Inefficiency and Luxury

Inefficiency and Luxury

I spend a lot of time thinking about luxury. Not in the traditional sense of champagne wishes and caviar dreams, but more about what makes life feel abundant. What are the things that make us feel wealthy? Again, I use words that describe monetary acumen, but my meaning goes far deeper. There are many privileges we have that fill our cup so to speak: friendship, love, free time, choice. Strangely enough, I have found that in my own life there is a pleasure that certainly exceeds many others. Inefficiency. There is an undeniable connection between inefficiency and luxury in my current mental state.

I feel most wealthy when I am being inefficient. Who would have known? While this just might not be the most frugal way to live, it’s what makes me happy.

Here are a few examples.

Travel Rewards

I have a confession to make. I travel a significant amount on other people’s dimes for my public speaking gigs. And I don’t have a single frequent flier number on any airline. That’s right. I have never traveled hacked. Never earned a free flight. Not once.

Now, I see you wagging your finger at me. You blanch at the idea that I am leaving so much money on the table. How could I be so wasteful? So inefficient?

Yet, that is exactly my point between the connection between inefficiency and luxury. I already have enough. I am already financially independent. Saving a few thousand dollars a year on travel will not make me any more or less free.

But, I utterly hate keeping track of frequent flier miles, tracking numbers, or dealing with rotating credit cards. Spending my time doing that will actually cause me to have a decrease in level of happiness.

Conversely, leaving all that money on the table to avoid something I find tasteless…pure luxury.

And I enjoy that.

Budgeting

Track. Track. Track. Keep a budget and stick to it. Know exactly how much money is going in and how much you are spending. This is the traditional and well worn advice in the financial independence world. And it mostly serves.

Yet, I have never been able to keep a budget. In fact, the first time I actually tracked my monthly expenses was long after I was financially free. It lasted for a few months. And then I got tired of it.

Sure, there were places I could have saved money. Did I really have to eat out that much? Maybe I would have caught that unnecessary repeating charge to my credit card earlier.

While all that may be true, I still come back to the relationship between inefficiency and luxury. I could budget and pay closer attention. I could probably save some real money. And I would likely be miserable. I neither have the mental energy nor fortitude to track so closely.

Sorry, it may be a cop out. But I just don’t want to spend my time worrying about such things.

DIY

What could be better than DIY? Why pay someone else when you can do it yourself? Certainly there is nothing to argue about here. Yet, I sometimes think we take this concept too far. I, personally, don’t want to learn the intricacies of electric work or plumbing. It is not how I choose to spend my time. I would rather pay someone else to do it. Even at a premium.

The same goes for house and lawn work. There is nothing I dread more than a weekend spent in the yard raking leaves, mowing, or gardening. I absolutely despise such things.

Does that mean I am relegated to having a dirty house with failing mechanicals and a disheveled front yard? Of course not. I can simply pay someone else to do it. As easy as that.

In fact, I enjoy the connection between inefficiency and luxury so much, I am willing to keep working as a doctor to avoid such onerous activities. It is worth that much to me.

Final Thoughts

There is nothing wrong with inefficiency. In fact, it can be a luxury. For me, I spend money on what I don’t like to do in order to spend as much time as possible doing what I do like to do.

It’s even worth keeping a job to have a little extra cash.