Because of my lifestyle, values, and upbringing, I have prided myself in being thrifty and cost-cutting. Sometimes, I get to Joy from spotting good deals and Bargains no one else has body before. I’ve gotten luxury dress shoes and entire gourmet meals for bargain basement prices Buy shopping for offers and looking at used products.
However, I realized that always having this mindset can prevent you from the abundance you seek. Many successful, wealthy people, like Will Smith, still struggle with that scarcity mindset from when they were poor. I heard will talking about it with Oprah on her show, explaining how use reading the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad to extinguish those reactive habits to cling on to money as if he doesn’t have a lot. This mindset and behavior Can manifest in different ways.
So that is one of many reasons that I decided to create a fun list of things in activities I wanted to do when I get rich. The only rule I had here was to only list real, tangible stuff that I could buy and hold rather than ridiculous, monstrous, cliche stuff like yachts and private planes.
Here is a sample of some of my list to give you an idea. Everyone’s list will be different based on their tastes.
– Brand new boots and shoes from Allen Edmonds.
– Self-watering plants.
– Suit Supply suits (a linen and a navy blue).
– Premium leather belt ($100).
– Burgundy vintage wood hangers for closet.
– Premium transparent shoe boxes.
– Pasture raised eggs.
– Chocolate brown wood power strip with USB braided silk cord.
– MacBook with a wood cover.
– A dryer with a steam setting to reduce wrinkles.
Another reason I made this list was because I was bearable familiar with the whole Tim Ferriss idea that when you start to quantify what you want, you’ll realize the mass makes it so that a lot of these things are actually attainable and not locked behind some unreachable income.
A couple months into my journey of listing these items, I figured I should buy some of them. I know that self-love and self-care is often neglected for men, yet it’s so beneficial for your mental health, happiness, self-esteem, and general well-being. You need to give yourself time to soothe your mind and body to recover from burnout and enjoy life.
When you’re telling yourself you’re not worthy of anything and you’re always scrimping and saving to only allow yourself to get the minimum, cheapest products on the shelf, your destroying your abundance mindset and self esteem. I’m at least one standard deviation above the norm on this because I’m well familiar with the best tactics to get the cheapest price. I often gravitate to the item that is the cheapest price per ounce or per pound whereas the average consumer gravitates to their favorite brands, even if it’s small stuff like laundry detergent or soap bars.
This video does a great job of explaining the benefits and techniques to upgrade your lifestyle and add some luxury on a budget.
With all that being said, I figured what the heck. Why not spend $50 to $100 to treat myself? That won’t break the bank. Here are the male self care products I bought and the results (my overall satisfaction with the product).
As detailed in the video above, I bought a set of three Love Beauty Planet Bath Bombs. I had never used the basketball before but it had been on my bucket list since it just seems so luxurious, fun, and soothing. These bath bombs were vegan, gluten-free, organic, and everything in between. You’re clearly a premium product, with all these luxury sounding sense, including lavender, Moroccan oil, and coconut. I felt hyped to try it out.
But when I finally tried it out, the results were disappointing. I was expecting some bubbles or something, but they just fizzled a lot and then disappeared. I really couldn’t smell any sent either. There is a very small scent but I really had to put my nose right next to the bomb or water. I did find it cool how they fizzled like crazy when they dissolved, but after they were gone, that was about it. The water wasn’t even severely colored, only a twinge of the best font color. Once again, I think it’s about experimenting and seeing what you enjoy most with your unique tastes. For me, I discovered that this best Bob thing was a one-time thing that I probably won’t do again for long time. All the organic, begin features made me feel a little bit better about buying it but I don’t think it really ended up helping with the overall experience in the tub.
Next, I bought a bunch of bars of Dial coconut soap. I was sick of the standard soaps I buy that had no sense, a minimal basic sent, or even a bad scent. I realize for myself that the sense that I smell while using dish detergent and soap affect my mood throughout the day. If makes me happier When I smell something good. Maybe that’s not the case for you. But you have to be mindful of your feelings and behavior throughout the day to spot what works for you.
