Losing Focus on the Bigger Financial Picture

Cotta

Hi All,

I sometimes wonder if we lose sight of the bigger picture when it comes to our finances or if we could be penny wise and pound foolish? For example some years ago my partner spotted me completing little challenges on Gifthulk and seeing the time and effort I was spending doing this she asked me what my returns were? I explained that every so often I could claim a $5 PayPal voucher and her response in essence was that “it’s a lot of effort for a very very small return). It dawned on me then that this was indeed a foolish waste of resources from me when I could have been investing my time in something more effective.

Recently I have been looking at the possibility of reducing my working hours to 4 days per week. I have spotted that some of the administrative jobs that I need to keep on top of such as insurance renewals or mortgage renewals were not always given enough time and the extra day off could be spent keeping on top of things like this better and always ensuring that I am getting the best deal possible rather than just the speediest.

Has anyone else lost or ever lost sight of the bigger picture and if so what did you do?

lincroft1710

How many insurances and mortgages do you have. I doubt that losing a day's pay each week would equate to any savings you would make on these renewals. Regarding insurance, the "best" deal won't always be the cheapest and have found that it was very easy to lower the renewal quote by just phoning and speaking to the existing provider.

droopsnoot

Cotta wrote: »

It dawned on me then that this was indeed a foolish waste of resources from me when I could have been investing my time in something more effective.

The second half of that is the key part - if you actually can do something else that would be more effective / profitable / productive, then it is a waste of resources. If it's not stopping you, however, it's $5 you didn't have before. If it's stuff you can do while watching the TV (or something else that you might have been doing anyway), then it's no issue.

I often do things for what seems like quite a low price, especially if I convert it into an hourly rate, but if there's nothing I can do in that time that would earn more, it's still a positive.

ElefantEd

In my view, the big picture has to include not just finance but everything else too - broadly speaking, quality of life. You might find that working 4 days a week not only frees up time for admin tasks but also for other things - hobbies, creative work, family, DIY etc. And if you earn enough from the 4 days to get by (and save a little), maybe that's a good option. The same with the £5 GiftHulk work - unless you're desperate for the cash, or literally have nothing else to do, spend the time doing something you enjoy. Saving money shouldn't just be about getting the most you have, it should be about maximising the enjoyment (including that you get from helping others, I don't mean enjoyment in a purely selfish way) you get from life. Money is a means to an end, not an end in itself!