Home & Work: Dollars and Sense

This Week’s Good Work Insight

Many people have money challenges. (We hear about this in interviews when discussing salary requirements.)

Inflation, home prices, mortgage rates, gas prices—they don’t help.

Too, many of our candidates share that they have large families.

So, money pressures are understandable all around. Some people simply don’t earn enough money. Others need to pay off debts.

But I think many of us need to change our financial habits (more planning, more saving) and grow our imaginations around money: How can we be happy with less? How can we be more happy with more imagination?

Some ideas:

Retry things you’ve stopped doing. Late in the summer my family and I went camping at our sons’ persistent requests. We hadn’t camped in years and years. No one was eaten by a mountain lion, and we are now planning another trip.

Make exploring part of the pleasure. I have the habit of buying books. I am almost at the point of virtuosity in this habit. I do read a lot, but I haven’t gone to the library in years  to test out books before I buy them.

We interview lots of people with great jobs who make good money, but sometimes their consumption habits have gotten ahead of them—and their spending habits and happiness-imagination could benefit from some growth.

Changing organizations is stressful in and of itself. A higher salary generally comes with more expectations. For many people, the increase in time required to earn more might be better spent at home or elsewhere.

The question merits thought: Are your habits driving unneeded work change?

Cordially,

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P.S. I highly recommend this Arthur Brooks Podcast with Dave Ramsey “Six Rules for Greater Happiness with Dave Ramsey”

P.P.S. Pat Lencioni’s book (or audiobook) —The Three Big Questions for a Frantic Family: A Leadership Fable About Restoring Sanity to the Most Important Organization in Your Life — is helpful for being more strategic about your home life:

P.P.P.S. I know many people who recommend You Need A Budget (YNAB)

P.P.P.P.S. Talk with your great-grand parents, grandparents, and parents about the joys in hard financial times and the habits that got them through.