They were a great investment. They were a bit more expensive than the standard cheapest bars I usually get, but I do feel better each time I smelled them while taking a shower. In fact, I look forward to showering now because of it. I think it’s a great way of hacking your habits in case you don’t like doing something, like showering.
I will continue to play around with soap bars. If you know of any good flavored brands, let me know. I usually use Reddit to find stuff. There are some more expensive flavored soaps by Dove and others, like their coconut mango flavor. I’ve been eyeing it but I am still not decided if it’s worth the extra price.
Moving on from that, I also bought this Seventh Generation all-purpose cleaner. The first time I smell the scent, I immediately looked up the brand and put it on my list. I knew I would preferred the smell to the regular generic cleaner sense that I’m used to. I put the end result as in between the first two. After I bought more, I was a little underwhelmed with the scent. I don’t know if I had bought the wrong type but the right brand or if the smell just wasn’t as strong as I first perceived it. Also, I may only use it once a week or once every few days for a few sprays, so it really doesn’t impact my happiness is much as I thought.
Next up, I bit the bullet and bought this premium Moroccan oil shampoo.
I did a bunch of research on Reddit to find the best smelling shampoo brands and flavors. If you know any more, please leave a comment since I’m looking for suggestions. However, this Moroccan one kept coming up. The price per ounce was ridiculously high, almost 3 times as much as what I normally pay, yet I looked at the absolute price, and I reasoned that for around 15 bucks, I can try it out and splurge at least once.
I knew this was a luxury purchase and the whole experience felt luxurious. I relish using it each time I’m in the shower. However, I can barely smell anything. I have to put my nose really close up to it, and even then, all I smell is a subtle honey. It even looks like a cream-based honey. The design and the feel of the shampoo still feels luxurious, and I assume it’s doing something extra to my hair to make it better. I can’t say I noticed a big difference since I’m not a hair-care guru.
I can see myself using this shampoo for the rest of our life once I get rich just for the heck of it. However, I’m ready to try out more affordable shampoo brands. And I realized I might just be looking for something less less luxurious looking, but more fun and flavorful, like a strawberry shampoo. You never know until you try.
I also bought a Yankee Candle, which are a brand of high quality candles that you’ll like see at a shopping mall. I used to walk past their stores and Bed, Bath, and Body stores marveling at how high quality, expensive and well-scented their products were. But in this case, it only takes $20 to $30 to taste luxury; just be careful because the purchases can add up.
Finally, I bought a bunch of this bubblebath formula by Dr. Tiel’s.
It’s one of the best-selling, highest rated, affordable products on Amazon.com. There are some more luxurious ones that I have encountered that cost three times more per ounce and usually have a more premium look (in a transparent glass bottle), But I wanted this one because of the reviews and price.
Bubble baths were high on my list of things I wanted to do before I die. I realize this year that I had never done one ( or at least not for over a decade).
So how did it go? The first time, I ended up using about a third of the entire bottle. I couldn’t get as many bubbles as you see in the movies. The bubbles weren’t growing and kept dissipating. But on the second and third time, I got the hang of it. You want to pour the liquid right under the running water, like they say online. It was a great experience since you did truly get a decent stream of bubbles. I would do it again, but I definitely look into how to get more bubbles or maybe even try other brands (I heard Lush does it best but it’s going to cost you a lot of money). With this brand, I have to keep pouring to keep a moderate amount of bubbles going before they disappear. I love the lavender scent that came with it. It was strong enough to smell, but I would’ve liked the smell to be a little stronger.
My luxury men’s self-care routine journey hasn’t ended. In fact, it’s just begun. That doesn’t mean I’m going to go crazy and spend all my money. But I am more open to testing stuff and seeing what works for me. My point is that you should never think that an extreme level of cutting back and suffering in saving all your money is always the best route forward. Sometimes, he’ll help you mentally if you treat yourself. The return on investment is worth it. And sometimes, it may not be worth it. It could just be a costly form of entertainment. And sometimes, there’s nothing wrong with that. Have some fun.
