Plenty of false moves in finance
- B.J. Yoder: Young Money
- November 1, 2021
- 903
I love watching magicians, especially David Blaine and all he does. The sleight of hand, the distraction from what they don’t want you to see, it is mind boggling sometimes, but it always makes for great entertainment. One thing I do notice after a while is they make false moves to turn your eyes away from what they are doing. It is a move that doesn’t accomplish anything, except completing the trick.
There are false moves in our financial life, and they were brought to my attention from an article showing how we have actions in our lives that make us feel like we’re saving money, but they aren’t accomplishing anything. I thought I would do my own take on these actions because I am guilty of about every single one of them.
The first is sweating the small things, fretting over the financial tidbits that won’t matter in a month, much less a year. These can be buying more things because it makes the shipping online free or something as small as a $5 surcharge you were unaware of at the restaurant (trust me, I was berated over $7 when I worked at Der Dutchman’s). It’s not worth your time to worry over something you will forget about next week. You’re not actually saving money by spending an hour trying to save $5 while online shopping.
The next is a personal attack on myself, and that is spending money on food but never eating it and then throwing it away. I remember getting on a big health kick and thinking I’ll eat canned tuna every day for lunch, and that is how I will live. That lasted a good two days and that tuna was never eaten, and I think it is still in my pantry. That’s sunken money, and vegetables and fruit do not last as long as canned tuna, so the lifespan can only last so long. If you decide to change your diet, stick to it and don’t waste money on food that will never be eaten.
This one was in the article I read, but I’ve talked about it before, so I thought I would mention it one more time — the subject of clothes, appliances or any other trinket that is on sale. Just because a waffle maker is 50% off doesn’t mean you will become a world-class waffle cook. Justifying a purchase is the first sign of wasted money. “I’ve always wanted to get into archery” does not justify dropping $500 on a bow, or “I’ve been wanting to get outside of my fashion realm” means you will probably never wear the shirt that is on the sales rack. Remember, 90% of the time something is on sale for a reason.
Last, and it is one I am currently guilty of, is one of the biggest false financial moves. It is taking the time to sit down, writing with a pen on paper, putting together a budget, and then not following it at all. Figuring out how much goes to what category and what category should be issued cutbacks is a tough job and time-consuming. You finish up and feel like you’re finally on the right path because you are finally the boss of your money, and you will tell it where to go. Then halfway through the month, it is realized the “eating out” category is already $50 above budget and not a penny has been saved. Don’t fall into this trap. Like eating and buying healthy foods, stick to the budget you worked hard to make.
There are plenty of false moves in finance that make you feel like you’re accomplishing something when you’re not. These are traps and a waste of time — know how to discern which moves are false and which actually are getting something done.
Holmes County native BJ Yoder is an insurance agent by day and a finance enthusiast by night. This column is for informational purposes only. He can be emailed at benjamin.john.yoder@gmail.com.