What is Your Rich Life? Lessons from a Netflix Show
How many of you watch Netflix? Have any of you seen the show How to Get Rich? It’s a fascinating show because it looks at individuals and couples looking to improve their financial situation. This show, and finances in general, is the inspiration for this next series! Just to be clear, I will NOT be providing financial advice. I’ll be speaking on how certain financial concepts can be applied to other aspects of life.
The question the host asks all of his clients is this: What is your rich life? It’s such a simple, yet powerful question. If you were to sit down with your friends and ask this question, If you spend even just 15 minutes thinking about it, you realize we all have different and unique wants in life. However, the marketplace doesn’t help you discern for yourself. The marketplace teaches us all the things we should have. We should have a fancy car. We should have the newest phone. We should take lavish vacations. However, the host’s belief is that you should spend lavishly on the things you love, then cut relentlessly on everything else. It’s a really interesting perspective and worth thinking through.
Can I be honest? I don’t really care about cars. I just know I want one that can get me places. This past weekend was the Car Show put on by the Rotary. It was an amazing event. Even as someone who doesn’t care for cars, I developed an appreciation for why people love cars. Now, would it make sense for me to drop a lot of money for a classic car? Absolutely not! I would not get nearly enough joy out of owning that car, and I wouldn’t take care of it as I should, which would ruin the car. I’m pretty content with my Honda Fit.
What is worth my time (read as: part of my rich life)? Getting nice kitchen equipment so I can make yummy meals for my family. I’ve been learning about cooking with cast iron. I’m nowhere near understanding it all the way, but because I enjoy it so much, not only do I use the pans often, I don’t feel guilty about making the purchase. Now, it’s worth saying that my cast iron pans aren’t that expensive, maybe $40 dollars or less, but I get more joy out of those pans than if I had an expensive car.
So what is part of your rich life? What is really important to you? How much money do you get to spend on those things? Now, what are things you really don’t care about? How much money are you spending on those things? Obviously you pay for the things you have to, such as bills and taxes… but what about the other things?
I have a friend who I thought was really weird and interesting, up until I really understood his perspective on life. Whenever we used to hang out, we ended up at fast food restaurants, or places I would consider mediocre food. On top of that, he brought coupons to help save money. My friends and I just thought he was cheap. A few years later, we were hanging out and I asked him about it. He said the group of friends we hung out with weren’t people who cared for fancy or nice food, so he didn’t offer it as an option. He’s more than willing to pay for good food, it just has to be really good. He doesn’t understand why people would pay for mediocre food. After that chat, we went to a nice restaurant together and got to experience his perspective. It was a tapas restaurant and paid close to $30 for a mushroom dish. Can I just say, those were probably the best mushrooms I’ve ever had. After that meal, I understood what he meant. He’ll pay as much as needed for amazing food. If it’s not going to be that, he spends as little money as possible.
I can’t say I agree with his belief, but I respect the heck out of him because he lives his values. What about you? Are you living out your values? Do you have clarity on what your rich life looks like? What can you do to start living out your rich life? Let me know! If you want some inspiration, check out the show and let me know what you think!
Coach Kev helps people find calm, clarity, and confidence in their life while building his rich life. Contact him atkevinkoocoaching@gmail.com, or follow on IG and YouTube @kevinkoocoaching
