Finance, Life and Ketchup
I read an article on finance lessons from eating ketchup. While I’m not going to use the finance side of it, I’d like to parallel those comments to lessons on life. The first lesson focused on having a 'sweet spot.’
Ketchup is sweet. I read another article that says about half of the bottle of ketchup is sugar! That made me rethink how much ketchup I use! The article suggested sticking to our ‘financial sweet spot’ if that works for us, as long as, we are meeting our financial goals.
When we use this same advice for our lives, we often live our lives in our comfort zone--our 'sweet spot.' We get in a rut and sometimes become afraid of coming out of our cozy place. We don’t learn anything new, or challenge ourselves to be better because it’s easier to stay where we are. We don’t want to ‘put ourselves out there’ because we are afraid of failure, or sometimes even of success!
The second thing the author of the ketchup article suggested financially, was to keep your finances simple. I think this is amazing advice and not only from a financial perspective. Keeping our lives simple is also a good idea. We get so caught up in all our ‘to-do’s’ we can barely breathe! We are so busy doing things, we are unable to even enjoy today.
And certainly, the idea of minimizing our ‘stuff’ has been heralded as a must do! We’ve become a people of accumulating as many material possessions as possible. In fact, people work two jobs just to be able to afford the lifestyle they believe they must have, which in part includes living in the nicest and most expensive house on the block, driving the newest car currently available, wearing only brand name clothes and even visiting restaurants regularly even though it’s been shown time and again, eating in (at home) is not only cheaper, but healthier. (That’s not to suggest a night out occasionally isn’t a wonderful thing- because it absolutely is!)
The last thing the article suggested was not taking everyone’s advice when it comes to your finances! Let’s face it, everyone has an opinion about nearly everything—and sometimes even things they know nothing about! This is also true of our lives.
Our world is filled with those who feel educated enough about their given field, that they feel compelled to give you information and advice, as the best to follow. And what they share may be true---or not. Each of us live lives unique from everyone else from the sheer perspective of personalities, finances, upbringing, views on life and raising children, and yes, even religion and politics.
Our differences are what makes our world interesting and worth working through --and in! The ideas we share with each other is what we build on. Not everyone, all the time can possibly have all the answers. We aren’t supposed to. We are a people who need to work together to be strong, and continue to grow. Ideas breed ideas. And that’s a good thing!
Do you have a 'sweet spot' you might like to challenge? Do you keep your life simple? Do you take everyone's advice as truth without doing your own 'homework?' Each of these offers it's own challenges and I encourage you to reflect on your own opinions about each of these elements! Share if you'd care to, about your conclusions!
https://drbreatheeasyfinance.com/financial-lessons-from-eating-ketchup/