Living the Rich Life

Reading time: 3 min

Mrs. Fifty and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary recently.

We went on a date night to a high-end Japanese restaurant, ate some fancy sushi, and had a great time.

When the bill came, we didn’t feel any guilt. Not because we can drop money on expensive dinners like it’s nothing. But because this date was something we intentionally saved for. We weren’t always like this though.

We used to fight about money often.

Money was a difficult topic to talk about. When we did talk, conversations would end with slammed doors and silent treatments. Every purchase was scrutinized. Fancy dinners were out of the question. Hell, we’d even fight over small things that would cost a couple of dollars.

We both agreed that saving money was important, but we were never on the same page on how to use it.

Most finance content out there only preaches “Save, save, save.” Not many talk about how to actually spend your hard-earned money.

Yes, saving money should be a priority. And you should avoid impulsively spending money on things for status or just because it’s the hot new thing—but the other end of being extremely frugal is a problem too.

Building a big bank balance is good but what’s the point if you’re waiting your whole life to live?

When I first started my financial journey, I wanted to save every last penny. What was I saving toward? I wasn’t really sure, I just wanted to see that net worth number get bigger and bigger.

But then I started listening to Ramit.

Ramit Sethi is a well-known finance guru. He’s the author of I Will Teach You How To Be Rich and the host of How to Get Rich on Netflix. I know, the titles sound click-baity. But learning about his concept of living a “Rich Life” spoke to me.

The Rich Life is his personal finance concept that focuses on consciously spending money and enjoying life today, not when you’re 65.

It’s not about extreme budgeting, being restrictive, and cutting out all the fun from your life. It’s about intentionally allocating money in a way that aligns with your values and priorities.

Living a Rich Life is about being frugal on the stuff you don’t care about, so you can ball out on the stuff you truly do care about.

Let me explain.

First, what does it mean to be rich?

For some, it might be owning designer clothes and a yacht.

But for others, it could mean being able to pick up their kids from school every day. Or being able to travel around the world for weeks. Or paying for a personal chef.

For Mrs. Fifty and I?

We sat down and had a deep conversation about what “living rich” meant to us. And I’m glad we did.

Here’s what we decided that we valued the most: convenience, traveling, and eating good ass food.

We also talked about what we didn’t value. Like spending tons of money on the latest tech, owning a bunch of expensive flex pieces, or getting take-out frequently.

Instead of spending money on things we don’t care about, we intentionally saved that money for the things we do care about.

• Instead of upgrading to the latest iPhone every year, we save that money and pay for conveniences like parking, toll lanes, moving companies, and Lyft.

• Instead of feeling jealous of others’ status symbols, we put that money toward a nice vacation for ourselves.

• Instead of getting take-out every day, we started saving up for a nice dinner once a month.

And now, we have shared money goals that we can work toward and get excited about together.

Here’s a simple exercise you can do to start: take a moment to reflect on your values and what truly matters to you.

“I just wanna be rich” isn’t an answer. Get hella specific.

• “I want to get guac and queso every time I go to Chipotle.”

• “I want to take a 4-week vacation every year.”

• “I want to ball out at Whole Foods for organic groceries and not feel bad about it.”

When you understand what matters most to you, you can make intentional decisions about how to allocate your money toward the things that bring you the most fulfillment and live your Rich Life.

Peace,

Fifty Sat

P.S.

I’d love to hear what your Rich Life is. Respond to this email and let me know.

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