3734: [Part 2] Making Space for Badassity by Mr. Money Mustache on Intentional Living

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[00:00:54] This is Optimal Finance Daily. Making space for bad f***ity. Part 2 by Mr. Money Mustache of MrMoneyMustache.com. And I'm Justin Malek. Welcome back or welcome for the first time if you're new here. And if you are new here, today's a continuation from yesterday, so I'd recommend listening to that episode first. But if you're all caught up, let's get right to part 2 and continue optimizing your life.

[00:01:26] Making space for bad f***ity. Part 2 by MrMoneyMustache of MrMoneyMustache.com. The Mr. Money Mustache family's secret frugality weapon. When people encounter this site for the first time, they usually see my family's annual spending number of $25,000 and assume that we have an extremely frugal lifestyle. My family could never be as radical as those guys. Mustache's ways are extreme.

[00:01:56] But we'll implement a few small changes in our own way, they say. This frustrates me to no end because I don't even try to save money anymore. All I see is an abundance of luxury in every direction when I gaze out my kitchen window. But I've recently come to realize there is one way that we are extreme when compared to other families of similar background. We schedule a lot less stuff into our lives.

[00:02:23] While others will buy an unlimited annual ski pass and ride the mountains every weekend, I'll get a four-pack of lift tickets and make a single week-long trip with my friends. Others will buy a cottage and split their time between two houses. I'm happy with one. While others will start with a cat, then have a kid, then adopt a dog, then another dog, then create second, third, and fourth kids, I'm feeling plenty busy with just my boy.

[00:02:53] None of this is done with money in mind. It is done out of a desire for balance, free time, and a safety margin in life. By keeping our non-negotiable commitments to only 50% of our time, we leave the other 50% open for growth, self-development, and an ability to work much harder to deal with the black swan events that life inevitably serves up.

[00:03:18] While others might imagine we're missing out on life by not stacking it up with more activities, I feel we're allowing ourselves just the right amount of space to actually live it. And of course, the side effect this has on the money side has been very large as well. I think this difference in life planning style might boil down to my slightly compulsive tendency to think of future consequences.

[00:03:44] When I was a 26-year-old deciding between a BMW and a 401k as the destination for each financial windfall, I always chose the more responsible option because I predicted my future self would appreciate it. Even today, when I opened the fridge at dinnertime and faced a tempting selection of ice-cold Colorado microbrews laid out in front of me, I usually leave them untouched.

[00:04:10] Not because I don't crave one, but because I don't want the future me to have to deal with a flabby beer belly. The same thought process applies when I consider signing up for a big future commitment, like a busy weekend trip, or yet another well-meaning project related to this blog, or even adopting a cat. Sure, it sounds lovely in theory, but will my future self appreciate having that much time taken away from him when he might have other plans?

[00:04:40] Of course, you can take future fixation too far and end up with a boring life today, but I correct for this by imagining a future me regretting a boring youth, and do my best to strategically misbehave at optimal levels today. So far, so good, as I do not lead an overly pure or monk-like life. Getting back to the point, to become richer, you need to make changes in your life.

[00:05:08] But changes take effort, and to perform this effort, you'll need to free up the time and energy to become powerful enough to do it. How to make space for bad-f**ty. When you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging. In the world of gaining more leverage over your own life, this means to stop adding complexity. To get you started, here are a few tips from my own book of rules.

[00:05:36] Number one, discover the power of no. For the next several weeks, say no to all optional plans which are outside of biking distance of your house. If you don't have a bike, make that walking distance. You need to start focusing your lifestyle on your local radius. Try having a weekend with nothing planned except catching up on things around the house and exercising right within your neighborhood.

[00:06:04] Next time someone other than your very closest friends or family invites you to a distant wedding, make up an excuse and give yourself the gift of staying home instead. Save that energy for the people nearer and dearer to you, including yourself. Number two, institute a purchase procrastination program. Pause any and all research and shopping trips besides food and make do with the things you have at home.

[00:06:33] If you have a vacation coming up, promise yourself you'll get that special purchase made after the vacation instead of before it. If you're working on a major life goal, delay the purchase until after you achieve it. Number three, clean, cancel, and declutter. By now you'll already start having more free time. Use it to attack your garage, your closet, and your kitchen junk drawer. Sell stuff on Craigslist.

[00:07:02] Recycle, give away, and trash anything not important to you. Note the new breathing space that opens up in your mind and even your lungs. And of course, if you haven't done so already, cancel cable TV and stop consuming the daily news. And number four, sharpen the saw. The most efficient thing you can ever do with your time is to make yourself a better person.

[00:07:28] So spend some of your new free quiet time by starting each morning with a 45-minute walk in the quietest local area you can find. If you're already knowledgeable in weight training, do a bit of it each day. If not, at least do some push-ups and yoga for now. Learn about basic meditation and do it. And then, if you follow these steps, within a week or two, you will have roughly doubled your free time and energy,

[00:07:57] which gives you the power to start really making the more difficult changes. Sell your expensive cars and replace them with efficient ones at least 10 years old, which is still plenty new. Get a bike. Find a smarter place to live that is closer to work, or a smarter place to work that is closer to home. None of this is all that difficult. At this point, millions of people, many with far fewer advantages than yourself,

[00:08:25] have done exactly this and have drastically changed their lives for the better. If you've been poking around here on this site for a while and still find that major change and plentiful surplus money is in short supply, stop struggling and start by slowing down. You just listened to part two of the post titled Making Space for Bad F***ity

[00:08:52] by Mr. Money Mustache of MrMoneyMustache.com And I'll be right back with my commentary. Shag here. What's it like to buy a car from Carvana 100% online and get it delivered to your door? Let me tell you. Your car is here, Mr. Shack. Thank you, Mr. Carvana guy. Can't wait to take it for a spin. Only the best for you, Mr. Shack. Hey, have you always been so big, tall, and handsome? Not always. I was 6'10 once. Seven days to love it or return it, Mr. Shack. Not that I would. You never do.

[00:09:21] No, I never do. So buy your car today on Carvana. Delivery fees may apply. See our seven-day return policy at Carvana.com. This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome? That's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required.

[00:09:51] Compatibility and availability varies 18+. Thank you to Mr. Money Mustache. That question about whether your future self will appreciate a commitment is a good one, because it's pretty easy to look at an empty Saturday a month from now and decide that you're available. There's nothing on the calendar, so why not? But you might get to that Saturday and wish you hadn't filled it. The week was tiring, there are things at home you haven't gotten to,

[00:10:19] and now the day you could have used for that is already promised to something else. When you said yes, you were only looking at whether the time was taken. Now, as for his 50% number, I wouldn't get too attached to that. If you have a demanding job or you're caring for someone, leaving half your time open might sound pretty unrealistic. But an empty spot on your calendar can still be something you choose to keep.

[00:10:48] You don't have to wait until you're completely overwhelmed to do that, something to remember before the next invitation. You can appreciate an invitation and still want that Saturday to yourself. It doesn't mean the invitation was a bad one. So make those decisions today, have a great day, and I'll be back tomorrow as usual, where your optimal life awaits.