Afforded Luxury and Budgeted Necessity

Wednesday, September 20, 2006 at 11:25am by Gina Laverde in Life

I’m guilty of over-thinking almost every aspect of my business and life. But, a closer look at my own priority list, lead me to believe that I could still do better. Okay, okay I don’t want to really get into the whole life’s a journey thing and how we can always improve – at least not today.

Working from home means that I’m constantly immersed in my home environment. So when it’s dirty or loud, or when the radio’s blasting a song I don’t like, or the baby’s crying, or the phone’s ringing, or the neighbor kids are climbing through my window – I’ve got to deal with it. And I have to produce quality work. And lately, I’ve had to work under lots of unnecessary stress.

I like to live in a clean house. I love the smell of a clean house. I love the smell of coffee brewing and food cooking in a clean house. And furthermore, I love to eat good food in a clean house. And FURTHERMORE I love to work while drinking coffee in my clean food-smelling house. These things are on the top of my goal list. If I don’t have organization and good healthy food at my core, well, I’ll spend the day dwelling on it.

Now, I’m a firm believer that as an entrepreneur, I should be organized enough to tackle many jobs at once. But, I am also a firm believer that I shouldn’t try to tackle EVERY SINGLE job that needs to get done. It’s not about knowing your limits as much as getting the max benefit from your expertise.

After a 13 hour workday, I’d rather take a nap or rent a movie than mop floors or scrub the tub. But, I’m only 27, and the thought of hiring a housekeeper seems a bit wrong. I’m fully capable of doing it myself. And the cost involved seems like a luxury I cannot afford.

But, think of the opportunity costs. Hiring someone to clean my house for 3 hours allows me to work for 3 hours. I benefit from the work, and from the aroma of pine – which allows me to produce better work. I make more money working than it costs to have somebody clean. Sounds pretty good in theory, BUT, I and still had a hard time justifying it.

I’m completely accustomed to the tight budget and peanut butter and jelly lifestyle. I’ve learned to make huge financial sacrifices in order to grow my business. But, I’ve also learned that affording some near luxuries allowed me time cut back on what I thought were necessities.

It’s usually feasible to spend less on food. Yeah, we’ve all got to eat, and eating healthy is a major part of maintaining energy that we need to keep working. And it’s as if our neighborhood grocery stores use against us. Enter your 24 hour super grocer at midnight to get bagels and toothpaste and I’ll bet you’re not even looking at the price. Or maybe you settle on generic and think you’re getting a deal.

But value cards, generics and coupons really only take you so far in Budgetland. Take advantage of them – yes. But shop smarter. Buy in bulk whenever you can, so that you’re not forced to make a midnight t.p. run. Last week, while perusing the organic section of my local supermarket – I almost began dry-heaving as I witnessed shoppers filing their carts with $5 half-gallons of soy milk. I get better stuff at the fair trade shop for half the price.

My poor naive neighbors spend so much on groceries that they’ll struggle to afford gas to the store. I do all of your shopping in one day. I recommend clipping coupons and using them when your store has a sale. That multiplies your savings. Look for smaller markets that have regular low prices. My area favorites sell organic breads and cereals for under $2. And I live in Chicago. If you’re spending more on more on un-organics – that can probably change.

Make grocery lists and research the best places to shop – and steer clear of false sales that lure you into buying stuff you don’t need. They’ll always try to get us with food because we’re hungry and tired. But, I’ve challenged myself to spend less, eat HEALTHIER and have more $$ to afford a house-keeper. It’s working for me.

Sometimes what seems like a luxury is actually a necessity for staying sane and keeping organized. Do you need an assistant? Do you need a nanny or house-keeper? Don’t feel guilty. Trust the experts to their job and do better at yours.

One Comment

Leave a Comment