:17,680
Speaker 1: I can't help but to point out the artwork on here.

848
00:39:17,920 --> 00:39:19,759
Speaker 1: It's kind of got like some old school what it

849
00:39:19,880 --> 00:39:22,600
Speaker 1: what it looks like mining equipment, I don't know. Its

850
00:39:22,600 --> 00:39:25,239
Speaker 1: some climbing paraphernalia too. Is it climbing? I guess. So

851
00:39:25,320 --> 00:39:27,200
Speaker 1: there's like screws and goggles. I don't know if it's

852
00:39:27,200 --> 00:39:30,040
Speaker 1: climbing or mining. No, that's totally that's totally climbing. It's

853
00:39:30,040 --> 00:39:32,719
Speaker 1: got the crampons and goggles and like your acts like, yeah,

854
00:39:32,719 --> 00:39:34,560
Speaker 1: well what is that thing? I've never seen that. I'm

855
00:39:34,600 --> 00:39:37,879
Speaker 1: not climber, but venturing. There's like this tool on here

856
00:39:37,880 --> 00:39:40,839
Speaker 1: that I've never seen, but otherwise, yeah, you're probably right

857
00:39:40,880 --> 00:39:43,040
Speaker 1: either way. It makes you think of the outdoors where

858
00:39:43,160 --> 00:39:45,279
Speaker 1: wild blueberries grow. I guess this is what you have

859
00:39:45,320 --> 00:39:46,480
Speaker 1: to put on back in the day if you're going

860
00:39:46,520 --> 00:39:48,920
Speaker 1: to actually gather these wild blueberries. But yeah, this was

861
00:39:48,960 --> 00:39:51,840
Speaker 1: a really delicious beer. I gotta say, a quiet, refreshing

862
00:39:51,880 --> 00:39:53,360
Speaker 1: beer after a little bike ride that you and I

863
00:39:53,440 --> 00:39:55,799
Speaker 1: actually had right before we recorded this. That's true. Yeah,

864
00:39:55,880 --> 00:39:59,280
Speaker 1: my bike ride before podcasting is always good and before

865
00:39:59,320 --> 00:40:03,160
Speaker 1: beer drinking. So I encourage everyone to uh yeah, backgride

866
00:40:03,200 --> 00:40:05,360
Speaker 1: before you tuld co appear. It feels like you earned that,

867
00:40:05,400 --> 00:40:08,400
Speaker 1: earned that yet, and you know it's a better way

868
00:40:08,440 --> 00:40:09,800
Speaker 1: to do it. Evy and I recently, like on a

869
00:40:09,880 --> 00:40:13,279
Speaker 1: daddy daughter day, we bit to uh this donut shop

870
00:40:13,360 --> 00:40:14,719
Speaker 1: that's kind of on the other side of the part

871
00:40:15,120 --> 00:40:17,120
Speaker 1: and you have to go up a you know, quite

872
00:40:17,120 --> 00:40:19,320
Speaker 1: a few steep hills, And I told her it was like, Evy,

873
00:40:19,440 --> 00:40:22,080
Speaker 1: you're really going to earn it, you know by biking here,

874
00:40:22,120 --> 00:40:24,719
Speaker 1: Like it makes the reward of a sweet treat all

875
00:40:24,760 --> 00:40:27,600
Speaker 1: that much more delicious. Yeah, well that's gonna do it

876
00:40:27,640 --> 00:40:29,640
Speaker 1: for this episode. For folks who want shown ups for it.

877
00:40:29,680 --> 00:40:31,440
Speaker 1: Just go to our website at how to money dot

878
00:40:31,520 --> 00:40:33,800
Speaker 1: com and maybe even listening to the show for a

879
00:40:33,800 --> 00:40:36,120
Speaker 1: while now, but you have not yet left us a review.

880
00:40:36,360 --> 00:40:38,040
Speaker 1: We would love it if you were to run over

881
00:40:38,040 --> 00:40:41,240
Speaker 1: to Apple Podcasts or wherever it is that you're listening

882
00:40:41,280 --> 00:40:43,440
Speaker 1: to your podcast these days, leave us a solid review

883
00:40:43,480 --> 00:40:46,040
Speaker 1: over there, and thank you in advance. Those positive reviews

884
00:40:46,080 --> 00:40:48,759
Speaker 1: help others to find the show. It helps others to

885
00:40:48,840 --> 00:40:51,640
Speaker 1: figure out how some money three times a week. Uh,

886
00:40:51,640 --> 00:40:53,279
Speaker 1: and we want all folks out there to make sure

887
00:40:53,280 --> 00:40:56,040
Speaker 1: that they're doing smarter things with their personal finances. That's

888
00:40:56,040 --> 00:40:58,799
Speaker 1: our goal, all right. Well, until next time, Best friends out,

889
00:40:58,920 --> 00:41:02,000
Speaker 1: Best Friends Out. M