I recently made a trip to Belk’s with a mission to update my summer wardrobe. Truth be told, I haven’t purchased summer clothes in years. Although it’s a bit embarrassing to admit, days may pass with the same pair of shorts adorning my body. Laziness comes into play but I also have a favorite pair that just feels right when I wear them. I was hopeful to find a few additional pairs that would look and feel the same way.
Before going to Belk, I had walked around Wal Mart as well to see if they had anything that may work for me. There were 1-2 pairs that I liked but I held back from buying them. If I’m being honest, the fact they were from Wal Mart and around $20 probably gave me pause.
It shouldn’t have.
I found the exact same pair of shorts at Belk for $65. There was nothing different from the pair at Wal Mart other than the store and rack they had been placed on. Now having the ability to compare and recognize a great deal, I went back to Wal Mart the next day and bought the original pair I had seen.
Will anyone not reading this article ever know where I bought my new shorts from? Of course not, and that’s the point.
In order to win with money, you cannot care what other people say. For you Dave Ramsey fans out there, you’ll hear him say to be “weird” with money. This means that you have to be different from what everyone else is doing. Having the courage to follow your own path rather than whatever it is your neighbors or friends may be doing can be challenging. It can also be quite liberating.
My wife and I recently took our kids to Florida for vacation. We made a decision to stay in a resort style hotel on the beach. Rather than booking the room for a week and completely blowing our budget, we opted to reduce the number of days to four. This allowed us to upgrade to a nicer room while giving us the ability to do anything and everything we wanted (within reason) while we were there. I had mapped out a daily budget prior to our trip and kept track of everything we spent along the way.
In the end, we came in under budget and enjoyed a beach trip filled with happy family memories, more than one pina colada and room service for my youngest daughter, which she thought was the “coolest thing ever.”
We have friends who have taken multiple trips to far off places that are way more exciting than the Florida vacation I just described. Technically, we could afford to do the same; however, other priorities are continually creeping up and eating away at this idea. For now, a drivable vacation with all the niceties fits perfectly into our budget. What’s the point of a vacation if you’re constantly worrying about paying for it while you’re there?
Being free of debt and not caring about how others approach their lives compared to yours is liberating beyond anything you can imagine. Before long, you’ll begin to make decisions based on reason and logic versus emotion or passionate desire. You’ll become addicted to the idea of saving rather than spending while constantly uncovering the ways in which businesses and people are attempting to con you into taking your hard earned cash. The Belk and Wal Mart example is one of many that I could point to that would prove my point.
Thankfully, the Wal Mart shorts were not only cheaper, they’ve quickly become my favorite pair as well.
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Patrick Byrne lives in Tega Cay with his wife and two daughters. After 25 years working for a Big 4 bank, he retired to pursue his passion for writing. Additional articles and content can be found on his blog (reverian1776.blogspot.com) and freethepeople.org.
Patrick can be reach via email at [email protected]
