I'm not striving to be frugal.

And that doesn't make me a bad person.

As a money coach, I often get approached by people telling me some version of: “you’d be proud of me, I didn’t spend!”. Or “oh god if you saw my spending you’d be horrified”.

The reality is - I’m not frugal, and I never want to be.

I don’t subscribe to the idea that spending is linked with morality. Being frugal doesn’t make you better than me, just like spending more money doesn’t make me better than you!

I hate that (especially as women), spending has become weaponized. This idea that women are inherently frivolous with our money and therefore that somehow explains away all the glaring wealth and income gaps between the genders is preposterous.

The reality is - you can not be frugal and still be financially secure.

Looking at my Indyx app I’ve spent over $70,000 on my wardrobe alone!

Now to be fair the VAST majority of that spend is in fine jewelry which will maintain inherent value just from the melt down value of the gold itself - but still!

I spend a lot, and yet:

→ I’m still on track to retire

→ I have no consumer debt

→ I could cut my business down by 90% and still pay my bills

→ I could live off my portfolio for 13.5 years straight without working

This is for 3 main reasons:

#1 - I was born into a ton of financial privilege

In my lifetime, my parents were always well off. We never wanted for anything, we lived in a beautiful home, and we were always financially stable. Then when it was time to go to college I found out my parents had been saving for me and my school would be paid in full by them.

When my grandparents passed away I inherited a large chunk of money (which you can read about here: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/19/business/financial-windfall-young-people.html)

Not only that - but I was taught a LOT about how to manage money well, and make my money work for me.

#2 - I used my privilege as a jumping off point, not a coasting point

Unlike some friends or family in similarly privileged positioned - I always had a penchant for money, and instead of coasting, I used my privilege as a jumping off point.

I was always ambitious. I worked through college, I got a 6 figure job post grad, I maxed out my 401k every year starting at 24, I saved my first $100k by 25, and I took advantage of every single employee benefit I could.

Instead of saying “this is nice, I can take it easy” I viewed it as “this is nice, but this is just the beginning”. I work my ass off to honor the privilege I was given, but to also create my own legacy and body of work outside of my family.

#3 - I focus on earning more instead of spend less

I haven’t always been this way - in my early 20’s I definitely focused on spending less, and that worked for me for awhile. But once I quit my job 2.5 years into growing my company, the focus shifted. Now I’m on track to do a million dollars in revenue in 2024. And I don’t plan on slowing down.

The funny thing is, I could earn 1/10 of what I do now and still live a happy life. I don’t HAVE to have as big a business as I do - I don’t HAVE to work this hard. But there’s soooo much beauty in the fact that I GET to.

I choose to grow my company out of love (and pent up ambition tbh). And I won’t lie - the extra money is very nice.

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So yes - I spend a lot. And I love it! Now as a 30 something, I’m grateful for the frugal 20 something year old who set me up for the life I get to have now. And I’m sure when I hit 40 something I’ll be thankful for the 30 something me who worked her ass off.

At the end of the day this is your life, your money, and your priorities.

xoxo,

Rich Mommy