I will continue to experiment and try new things out. Other things that I did mention in detail in year, include learning how to acrylic paint on campus for the first time and buying a Star Wars millennium falcon wireless phone charger.
I love to hear from you in the comments.You have any recommendations for flavors or brands for me? Are there any ideas for self-care, luxury, or enjoyment that you would recommend (reed diffusers, therapy balls, leather journals, hair trimmer, moisturizers)? And have there been any purchases you’ve made that have surprisingly turned out to be well worth the returning investment in the form of bring you back more money or just more enjoyment, self-love, and peace?
Balanced Thriftiness with Abundance Mindset
The article’s over, but if you want more, read on to see my thoughts on balancing two ideas. Can you have an abundance mindset like “The money will come” and still be thrifty?
Yes.
In fact, generally speaking, you should.
To do this properly, we need to make some clarifications.
Some people confuse this idea of “the money will come” with being foolish with your money.
If you someone is wildly spending 90% to 100% of every paycheck and rationalizing it off as “the money will come,” most likely they just suck at personal finance and have little willpower or understanding of saving.
Being thrifty and valuing personal finance means you save a good portion of what you make each week to put towards greater future benefits: a larger lump sum in decades through investing, a retirement fund, or your kid’s college fund.
Many young people don’t save. They spend all of what they make on items that will deteriorate rather than assets that produce more income. They will probably have zero dollars saved when they retire. And that’s a scary thing. It’s sickening yet I also understand it’s hard to save.
You can totally have an abundant life and mindset while saving some of your money and choosing rational, frugal purchases at times. It’s about not wasting your money on stuff that isn’t worth the payoff and avoiding stuff you can do without. We’ve all seen those “Worth It?” Buzzfeed videos that have taught us that the most expensive choice isn’t always best.
So spend on valuable experiences because you’ll value these memories for the rest of your life or they’re more worth it for your well-being. Examples include volunteering, charity, giving to others, and spending time with your best friends or family.
A $20 date at a carnival can be more magical than a $400 date at a nice restaurant depending on the person you’re with and the person you are. A boring, shallow, rude, tired personality will ruin that restaurant date no matter how nice the ambiance is.
Studies have shown that experiences (rather than purchasing objects) can help your long-term overall happiness, well-being, social relationships, community, and emotional resiliency.
Giving back to others is another form of abundance that comes back to you. So give to your community and your friends for birthday’s, get-together’s, or even on a regular day — everyone needs social support, not just money.
The wrong way of having an abundance mentality would be to sit there with little marketable skills, never do anything to improve yourself, spend every dime you make, and just hope that the world will one day give you millions of dollars.
And being thrifty doesn’t mean you have to buy the cheapest thing on the shelf all the time and live like a homeless minimalist.
It can be about heightening your awareness of what you already have and what truly matters and to be grateful for it. There are children on this planet with a small fraction of what you have already in life and yet, they’re happy.
From studying some of the most successful individuals in the world like Pat Flynn, Ramit Sethi, Elon Musk, or Bill Gates, they have this concept of “the money will come in time if I focus on serving people.”
They focus first on things such as:
- Helping as many people they can with their businesses
- Being the best they can be at their craft or skill
- Investing, improving, and bettering themselves daily and reaching their full potential
If you focus on these factors, the money will eventually come because they attract people who will pay for your service and skills.
There’s a millionaire I follow on YouTube and TikTok. He makes over a million dollars a year. Yet he chooses to live a modest lifestyle and invest/save most of it. He still gets to live a fantastic life. He travels the country, comes and goes where he pleases, and spends on certain things that matter (premium coffee, living by a beach). But he chooses not to buy expensive mansions, supercars, or other flashy things because that’s not what he values and that’s not the most financially wise thing to do if he wants to grow his income.
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