[E14] The Positive Side of Comparing Your Finances to Others

<p>Welcome to the Money Made Good Podcast where we teach people how to handle the Big 6 of money and personal finance:</p><ul><li>Earning</li><li>Spending</li><li>Saving</li><li>Investing</li><li>Giving </li><li>Dreaming</li></ul><p>If this is your first time listening to the podcast, I’ll give you my 10-second definition of what it takes to build wealth. I’ve boiled it down to a simple equation with four variables.</p><p><strong>Awareness + Sound Principles + Discipline + Means = Wealth </strong></p><p>That last variable one is pretty important. </p><p>I’m a big believer in living within your means. And as boring as it sounds, it’s one of the foundational elements of wealth-building. It doesn’t matter which way you slice it – it’s impossible to build wealth without living within your means. </p><p>Living within your means means spending less than you bring home every month and using that surplus to to save and invest.</p><p>I’ve laid this out in previous episodes (like Episode 1 and Episode 10)</p><p>One of the keys to punching back against Aspirational Wealth is escaping the “Keeping Up With the Joneses” mentality.</p><p>HOWEVER, it can be interesting to look at what others are doing and to use it as a measuring stick for positive financial decision-making.</p><p>This is something you can actually do <strong>using a website called StatusMoney.com</strong></p><p>Every year  , the average American spends:</p><ul><li>•  $18,886 on housing (including property taxes) ($1,573 per month)</li><li>•  $9,049 on transportation ($754 per month))</li><li>•  $7,203 on food ($600 per month)</li><li>•  $2,913 on entertainment ($242 per month)</li></ul><p>How to Combat Social Pressure Spending</p><ul><li>Who are you spending time with? </li><li>Limit cash on hand (spending limits // out of reach)</li><li>Focus on earning/creating</li><li>Learn to say no</li></ul>