The following is a post by a guest author, Simon, about how to overcome unwelcome expenses by insulating your happiness with financial independence. Simon writes a blog aimed at improving our financial education. Find out more at the end of the post.
The cats among the funky pigeons
Yesterday was a big day for me. I turned 30.
I returned to my old home to celebrate with my parents and my twin sister, who was also adapting to this new reality.
On the living room floor, a small pile of recent post sat next to a modest pile of wrapped gifts. In accordance with house rules, I opened the cards and post first.
As I read the contents, my jaw dropped. I sat back in disbelief. My family begged to be filled in. All I could think was: ‘How could this be?’ How could I be so unlucky?’
You could call them the cats among the funky pigeons. Not one, but two speeding tickets had arrived, loudly demanding that I provide further information so that the constabularies of two counties could decide my fate.
After ten years of squeaky clean driving, I had managed to incur two speeding tickets on consecutive days. I was mortified.
I barely had time to ponder over the vanishingly small odds of this happening, before I was presented with the financial cost; £100 per fine. These letters would set me back by at least £200.
Down but not out
It was fair to say that this comfortably exceeded the cash haul from the remainder of the cards! For the first time in my life, I was apparently ‘down’ financially by the time I’d finished opening all the cards.
But… I didn’t care.
I could have spent the next few hours incensed at my misfortune, but I shrugged it off.
I could have let this ruin my birthday. But instead, I smiled at the comic timing of that letter opening.
Now, as you will not know me, I should probably fill you in on a key point. I am not a monk-like spirit. I have no secret trick involving incense or meditation that would normally allow me to dodge a blow like this.
My birthday contrasts sharply with the evening when aged 17, a bar short-changed me £10 as I bought a drink from them with a twenty-pound note.
Frustrated by the bar’s refusal of wrongdoing, I spent the rest of the evening miffed. I carried around an angry look and refused to buy another drink. Ten pounds had just ruined my night.
This time, however, my mind responded differently. I soon as I had processed the news, I began immediately rationalising this expense away.
· “£200 will not affect your life in any way.”
· “If the stock market had dropped by half a per cent, you would lose more than this.”
· “This is simply an administrative expense like council tax or rent that just needs to be paid.”
Aiming for financial independence
What these two stories tell us more broadly, is that our ability to recover from a financial setback is very much a question of circumstance.
· How much was the loss as a percentage of our wealth?
· Will it affect our ability to pay for things we need?
· Will it push back our short or long term goals?
For me, this serves as a fresh reminder and motivation to keep saving and investing. In other words, the pursuit of full financial independence. I hope that it will inspire you to insulate your happiness with financial independence as well.
We don’t often think about our savings as a happiness insurance policy, but this appears to be the case. Being able to deflect upsets, just like the above, is like having a rare superpower.
Events will always turn against us. If we can remain positive in the face of them, and keep the important things in mind, we will cut a happier path through each day.
I was only able to dismiss these fines because when I told myself that it did not matter, I sincerely knew this to be true. The same could not be said for someone who would next have to worry about where the £200 would come from.
The more money we can save, the thicker this ‘happiness insulation’ becomes!
Do you insulate your happiness with financial Independence? How thick is your happiness insulation? Like me, you may have found that as your savings have grown, you have been able to rise above unwelcome surprises!
About the Author
Simon writes content for Financial Expert, a website which provides free education on basic investing concepts such as how to invest in shares and the stock market. Financial Expert’s articles include summaries and quizzes which allow you to test your knowledge.
Many thanks to Simon for this post full of sound advice. Check out his blog! If you enjoyed this post, you might also like Reasons to Save an Emergency Fund.
Julia says
Great article. My Freedom account has saved the day more times than I can count over the last 15 years or so.