You know how when you spend a lot of time with someone, you start to develop inside jokes specific to that relationship? After a while, the shared dialect can become so abstracted that the jokes aren't really jokes anymore, but just a sort of gibberish shorthand that makes casual observers scratch their heads.
Many years ago, I spent a lot of time touring with a guitar tech named Simon. Whenever someone would bring up how expensive something was, Simon would say with a smile, "you've got to be a wise shopper nowadays." He was quoting a Steve Martin routine from 1984 that I had never seen (and I don't think Martin's standup was all that funny), but in any case "you've got to be a wise shopper nowadays" became one of those inside jokes that persisted.
So recently, while waiting in line for the free lunch at a conference, I found myself chuckling & thinking, "you've got to be a wise shopper nowadays." Not because the joke is funny, but because there I was waiting in line for an *okay* sandwich because it happened to be free. The sentiment still prevails: it always feels like the smart move to try to save a little money because of how expensive everything is and the state of the economy.
That Steve Martin performance was from 1984, forty years ago. Everyone watching Martin's performance at the time understood the context: America in 1984 was coming down from a period of super high inflation & lending rates, and people were concerned about how much things cost. Inflation was up to 13.5% in 1980 and the Federal Reserve's fed funds rate, which influences all other loans downstream, peaked above 20% in 1981.
So of course everyone watching Steve Martin in 1984 understood the context: the economy's bad, everyone is pinching pennies and tightening belts, and look at this dumbo buying something he doesn't need and thinking he's smart!
But the weird thing is that the context still works. Even 40 years later, choosing the free conference sandwich seems like the smart financial move. I could have eaten a much better lunch at the hotel restaurant – or even taken a car to an even better restaurant – but that seems frivolous, right? You've got to be a wise shopper nowadays.
I'm not saying that the last few years have been some golden era. But it seems like people tend to think that the economy is so much worse now than it was previously. Those early 1980s rates are staggering compared to what we've just lived through: inflation in 2022 peaked around 9.1% and the fed funds rate peaked at 5.33% in Aug 2023 – Aug 2024, both much lower than what Steve Martin's audience had just lived through. But the discomfort we feel right now carries more emotional weight than the knowledge that it was actually worse some other time before.
So what's the takeaway? First and foremost: sure, be a wise shopper. But spending within your means doesn't mean always doing the cheapest thing possible. Don't spend more than you earn, but do give yourself enough space to enjoy life (even if it costs a little more).
The second takeaway is that life is always good & bad at the same time. Whether you like the analogy about the wolf & the dog inside you or the one about weeds and flowers in your garden, the truth is that where you put your energy determines how you experience the world. If you spend your time thinking about how terrible life is, then life will seem to be terrible. If you instead focus on all the things that are going well, life will still be hard – but you'll enjoy it along the way.
Making smart financial moves is not just about always being thrifty, and living a good life isn't just about the state of the economy. There are plenty of things to be grateful for at any given moment.
Need a jumpstart? Spend 10 minutes doing something enjoyable like petting a dog (or cat or bunny or whatever), talking with a friend, or even watching a clip of your favorite standup special. Then take a moment to acknowledge how great it is to have that experience! It's nearly impossible to be grateful and worried or pissed off or stressed out at the same time.
Related: A Tale of Two Markets
Thanks,
Timothy Iseler, CFP®
Founder & Lead Advisor
Iseler Financial, LLC | Durham NC | (919) 666-7604
Iseler Financial helps creative professionals remove stress while taking control of their financial lives. We'll help identify current your strengths and weaknesses, clarify and refine your long-term goals, and prioritize decisions to improve your financial well-being now and later. Reach out today to take the first step.
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