Wealth, or at least the perception of it, is a funny thing.
Personally I've never been wealthier than when I was earning €18,000 per year working as an intern at IBM during my final summer of uni.
Sure, I've had jobs that have paid many multiples of that since then, but I've never had the same feeling of financial freedom.
It's all about perception though. I had spent the previous 18 years of my life living off pocket money or the earnings from a 6 hour a week job at a corner shop. Suddenly I was getting €1500 into my bank account. Every Month. I was a millionaire.
It didn't hurt that I lived at home and had no expenses or commitments. No rent, no car payments, no mobile phone contact, no gym membership, no electricity, no gas, no council tax, no credit card bills. I wasn't even earning enough to have to pay some in tax. It was mine, all mine.
I sometimes wonder if millionaires and billionaires have the same feelings. Their bank balance may look astronomical to us but maybe the Lear Jet repayments make it all seem relative.
Years later, living in London, in a relatively high paying Management Consulting job I couldn't touch that feeling of financial freedom. Somehow, imperceptibly, over the years my spending habits had increased. Anyone that knows me would say I'm not exactly exuberant in my expenditure but even still the little things still added up.
Sure, I guess we can go out for that dinner on Thursday.
Fine, we can get a cab home since it's pissing down rain outside.
I suppose we can go for the slightly more expensive flights that don't leave at the crack of dawn.
Nothing major, just small little excesses that eat away at that disposable income. Like little trophies of success you begin to accumulate monthly nooses around your bank balance. Car insurance, magazine subscriptions, mobile broadband and iPhone contracts, weekly cleaner bills…
This was driven home to me last year as I faced the prospect of a year without a salary. I took a career break to devote myself full-time to my startup, Teddle. Starting to strip away all the expense clutter I had gathered I was shocked at just how much subconscious spending I had. Over the course of a year it was literally of thousands of pounds being frittered away on stuff I didn't even appreciate.
The good news is that I really don't miss it. Living on a lot less was a bit of an adjustment but no great hardship. There are definitely things I would like to buy/experience that I forego because of the cost but it doesn't define my lifestyle. I know though that should my income rise again I will probably repeat all the same mistakes. Perhaps it's just human nature.
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