Don't let the "lifestyle" trap you...
One of the things I've discussed with a friend of mine lately was about how one's lifestyle can be the door to their ruins. The lifestyle trap is real and without a solid principles, it's easy to fall back into it.
Welcome to my brain dump, it's morning and when I can sit down, sipping a cup of coffee while contemplating life and emptying it out a little.
I am not sure about where you are but where I am from, the social setting pretty much lies in comparison. They compare not only wealth but also your physical appearance. It's quite a toxic society to live in but because people normalized it, that phenomenon is something fairly normalized.
In order to fit in, we are sold the lies of conformity. We have to buy this or that just so we could be seen as normal. That is when, though we are not as fortunate as the "old money" are, we tried all means to keep up.
Where I am from, gambling and online lending are a thing. It is a massive industry where people want to change their lives overnight. They wanted the comfort that is often portrayed online, from the things they've seen where people always showcase their highlight reels.
The thing is, our life and situation is accumulation of the things we do. I acknowledge that luck can be a factor but really, are we only going to chase luck rather than hard work?
Lifestyle trap can be a challenge as well when you have a certain job. For instance, you can still be poor as a corporate worker or you can be insanely rich and comfortable even with just a $300 salary/month. It sounds crazy but lifestyle and keeping up to what our corporate colleague has, certainly can cost a lot.
One thing I learned from high nett individuals is that a lot of them are not flashy. They are not the typical "crazy rich" portrayed online. Most of them are humble and invested pretty much their money and time to their "creation", whatever that is. They don't spend exorbitant amount of money on the so-called lifestyle that includes jetsetting around. One thing I notice is that even that is a luxury for them that can be done at least once or twice a year.
I noticed that once certain someone gets a lot of money, it's easy to spend it on things that don't elevate their life. Sure, experience is a great thing to have but from what I learned, they are mere stories that it's OK to have in moderation but not all the times. We can indulge in life's pleasure but the thing, who are we really trying to impress? are we just self-soothe our problems and not intending to fix it?
I suppose, I was also trapped into the lifestyle of digital nomadism that people around that age bracket are mostly someone very established. It's hard to be a nomad when you're starting out because it is one of the most expensive lifestyle that could turn you into a digital hobo very quick. Today, I could only reflected on that. Now I also think more about the assets I haven't managed to accumulate. In retrospect, I was self-soothing myself from the problems I didn't want to fix.
Last year, my life changed drastically where I learned that things could go wrong in our life. Without savings, we can be pretty much doomed. These days, I am finally debt free and could have more disposable money to spend. However, I reminded myself that I won't go back to my past-self where if things go wrong, I only had a few savings to cover it all. I don't want another year of rock bottom, I am manifesting and working to a year of comfort and prosperity. Even if that means, I could have less experience in life.
 | 𝘔𝘢𝘤 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘢 & 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘳 . 𝘈 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨, 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴, 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯! 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘱𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘈 𝘳𝘦-𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰. |
Very inspirational read. Thanks for this. I think every culture has sort of class system still in place. Each with it's own set of snobberies and social norms. Most people fit into one clique or the other and often groups tend to form around the same income brackets. I think it's important to stay grounded, not chase after what the "Jones" are doing, and just do our own thing.
2024 was weird for me too. I spent a big part of the year accumulating some debt as well. My 2025 goal is to be debt free again. It's just an easier way of life IMHO.
Anyway, I ramble.
I heard that thing of 2024 being quite an odd year for many. I hope next year works out well for you and you'll be debt free again. I am very close to being debt free and it's really freeing to know that. So, let's manifest 2025 for being a great year for a lot of us!
Sounds like a good plan to me! Here's to 2025!
It seems that the world offers you the idea of a "lifestyle" whereby you must become a slave in order to enjoy something that is more like a mirage. Some people ruin a whole life thinking that "luck" will at some point change them completely, when in most cases the results are quite unpleasant 🧐
Lifestyle is not synonymous with life to do whatever you want, but to enjoy based on principles that benefit you and allow you to give the best of you 😉 Excellent reflection friend 😊.
I was moved by the writings.
@macchiata, you're rewarding 2 replies from this discussion thread.