4191: What Old People Know by Barbara Wagner on Taking Action

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[00:01:08] [SPEAKER_01] This is Optimal Living Daily. What Old People Know by Barbara Wagner with BudgetsAreSexy.com. And I'm Justin Malik. We're going to jump right into today's post as we optimize your life. What Old People Know by Barbara Wagner with BudgetsAreSexy.com.

[00:01:30] [SPEAKER_01] A great deal of what J Money says is right on. Paying off debt, saving for retirement, and tracking what you spend so you can make better choices, or great advice. Don't even get me started on Love Drop, his very personal, hands-on approach to charity. I'm in love with Love Drop. But, J Money is dead wrong about one thing. When he says, I get crazy bored reading about finances by old white men in blah styles. He makes me crazy crabby.

[00:02:00] [SPEAKER_01] Truth in advertising, I'm a sorta old white woman who prefers to dress in classic, okay, blah, clothes. But don't write me off just yet. We old farts know a few things you might want to know too. Number one, invest in your health, not just your 401k. In my 20s, I ate c**t, smoked like a chimney, partied endlessly, drank to excess, never worked out, and told myself I could always lose the weight later.

[00:02:29] [SPEAKER_01] Somewhere along the line, I learned that later wasn't going to be much fun if I was in poor health. Think about it. Which sounds sexier? Rocking a hard body in your 50s with plenty of energy to enjoy your modest wealth? Or visiting a doctor every other week to deal with your stress, weight, diabetes, arthritis, and intestinal problems, and little energy to spend the millions you've piled up? Have you ever listened to old people talking about their health problems? It isn't pretty.

[00:02:58] [SPEAKER_01] Give me the hard body any day. Seriously, if I wasn't happily married, I'd really want a hot guy more than money. Not that my husband of 22 years isn't totally hot. That's why we have air conditioning. Try to fit in just a little healthy living on your way to being a millionaire. Number two, every choice you make is two choices. You just don't know it. When you choose to save, you're choosing not to spend.

[00:03:25] [SPEAKER_01] When you choose to spend money on one thing, you're choosing not to spend it on something else. Any choice is a good one as long as you choose what you really want. It's a fabulous idea to save all your money for retirement in your 20s because time and compounding will make you rich unless you really want to experience a little world travel while you're young enough to do it with just a backpack and good hiking shoes. Being rich in memories is a terrific goal.

[00:03:53] [SPEAKER_01] It's also fine to spend a third of your income leasing a BMW unless you'd really like to have enough coin to actually date women who like guys with BMWs. Anytime some expert recommends a particular action, ask yourself what you won't be doing if you make that choice. Same goes for any bright ideas you come up with on your own. As long as you know all of the choices you're making, you'll do fine. And number three, do it now.

[00:04:22] [SPEAKER_01] If you wait till you have enough money to leave home, get married, buy a house, make babies, invest, or anything else, you won't do anything. There's never enough money to do things perfectly, but there's always enough money to make a start. I get it, the lousy economy is making things extraordinarily difficult for 20-somethings, but putting your life on hold and living with your parents in your 20s is a special kind of.

[00:04:49] [SPEAKER_01] When I was in my 20s, oh god, I'm about to give you the classic old person back in my day speech, unemployment was at 8%, inflation was in double digits, and wages were even worse if you were a woman. I lived in a crummy apartment in a scary part of town, wore clothes from the thrift store, and ate a lot of ramen. Man, was it fun. I was living my own life, humble as it was.

[00:05:16] [SPEAKER_01] My first attempt at investing was $50 savings bonds because my employer would deduct $25 from my paycheck to buy them, and I couldn't easily spend them. My friends with enough money to invest in mutual funds thought I was pathetic, but it got me started on achieving financial freedom. And it turns out the bonds have paid 6% every year for over 20 years and are the best investment in my portfolio. If you're lucky enough to find true love, don't wait till you can afford a wedding.

[00:05:44] [SPEAKER_01] Get married and eat ramen together. Money doesn't buy happiness, but love absolutely does. If you and your soulmate love children, have them when you're young, and you'll be young enough to enjoy your grandchildren too. Whatever your dreams, get going now. Don't try to figure everything out before you take action. You'll never hear an old person say, I just wish I'd waited longer to find my bliss.

[00:06:14] [SPEAKER_01] You just listened to the post titled, What Old People Know? by Barbara Wagner with BudgetsAreSexy.com. And I'll be right back with my commentary. The hot weather lately has been a reminder that little habits matter. We spend so much time looking for ways to improve, and sometimes it starts with paying more attention to the basics, like hydration. And that's what I love about instant hydration. Their formula includes sodium, potassium, magnesium, and aquaman with zero sugar.

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[00:07:10] [SPEAKER_01] and use my promo code OLD for over 40% off your first subscription order. It's Instant Hydration's best offer available. That's instanthydration.com slash old, promo code old. Ready to upgrade your PC? Shop now during the Dell Top Tech event and find the award-winning tech the experts trust most, like the Dell XPS 13 laptop. Study, work, and do more with a thin and light design,

[00:07:40] [SPEAKER_01] a vivid touchscreen, long-lasting battery life, and impressive performance powered by Intel Core processors. While shopping, you'll also find great prices on monitors and accessories and perks like Dell Rewards, fast free shipping, and financing with flexible payment options. Visit Dell.com slash deals. That's Dell.com slash deals. Thank you to Barbara Wagner. Definitely a more unique writer for this show.

[00:08:09] [SPEAKER_01] The point about waiting until you have enough money to do certain things not being a great idea makes a lot of sense. We often put things off that are really important to us because of that fear of not having enough. But in the cases where we purposefully make the choice despite the fear, usually it works out fine in the end. We make things happen. I'm not advocating for recklessness, but more of the balanced approach of not being too fearful,

[00:08:38] [SPEAKER_01] yet still thinking about and planning for the future and for things that mean a lot to us. If we have to sacrifice or work harder after the fact to make those things happen, well, that's life. She said it herself. Her 20s were a time when things were not rosy. She had to live a certain way to make ends meet. Yet, she looks back on it fondly. And that's because, well, first we adapt,

[00:09:04] [SPEAKER_01] but we also tend to see experiences as being even better than they actually were. So if you find yourself holding off on something very meaningful, it could be time to reassess and see if that fear is being a bit blown out of proportion. And with that, thank you for being here. Have a great rest of your day, and I'll see you tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.