Fear and Loathing in Lockdown

Scott,

We need your help! We implemented the Barefoot strategy a few years ago and since then have paid off all our debt, amassed a healthy Mojo and will soon tick over $100,000 in shares. The problem is --  is this really it!? We are desperately unhappy. We live in a tiny, affordable home because we do not want to be ‘postcode povvos’. Our car is a bit Pete Murray (it’s seen better days). And I’m getting sick of our card declining when we have blown our ‘Blow Bucket’ for the week. We are hustling, but to where? Maybe COVID lockdown is getting the better of me, but we kind of want to enjoy our one precious life.

Jane


Hi Jane,

I hear you, this lockdown has been rough.

As a result there are a lot of Victorians suffering with their mental health ... and it shows up in the questions they send me.

Personally I’ve got it good: I’m in regional Victoria with (slightly) more freedom, living on a farm where I can do a three-hour walk and not see anyone, and I can work from home. The toughest thing for me is that I haven’t had a haircut for five months. My sheep have better bangs than me!

I can only imagine what it’s like for you being locked down in a cramped house, with kids homeschooling for months while you try to work from home, or waiting on welfare to be allowed back to work.

It would totally suck.

So let’s make it not suck so much by playing a game:

I want you to imagine what 2020 would have been like for you before you read my book:

Lots of credit card debt. No emergency fund. No shares. 

It’d be awful, right?

Instead, you two have single-handedly eliminated the number one stress that families have. 

That’s bloody amazing!

Now we all suffer from what psychologists call ‘hedonic adaptation’, which is a fancy way of saying we get used to things quickly, and eventually feel no better than we did before. (It’s as true for getting out of debt as it is for trading in Pete Murray’s car.)

Still, I’m all for doing a (socially distanced) Date Night (when it’s allowed) and coming up with a new and exciting plan: it could be a house, a holiday, whatever. Everyone needs something to look forward to, and you guys have proven that you can nail your financial goals. You are absolutely right, life is for the living!

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