Wealthy individuals often mentalize their expenses and earnings in multiples of significant currency values, such as $10 bills.
Stepping into the Kitchen: financial guru Nicolas Bérubé shares his kitchen-side musings on wealth every Sunday. His articles, delivered in a newsletter the next day, keep his readers thinking.
On our site One rainy Sunday, as I was stirring my famous vegetarian chili, it hit me. I calculated the cost of the ingredients, and ten dollars was all it took to fill a pot to the brim.
A serving was roughly $1.66 with rice, or around $2 without. So, ten dollars fed five dinners, ten breakfasts, and a month's supply of homemade bread.
I don't count beans every day, but integrating thrifty habits lead to long-term happiness and savings.
Last week, La Presse Affaires published a dossier on the hidden costs of food delivery services, like Uber Eats. The report exposed how such platforms can sneakily drain our wallets, with dozens of dollars fading away each week.
Many fall for the convenience of not having to chop an onion, swiping a screen, and having dinner delivered. But in the grand scheme, it's a trap.
Money management is often perceived as something beyond our control, requiring large quantities of cash. We set our sights on bigger salaries, year-end bonuses, and think we'll be financially secure.
False. Getting rich is a choice we make, and it's typically not about big money. Most millionaires didn't amass fortunes with increased salaries, but with smart, small decisions, like the choice between Uber Eats and cooking a meal at home.
Our brain struggles to connect the dots between small and large amounts. Uber Eats seems like a small expense, but a $50 weekly splurge adds up to $37,600 over ten years, considering a 7% annual return on investment. That climbs to over $795,000 for an entire career.
Schools seldom teach financial principles, parents rarely pass them on, and advertising campaigns often ignore them. Yet, food delivery services saturate our lives with commercials, normalizing extravagant spending.
If you're already wealthy, a meal or two here and there won't break the bank. But for the average person aiming to grow financially, food delivery habits can push dreams further away.
Wise financial advice from blogger Peter Adeney, alias Mr. Money Mustache, asserts that healthy bodies and wallets often result from simple, counterintuitive decisions. He encourages prioritizing necessities, such as bike trails and debt repayment, before indulging in luxuries like dining out or luxury cars.
Unfortunately, we tend to reverse the order, leading to exorbitant interest payments, relinquishing control of our income, and delaying the time our investments start working harder than we do.
Remember, ten dollars today could be a million tomorrow. Ten dollars wasted on food delivery is a luxurious meal gone to waste. As the wise say, he who forgets pays the price.
- The transport of ingredients from the food-and-drink section to the kitchen can significantly impact one's personal-finance, as demonstrated by the example of making a pot of chili costing just $10.
- In terms of business strategies, it might seem that offering food-and-drink services, such as Uber Eats, provide convenience, but the hidden costs can impact one's long-term financial stability, with $37,600 over ten years being added to one's expenses due to a $50 weekly splurge.
- Embracing a lifestyle that focuses on necessities, like cooking meals at home instead of dining out, and prioritizing savings and debt repayment, as suggested by blogger Peter Adeney (Mr. Money Mustache), can lead to both personal-finance growth and a healthier lifestyle.
