K. WOODWARD PERSONAL FINANCE
  • Start
  • Bio
  • WealthBlog
    • Books
    • Random Thoughts
    • Femail
    • GirlBanker
  • MyBooks
  • MoneySpot
  • Coach

No One Needs To Know You’re Rich

15/7/2015

3 Comments

 
Picture
One of my best friends is loaded but you’d never guess she was unless you went to her house; she drives a clapped out car and she dresses well but very simply. Let’s call her Evelyn (not her real name).

Evelyn once quit the 9-to-5 to pursue one of her hobbies but it didn’t work out the way she envisioned. She wasn’t making much money from the hobby and she ultimately lost interest in it so she decided to go back to the world of work. We met up for lunch and being the nosey person I am, I asked how much she was being paid,

“£300,000 before bonus,” she said.

For all those that need the conversion that is about $500,000 – and that was in 2012, she’ll be banking way more than that right now. Of course I was a little green with envy and for a brief instant I regretted leaving the world of banking, who couldn’t do with a couple of hundred thousand – I was happy for her too, though – if there’s one person who likes to see her friends succeed it’s me. 

Picture
Apparently we’re all the average of the closest five people in our life – financially, healthwise etc. – success and failure both have a way of rubbing onto our friends. Anyhow, I digress.


Two years into that new job she was still driving her clapped out car but she and her partner had bought a beautiful new home.They were paying down the mortgage and putting money aside so that they could retire early and pursue hobbies in their 40s. She’s about the same age as me so she was in her late 20s when she embarked on her high-paying career.

My friend is extra special in how little she cares what people think of her. Almost everyone I know, myself included, would have spent some of that money on a lot more luxuries but not Evelyn. This got me thinking: why do so many of us care what everyone else thinks? Will Smith put it best when he said,“Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like.”

Picture
How much more financial progress would we make if we simply stopped caring what other people think and exclusively focused on ourselves.

To a certain extent you will dress well and beautify yourself to look good for yourself but there is a residual amount of expenditure that’s exclusively done to impress others. This is why when you’re at home you’re happy for your hair to be stuck under a bonnet the whole day and hang around in your jogging pants all morning but you never step out looking like that.

I’m not saying you should go out looking a hot mess but a little inner reflection regarding what you do for yourself versus the things you do simply to impress others despite your better judgment wouldn’t hurt.

I don’t know about you but I think if everyone was a little more like Evelyn they would not only be happier but their bank manager would love them too. To caring less about what other people think!

Picture
Want to Build a 6-Figure Beauty Business from the comfort of your sofa? Then my course is designed for YOU! 

"Beauty" includes a WIDE range of products from the not so obvious non-perishable foods and crafts to the more obvious hair, makeup, fashion, health & fitness.

3 Comments
MissFrowz
21/7/2015 12:56:45 pm

Hi Heather,

Thanks for this post. I'm quite envious of your friend as well! That's very good for her and I'm glad for her too.
This reminds me of my husband and I. He drives a 1996 Toyota while I prefer to walk or take public transportation (I've never owned a care). We live in a modest apartment and don't have any luxury items, other than our mobile devices if you can consider them that. On the outside we look "poor" and friends often ask why we don't get a new car or a bigger, flashier place, but they don't know how big our investment accounts are.
I'm not too worried about my outward appearance; I dress very simply for work and repeat my clothing a lot, but I do make sure my hair and make-up are on point all the time.
We're very happy living our modest life, knowing that we could always upgrade our lifestyle if we wanted to (without incurring any debts). We simply choose to be content with the basics. The quality of my retirement is far more important than what car I drive today.

Reply
Heather K-W
21/7/2015 01:59:47 pm

Well done! Peer pressure is so hard to ignore. I remember when I first started working I was still using a phone without a colour screen when everyone else had blackberries and iPhones and I still used my small university TV. Everyone kept asking when I would upgrade! I did eventually "upgrade" but not because people said so but because I was ready and had satisfied all my other priorities.

