All we hear is that we should spend our money on things that will help make our limited resources go further: buy an education versus a vacation to Cabo because an education (although grueling) will ultimately help you make more money by extending your resources than say the immediate happiness granted by your dream vacation.
But what effect does that Cabo vacation or any other "consumer good" have on the limited resource of your happiness? In essence, is the Cabo vacation a capital good when it concerns your emotional well-being? Really, what are the effects of spending money on consumer goods if consumer goods actually makes your emotional resources go further?
We are our best and most valued business: we are the sole beneficiaries of all the profits we reap, we are the ones who will benefit from any growth our business makes, and most importantly, we are the proverbial CEO's of our company, able to make and guide the future of our enterprise.
Now, let's say we use time as one of our limited resources. Wouldn't we be more productive if that time was spent doing something that invigorates and inspires us, thereby increasing our energy levels and our emotional resources, than something which is defeating and makes us less and less likely to want to achieve anything?
Maybe doing without a consumer good like an iPod isn't such a good idea if it means drudging through your workday with no music to make it pass by more quickly and be more enjoyable. Maybe doing without that new car isn't the greatest thing to do if your junker stresses you out by breaking down all the time.
The way I see it is that you can always choose to buy the "capital goods" that economists tout as the holy grail of financial well-being, but what about the capital goods for your soul? By buying into the hype of Roth IRAs and 401k's, you don't leave much room for the economic growth of your emotional resources. And if we're talking business, not taking care of your parent company by allocating resources to your satellite company is like only feeding the children in a starving African family. Who is going to take care of those kids when their parents have already died of dysentary?
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Q, I have sbegun thinking more in this direction as well. I figure I will always have some debt, and I will be retiring one day. The debt; as long as it is being serviced, and paid down, well, there really isn't much else to do with it. The retirement savings is automatically deducted from my pay every two weeks, so not much else to do there. I figure some of my "riches" should be spent for personal/emotional resources. Vacation time is September/October for me. Germany and Oktoberfest are calling. :)
Is Cabo where San Diego parties?
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