I made a speech recently at Toastmasters, based on ERE concepts and very roughly Wheaton levels, using the metaphor of an apartment building. On the ground floor, people live paycheck to paycheck, allowing themselves to be persuaded by retailers / advertising / branding to spend everything they earn. One floor up, people build a buffer against reduction in salary or loss of job and take conscious decisions about saving and spending. One floor further up, people save diligently now in order to fund a future of perpetual vacation. In the basement they spend all their income, then borrow more and spend that too until no one will lend them any more. On the top floor people, have multiple sources of income, and worry more about how to use their time to further goals of health, family, self-development etc than they do about money.
I think I saw one or two people looking a bit uncomfortable, as if I was criticising their life choices. It seems to me that spreading the word is quite difficult, people have to be ready to hear it, and even then the consensus of outside influences is very strongly towards 'spend now, think later'.
Outreach attempt
Re: Outreach attempt
I'm not surprised by reading this. People in general do spend now and think later like you say. Furthermore, since very few are primed to the idea of ERE, they are likely to feel like someone is preaching to them from a higher ground. I imagine some of them feel the same way I feel when a person enters my bus and starts preaching religion to everyone in it.
I imagine that most people believe they are making the right decisions in life and that their circumstances are merely a result of external factors outside their control. So when someone insinuates that they might be making suboptimal decisions in life they are likely to disregard those ideas.
I imagine that most people believe they are making the right decisions in life and that their circumstances are merely a result of external factors outside their control. So when someone insinuates that they might be making suboptimal decisions in life they are likely to disregard those ideas.
Re: Outreach attempt
The trick with effective outreach is to realize that it involves more than one step.
1) Make others aware of the opportunity
2) Motivate them to desire it
3) Help them feel empowered to accomplish it
Providing information is the easy part. Motivation and empowerment require a bit of finesse.
1) Make others aware of the opportunity
2) Motivate them to desire it
3) Help them feel empowered to accomplish it
Providing information is the easy part. Motivation and empowerment require a bit of finesse.
Re: Outreach attempt
I wonder if there are a few relevant paradigms with respect to the marginal utility of money/stuff vs. the MU of leisure.
Case 1: Stuff > Leisure, aka "more is better" (i.e. most people) - immune to frugality, don't see the point of early retirement.
Case 2: Leisure > Stuff > 0. More is still better, but having more time to enjoy that stuff is preferred over even more stuff. This is most people pursuing FIRE.
Case 3: Stuff <= 0. "Enough is enough." The rare oddball that gets zero (or even negative) utility from additional consumption of goods and services. Financial independence results without conscious effort.
Outreach to people in the first group is futile unless you can move them to the second group. Give them a reason to save.
Case 1: Stuff > Leisure, aka "more is better" (i.e. most people) - immune to frugality, don't see the point of early retirement.
Case 2: Leisure > Stuff > 0. More is still better, but having more time to enjoy that stuff is preferred over even more stuff. This is most people pursuing FIRE.
Case 3: Stuff <= 0. "Enough is enough." The rare oddball that gets zero (or even negative) utility from additional consumption of goods and services. Financial independence results without conscious effort.
Outreach to people in the first group is futile unless you can move them to the second group. Give them a reason to save.
Re: Outreach attempt
If you do this again, try more carrot, and less stick.
First - relate to the audience about financial misbehavior - admit the worst things you've done and make fun/light of them. Then, for the carrot, talk about examples of people who have ERE'd and are doing universally appealing things:
"Bob retired at 40 because he didn't increase his spending as his income increased. Now, most mornings he spends about three hours just leisurely starting his day with breakfast, coffee, and light reading. Then he goes to the beach for a couple hours with his dog, and often meets new women there. He works out for an hour or so in the afternoon, then does at least few hours of reading on deep subjects or some kind of creative project. In the evening, meets up with his friends to help them de-stress after a hard day of work, or spends time with some of those women he meets at the beach."
First - relate to the audience about financial misbehavior - admit the worst things you've done and make fun/light of them. Then, for the carrot, talk about examples of people who have ERE'd and are doing universally appealing things:
"Bob retired at 40 because he didn't increase his spending as his income increased. Now, most mornings he spends about three hours just leisurely starting his day with breakfast, coffee, and light reading. Then he goes to the beach for a couple hours with his dog, and often meets new women there. He works out for an hour or so in the afternoon, then does at least few hours of reading on deep subjects or some kind of creative project. In the evening, meets up with his friends to help them de-stress after a hard day of work, or spends time with some of those women he meets at the beach."