Do I Need It? Do I Love It?

I was recently flipping through my wife’s August Oprah Magazine when I came across an article that caught my eye.  It was written by a lady named Martha Beck and she was writing about what she called the “Joy Dividend.”  I was curious so I read her article, fell in love with her concept and then asked my wife if she had ever heard of Martha Beck.  To my surprise out spilled a deluge of information.  You see my wife recently went to New York City to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the founding of The Oprah Magazine and was able to hear Martha Beck and others speak.  She came away duly impressed and I can see why.

The Joy Dividend article is a great read and if I knew how to link to it and had permission I would have you go there immediately.  It’s that good.  But since I can’t and most of you wouldn’t go there even if I did provide a link let me sum up.  The Joy Dividend provides a blueprint for everyday spending decisions.  It also provides a blueprint for how to live a balanced life in relation to your money.  It’s as good as anything I have ever read and walks people through the human plight which I call the fine line between over-saving and under-living.  It is a very fine line and if you read A Tale of Teamwork on my blog you will see an example of a couple that could not balance their life’s equation.  They over-saved and unfortunately under-lived.  Granted, this is not the case for most of us.  Most of us over-spend and then wonder why we’re broke.  What I most like about The Joy Dividend is that Martha Beck injects an element of individuality to her blueprint. It goes like this,

1)      Every time you make a purchasing decision ask yourself if the item or service is something you need or something you love.

2)      If it isn’t something you need or love; don’t buy it even if it is something that someone else might need or love.  Determine your own destiny.  Follow your own drummer.

She even set up a little matrix to help you with your purchasing decisions.  Her matrix is approximately as follows;

I love her approach especially when I have seen so many clients walk out of my office after overspending only to do it again.  As I’ve always maintained—I am not the spending police but thanks to Martha Beck at least now I have a way to bring things into focus for those that are saving money challenged.  Her matrix puts a personal touch on everyday decisions.  It’s clear that we need to spend money on the things we need because guess what—-we need them.  However, there are certain things such as food that though everyone needs, have different gradations of need.  One person may need to shop at Whole Foods while another may need something less.  The same person that needs to shop at Whole Foods may choose to wear inexpensive clothing.  The point is that you must decide the things that are important to you. What’s important to someone else does not mean it is important to you.  I am sure that everyone can think of examples that fit into their lives. It’s what makes us unique.

So let me close with what I call category 2—something you need but don’t love.  You guessed it—saving for retirement.  Does anyone really love saving for retirement?  I don’t think so.  Does everyone need it?  I think so.  Does anyone think they need it right away, every paycheck, every time they have money in their pocket or savings account?  Again, I don’t think so.  Nevertheless, if you keep putting off this need you will soon learn that the need grows stronger.  Since category 2 is where Martha Beck says we should shop wisely and not spend lavishly, it behooves us to devote time to putting something away every paycheck, becoming a wise investor and making sure we don’t overpay for good advice.  I say good advice because bad advice is costly even when it’s free.

I hope my synopsis of Martha Beck’s Joy Dividend strikes a chord with you.  I say throughout my tales that there is a fine line between over-saving and under-living.  It is a fine line and one that is of increased difficulty for couples since they must work together to blend the spending needs and loves of two people into one future.  Unfortunately, as you can read in A Large Tale, also on my blog, you will meet a couple that over-spent, however, in their case it didn’t translate to over-living.  There are no right answers to maintaining the proper balance between saving and spending, living and under-living.  Martha Beck’s approach is a good starting point.

My previous articles on Cash Flow Sherpas have focused on a small part of the wealth equation; the saving money side of the equation.  There is much more to it than just saving money and investing wisely.  How you plan on spending your money and where will it give you the most pleasure is something everyone should take seriously.  So repeat after me—Do I need it?  Do I love it?  Do we need it?  Do we love it?