When do our expenses become investments?

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” Wayne Dyer

Everybody has a different perspective about life. We all have different upbringings, education levels and cultures, so it is inevitable to have a different approach to similar situations. For example, whenever we watch a movie, I always ask my husband, “What did you like best about this movie?” Sometimes, he mentions something I initially don’t even notice. So, I find it quite interesting and funny when we compare our opinions. I believe that observing others’ conclusions and understanding why they think the way they do can be really eye-opening. Also, it can be sometimes life changing.

Several years ago, one of my friends taught me that I was missing a great deal about how I evaluated my monthly expenses. According to me, it was simple math. I was saving as much as I can to feel secure, so I was thinking I was doing pretty well. However, after listening to him carefully I started to see his point of view. He had a totally different mindset about categorizing expenses that changed my perspective in a blink of an eye.

So, here is his approach:  if we spend our money on a good book, an educational subscription, a workshop or training, we need to consider it as an investment in our future. So, we should not look at our monthly expenses and feel like we are spending a lot of money, especially when we have such expenses. When we look at the big picture, we can clearly see that taking a training we need or purchasing a book that helps us grow and learn may contribute to our life immensely. We may learn new skills and get better at our jobs and become more efficient. We may read a book, or we may practice yoga or meditation through an app in order to become more mindful, and we may start enjoying our lives better. So, when we see the benefits of these activities, it is not really fair to consider them as expenses and worry about the money we spent on them.

It is not easy to change our habits. Even though I liked his approach, and it changed  my attitude towards listing my expenses, I could not apply this logic to my life immediately. It’s been three years and finally I can say that I’m almost where I want to be. Here are some of my recent investments that I’ve done for my future. I’ve subscribed to The Economist since November 2018, the Calm meditation app since June 2019, the Harvard Business Review since March 2020, and the Down Dog yoga app since May 2020. Also,when I see a book from which I feel I can learn something useful, I purchase it without any hesitation. Not only do I purchase it for myself, but also, I purchase an extra copy for my sister. I’m very grateful to my friend for broadening my view. Also, I am very happy to see that he is successfully launching his financial advice business to help others to manage their finances successfully. Everyone can benefit by reading his recommendations at his web site moneypatrol.com in the money talk section.

Overall, it is necessary to be open to hear others’ points of view and understand their approach to things and life. It may change our views and contribute to our lives in positive ways. Of course, we don’t have to change; however, seeing others’ opinions can help us to consider situations in different perspectives. Wayne Dyer put it in words beautifully, “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”