Stop Following the Crowd

      Welcome to The Cultural Skeptic. I’m glad you’re here. This is the first post and you’re invited into the catacombs of my thinking. Fear not. It’s not that scary, just different. 

   I’m all about breaking free from the herd mentality and cultivating independent thinking. This helps make the best decisions, as opposed to only what’s popular.

   This mindset breaks from the pack because I don’t accept info at face value, nor should you. We don’t need to reject everything but at least question the narrative, the source and the motive driving it. 

   We ask questions, inquire and explore alternative viewpoints. Thinking out of the box matters in many areas, but personal finance is possibly the top.  

Money. How the herd mentality can keep you broke

   The first of the sacred cows I’d like to shoot is money management.  As a culture we do horribly stupid things surrounding personal finance, and I volunteer to call BS and say the emperor is naked. 

   I love America. But we have fallen under the spell of keeping up with the Joneses and trying to look rich. People go to great lengths to appear they’re doing well. Some go to the precipice of bankruptcy to impress their broke friends. 

   I have met the Joneses. They have money fights, work too much and worry about the future. Don’t follow their lead. It’s insane.

 But there’s always good news.  If we have a problem, there’s a solution. What if we shift our paradigm? Instead of looking rich and throwing money around, we do the slower, quieter work to be financially independent?

   What if we learn the steps to secure a stable financial future? Why not hold a longer term perspective so we won’t be one bad day away from desperation? It’s completely possible.  

   Previous generations had a healthier approach to money. They avoided debt after experiencing the hardship of the Great Depression. If they didn’t have the resources, they simply didn’t buy. 

   In our modern mindset we discard those old ways as outdated and we do things our way. 

   But what if today’s model leads the masses into consumer debt, anxiety and dismal slavery? Should we stick with it because it’s the conventional wisdom everyone else participates in?

      Or . . . Should we stand up and boldly yank the cable that stops the train like in the old westerns?

   As Robert Kiyosaki famously argues, many people think they’re buying assets when they are actually liabilities. 

   A car or boat is an asset. It’s valuable and could be sold for cash, therefore it’s an asset. The car commutes to a job, which brings in revenue. Doesn’t that make it an asset? 

   Actually, no. The interest you pay on the financing, coupled with the deep depreciation land it solidly in the liabilities column. Its value drops faster than the loan balance.

    It doesn’t mean we should never buy them, but understand, it won’t help to build wealth if that’s your goal. 

   This delusion is a pitfall that plagues so many people and keeps them on the treadmill of working hard and getting nowhere.

    Our ship can come near the rocks when our main focus is looking rich while we never try to be rich. Buying things isn’t the same as quality money management, it’s shopping. 

   Few money gurus talk about the damage it does to your self image if you know you’re faking it and can barely afford the lifestyle. This is the financial version of imposter syndrome. It isn’t living authentically. And authenticity rocks. You’ll never fear being found out if it’s the real deal and not just a window display.

      We can’t refurbish the nation’s mindset. But we can change our own situation. 

   The best place to start is in your mind. Think differently than the crowd. If being debt free makes you a weirdo, embrace it. I prefer the term free thinker myself. Peace in money matters is enormously more beautiful than looking successful to strangers. 

   Breaking free of the herd mentality will bring options that are not even on the table now, and will allow you to build wealth over time. It will open up wider horizons for your tomorrow.

    Learn to direct your funds

By prioritizing urgent needs and most desirable wants, the bad decisions and impulse buys drop off at the bottom.

   Make a budget work.

If you don’t make your dollars work for you, they will wander off and never be heard from again. A simple budget is a great tool for money management and personal finance. An imperfect plan works better than not having a plan at all. 

   You’ll have pitfalls and make mistakes. It happens. On the next budget plan, you’ll know where the problem areas are.

Start a savings account

   People get into massive debt because they have no savings to bail them out when a problem arises.

   Pay off debt. Credit card balances can grow imperceptibly until it becomes a crisis. Reserves of your own money will prevent that. You’ll sleep better as well.

   Learn to invest over time. If the goal is to build wealth and create a secure financial future, investing matters. 

   There are many great options. Explore which suits you best and dive in. A modest amount invested consistently over decades can grow dramatically through compounding. Even if you make mistakes and don’t choose the best investments, you will still have more for retirement than the vast majority of your neighbors. $25 per week could completely change your future.

Final Thoughts

   We all have only one lifetime on this planet. Don’t waste it in a self-imposed debtors prison. Resources and helpful information abound. This can be a crazy fun world when you have money to enjoy it. 

   I’ll be exploring more ways to think out of the box financially moving forward.

   However, The Cultural Skeptic isn’t only about money. We’ll hit several other topics too, including freedom, faith, culture, perspectives and anything we value that makes life rock.

   Stick around. You’ll be glad you did.