When is the cheapest way the most expensive? When is the riskiest decision the one that seems the most secure at the time?
These are good questions that most people including myself often don't consider. I have a background over many years of looking at the cost of things without really considering the cost of my decision. In other words some people would have called me cheap. A large part of this in the past was because I didn't have a whole lot of money. So I got in the habit of looking at everything from strictly the price on the price tag and not what the total cost was. As a result looking back I made some poor decisions, which at the time seemed like they were saving me money but in the long run cost me money.
Just yesterday I was faced with a decision that at first seemed like a simple decision of simply saving money, or after further thought was I really going to be saving money or would it really cost me more long-term.
Most people including myself never truly count the total cost of something we buy or don't buy.
Sometimes we think we are saving money by not purchasing something. Many times that is true when the desired product is simply a frivolous indulgence. However, if the item we elect not to purchase is something that can greatly effect our future, than we probably need to re-evaluate our priorities. For example certain types of insurance like home owners insurance are a must. I really can't comprehend how many people view health insurance as an absolute must, when it's totally geared to treating you after you get sick.
Yet these same people won't spend anything on wellness insurance. What I'm talking about here are the types of nutritional products that keep you healthy in the first place. I'm 55 years young, I have no aches and pains in my joints, I don't suffer from digestive problems like heartburn and indigestion. I don't take blood pressure or for that matter any presciption medications. I sleep very well and night and I'm full of energy. I attribute this to the nutritional products I've been taking for many years now. In fact these products not only in effect don't cost me anything, they have allowed me to make much more money in my business than I ever could have made by trying to save money by not purchasing them.
Here is what I encountered recently. I almost made a decision based upon what appeared to be the least expensive decision that in retrospect would have cost me much more.
You see we are moving at the end of the month and we were looking for a mattress for a new bed. In Atlanta they have a store called the Original Mattress Factory that actually makes mattresses superior to the big name brands typically at even less cost.
Here though is where I almost made my big mistake. Initially my wife and me were looking at this king-sized mattress and box spring set for $839 – my wife than started looking at another set with a fancier top pillow to it for $989. At first because of just the price I'm thinking I can save $150, this is a no-brainer. But then my wife insisted I really try it out. So I laid down on the $839 mattress and I liked it, then I laid down on the $989 mattress. I mean I really laid down on it, after moving back and forth between the two it hit me that I felt much more relaxed on the one for $989. I knew at that point I would get a much better more relaxing sleep on the more expensive mattress. Which, should translate into making me more alert and more effective in my business the next day. Even if it only helped me accomplish 30 minutes a day more of productive work it would pay for itself within the week, and over time that $150 extra dollars would have been money extremely well spent.
This really got me thinking as I know I have been frugal with money in many areas in the past. What types of purchases would the money be a frivolous expense and what would be smart money spent?
I narrowed my thinking down to the following: Any expense that improved the way you felt, gave you more energy, more confidence, anything that would improve your job or business performance would most likely be a good expenditure provided it wasn't way out of your budget.
Good nutrition in my opinion is definitely one of those areas. Back in 1994 before I became interested in nutrition and marketing it the thought of me even spending $25 per month would have made me cringe. That was then – this is now. Now 13 years later I spend many times that $25 each month and you know what, even though I'm 13 years older I don't have the aches and pains now that I had back then. I feel healthier today and even though my expenditure on nutritional supplements and other healthier foods has greatly increased in 13 years my income has greatly outpaced it. In fact today in large part because of decisions I made, which were really hard for me, to not always look at the initial price tag of something I have become much more successful than I ever would have become if I had just continued to look at price tags.
As a result of these wiser decisions I today feel healthier with more energy, allowing me to perform better with my business. But also wiser decisions allowed me to be willing to look at a bigger risk picture in regards to my business.
You see there was a time in my life when I looked simply at the initial cost of everything, security came first. I wasn’t willing to risk money for a better a future. What I eventually realized, however, was that sometimes the biggest risk you take is not taking a risk.
Life is full of change and if every decision is based on maintaining your status quo rather than trying to improve your circumstances than not only will you most likely not get ahead in life, but very likely your circumstances will become worse.
Because even though you may think so nothing ever stays the same, it's either getting better or becoming worse.
So the next time you're faced with a decision especially when it comes to your health or nutrition or job or business, consider that the low cost decision could cost you plenty over a lifetime.
I hope this helps you, early in my life in my 20's and 30's I would almost always look at the cheapest cost of something and looking back there is no doubt it held be back, especially at work. But then about 13 years ago I somewhat woke up and decided to go for it a little bit. There were some hard habits to break and I came close at times to making some poor decisions concerning going for the cheap or inexpensive option, but I didn't. And it's a good thing because if I had I'm convinced both my health and financial circumstances would be much poorer than they are today.
Remember life is a daring adventure or nothing at all. I urge you go for it.
