Recently, I have talked about an efficient lifestyle for a secluded life. The concept of low expenditure with high assets is part of it. Today, I will explain it from another perspective.
How to realize a secluded life in the countryside
Sometimes, we want more peaceful living, especially when we are exhausted from social life. There are many stressful things, such as disgusting daily jobs, human relationships with people we don’t like, noisy environments, or a lack of freedom. They make us want to migrate to a more quiet and comfortable place.
People with high empathy and creativity may tend to prefer a secluded life in the countryside. I also want and am trying to create such a life. This blog’s readers might tend to be like me.
Living with low expenditure and high assets could be an efficient way to realize our secluded lives. In other words, we cover our living expenses with assets instead of getting monthly income from jobs. That is more efficient for a secluded life, in my opinion.
However, we sometimes don’t know how to increase our assets efficiently. Sometimes we might feel the financial market is the only way to invest.
Today, I will talk about it from another perspective. We can invest in everyday life. Lowering running and exit costs would be an effective investment.
A concept: lowering running and exit costs
Lowering running and exit costs is an activity that we can invest in in our everyday lives. It is another aspect of low expenditure and high assets.
Both of them are the same thing. Daily expenditure means running costs. High assets and low exit costs give us the freedom to change our environment. Both of them give us the freedom to live naturally.
Focusing on lowering running and exit costs could help us realize our secluded lives.
Two steps to reduce the running costs
Reducing running costs while maintaining satisfaction is one of investing. Let’s see why below.
We can reduce running costs by following two steps:
- We check out our recurring expenses, such as daily, weekly, or monthly payments.
- We reduce them with creativity while maintaining satisfaction.
- (Method 1) Combining multiple payments into one
- (Method 2) Finding an inexpensive substitute
We can do them well if we assume that reducing running costs is investing.
Two ways to reduce running costs
One way to reduce running costs is by combining multiple payments into one.
The cost will go down if we process something that repeats many times all at once. For example, if we buy groceries in large quantities at once and store them properly, the cost will be lower. In my case, I buy a large chunk of meat, cut it myself, and store it in the freezer instead of buying it at the grocery store every time.
Another way to reduce running costs is to find an inexpensive substitute. It includes doing it ourselves.
For example, I cut a haircut myself instead of going to the barber. We might be able to combine multiple online subscriptions into one.
We have to do that without sacrificing satisfaction in our lives.
The necessity of an initial investment
We will make it easier to do that if we know that an initial investment will realize those improvements.
We make an initial investment. That allows us to combine multiple payments into one or use an inexpensive substitution.
For example, I noticed I could store a lot of meat if I had a large freezer. In other words, I could invest in a freezer to reduce my food costs. I checked the price of the freezer and calculated how long it would take to pay for the cost. Then, I found that I could recover my initial payment in a freezer in 8 to 10 months compared to buying it at grocery stores.
Here is another example. I bought a hair-cutting tool to cut my hair myself. I noticed I would recover my initial investment if I cut it myself for only three months.
I found they were beneficial because I didn’t care about the work of cutting meat or my hair myself. I enjoy them. It is far more efficient than investing in stocks for dividends or real estate because their payback period is often longer than 5 or 10 years.
We can invest efficiently in our daily lives.
The initial investment in something that will last a lifetime
By the way, the initial investment amount does not matter if we use it throughout our lifetime. The longer we use it, the higher the initial investment we can make.
For example, we use a bed or a chair for a long time. Their good quality sometimes enhances the quality of our health or lives. We can use good ones for a long time.
Reducing running costs is the primary goal. The amount of initial investment sometimes doesn’t impact our futures, although the cheap ones with good quality are the best.
That could increase our satisfaction in the long term. Reducing running costs matters.
Considering exit costs
We regard exit costs as one of the running costs. We consider how to withdraw when we buy or begin something because we often make mistakes and change our direction in life.
When we change our lives, it is better to be able to finish it right away with fewer costs.
For example, I like wooden furniture because it is easy to dispose of. That allows me to change my lifestyle easily.
Prioritizing the future over now
Living with low expenditure and high assets is a way to reduce the burden of the future.
Empathic people like us tend to care about the future. In other words, the anticipation of the future state determines our current state. The better we can imagine a hopeful future, the more energetic we feel now. On the other hand, the more debt we have for the future, the more anxious we will be now.
That is why lowering exit costs matters. That reduces our burden in the future.
For example, I like paying with a debit card rather than a credit card. I prefer a one-time payment to a multiple-time payment.
They are because I want the pain to end as soon as possible and have more hope in the future, even if the burden of the present increases. I don’t care about the current loads if I have hope.
Conclusion
Lowering running and exit costs is another aspect of low expenditure and high assets.
This perspective might accelerate the creation of our comfortable lives.
Thank you for reading this article. I hope to see you in the next one.