Keep it up! Am I allowed to ask how old you are?

H xx

Reply
MissFrowz
22/7/2015 03:33:14 pm

Peer pressure is tough indeed! That phone issue is another problem hey? My poor Galaxy S3 has run its course now that the s6 is out, but I'll hang on until it dies!

Oh, and I'm 25 :-)




Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Heather on Wealth

    I enjoy helping people think through their personal finances and blog about that here. Join my personal finance community at The Money Spot™.

    Categories

    All
    4% Rule
    About
    Accounting
    Action
    Admin
    Airbnb
    Amazon
    Ask Heather Katsonga
    Assets
    Attitude
    Beauty Industry
    Black Culture
    Black Economics
    Branding
    Budgeting
    Business Cash Flow
    Buy To Let
    Careers
    Cars
    Cash Flow
    Change
    Children
    Content Creation
    Credit Karma
    Credit Score
    Critical Illness Cover
    Dave Ramsey
    Decreasing Term Insurance
    Defined Benefit Pension
    Diversification
    Earning More Money
    Ebay
    Education
    Emergency Fund
    Energy
    Entrepreneurship
    Equity Release
    Estate Planning
    Etsy
    Experian
    FAQs
    Fear Of Risk
    Fidelity
    Financial Crisis
    Financial Freedom
    Financial Independence
    Financial Planning
    FIRE Movement
    Freelance
    Graphics Design
    Habits
    Halifax
    Hargreaves Lansdown
    Health
    Implementation
    Income
    Initiative
    Insurance
    Investing
    ISA
    Iweb
    Jobs
    Junior ISA
    Legacy Business
    Liabilities
    Life Insurance
    Life Story
    Lodger
    Luck
    Mindset
    Mompreneur
    Money
    Money Mistakes
    Money Spot Program
    Mortgage Insurance
    Mortgages
    Net Worth
    Nurture
    Office Of National Statistics
    Online Selling
    Opportunity
    Organisation
    Parents
    Passion Business
    Patience
    Pensionbee
    Pensions
    Personal Balance Sheet
    Planning
    Poverty
    Priorities
    Priority
    Productivity
    Property
    Racism
    Refunds
    Relationships
    Rental Insurance
    Renting
    Resources
    Retirement
    Risk Taking
    Rule Of 72
    Sacrifices
    Saving
    Self Discovery
    Self Employed
    Self-Improvement
    Side Hustles
    Single Parent
    SIPP
    Sleep
    Social Norms
    Spending
    Stamp Duty
    Start Up
    Start-up
    Stay At Home Parent
    Stock Market
    Tax
    Teenagers
    Time
    Unemployment
    Vanguard
    Wage Slavery
    Wealth Protection
    Will Power

    Archives

    December 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    November 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    May 2019
    June 2018
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014

Picture

Podcast Links

Wealth Blog 

  • Children
  • Financial Independence / FIRE
  • Pensions
  • Retirement
  • Saving
Buy me a coffeeBuy me a coffee
Picture

© 2007 - 2021, The Money Spot™ ~ Make Money, Change Lives!
Heather Katsonga-Woodward, a massive personal finance fanatic.
** All views expressed are my own and not those of my employer ** Please get professional advice before re-arranging your personal finances.
Photos used under Creative Commons from Got Credit, www.hickey-fry.com, focusonmore.com, Francisco Anzola, SortedForYa, Prachi More, osipovva, Got Credit, focusonmore.com, Free For Commercial Use (FFC), Cory M. Grenier, jerseytom55, Got Credit, wuestenigel, trendingtopics, EpicTop10.com, mikecohen1872, mrmatthogg, focusonmore.com, jijake1977
  • Start
  • Bio
  • WealthBlog
    • Books
    • Random Thoughts
    • Femail
    • GirlBanker
  • MyBooks
  • MoneySpot
  • Coach