“What’s something you spent a lot of money on that you regret?”
I think all of us can recall an answer to this question without too much trouble. The lessons we learn from regret are potent. Recently though, I was asked an interesting variant of this question:
“What’s something you spent a lot of money on that you don’t regret?”
I love this question. Being a financial guy, I borrow from the language of ROI. What things do I invest in financially that provide a rewarding return–including non-financial ROI? Money in, reward out.
3 Big Expenses I Don’t Regret
I’ll avoid getting too philosophical today and jump right to my actual answers to this question.
Family Travel & Core Memories
You could say experiences more broadly, but traveling as a family has been a pillar of our culture. It’s created many of our favorite memories together, and when we’re exposed to new experiences together, it gives us common “lore” that forms us as we grow.
Professional Coaching & Counseling
When I was much younger, I couldn’t have imagined how much present-day me would have spent on coaching. It started with me. The accountability and stretching were like jet fuel in my personal development engine. Now, the entire Vizionary team as well as each member of my family works 1-on-1 with my coach Trent Booth at Veritas Leadership Group. I’ve spent a small fortune with him, and its value to me (financially and personally) makes it one of my favorite investments I’ve ever made.
Reading (Paying My Kids to Read)
My personal reading list is in the ballpark of 50 books a year (and has been for 25 years), but that’s not the expensive part. It’s been my kids.
We wanted them to fall in love with reading some of the best minds in business, personal development, literature, etc. We incentivized reading books with reports by paying them for each one. I don’t think I ever expected to spend thousands because of the number of books each of my kids has read. Even better, I probably should have owed them a few more but they started reading for its own sake and stopped collecting.
While the incentive system sounds odd to many, I would happily trade a few thousand dollars for the growth that reading produced in my kids. They are at least a decade ahead of where I was at their age because of the incredible minds they’ve gleaned from.
What’s Your Big ROI Investment?
If you sit across the table from our team at Vizionary, we are absolutely going to talk about investing for financial independence and financial ROI. That said, I also want more of our clients to think about their big “worth it” investments that aren’t in 401(k)s or IRAs.
Think back over the last 10-20 years. What are the big investments you’re glad you’ve made? How can you invest in those things or things like them even more?
Your money is only as valuable as what you spend it on–or invest it in. Let’s use it for the biggest ROI on life we can.