Priorities
It’s not about how much money you have; it’s about how you choose to spend it.
The audio below is a preview of the voiceover for free subscribers. Paid subscribers have access to the full audio at the top of the post.
One of many things that make us humans interesting and individual is the variety of ways we choose to spend whatever money we have. I’ve become hyper aware of how I spend my cash over the past year and therefore have started to observe how others prioritise money too.
Everyone has different priorities in their life, no two people are the same and therefore it’s impossible to offer a ‘way’ of doing things that works for all. It will never happen.
I had what I considered to be a well-paid job. I was a music teacher in an independent school in SW London. I was head of a large department and I was paid about as well as you could be for that sort of position. You can find out how much I got paid in that job by reading this honest piece:
Suffice to say, I had a reasonable amount of spare cash to spend on clothes, holidays, meals out, etc. On paper that was great.
Except it wasn’t.
What I had prioritised, at that point in my life, was money. But in order to have it I’d sacrificed time and headspace. I left for work each morning before 7am and would often arrive home at 7pm. By the time I got back I was good for little other than eating and crashing in front of the TV before bed, and then the cycle would continue. Yet I had money, so I could splurge on something and make myself feel momentarily better when arriving home to a shiny package to open. Usually an item I swiftly lost interest in.
After a lot of deliberation I quit that job, set up an interior design business from scratch and now my only regular income comes from a part-time teaching job. It’s a fraction of what it was.
There’s no longer spare cash to spend on clothes or meals out or fancy holidays but I am happier and more creatively fulfilled than ever.
Here’s why.