In my previous post, I began examining the prior decade and the lessons it brought on finances and happiness.  Through rose-colored glasses, I tried to summarize the things that had gone well, with the hope that sharing my story brought value to you, the readers.

Today, however, we take off those glasses and put on… well… whatever the opposite color of rose is, once again with the hope that there is value in a lookback on the mistakes of the 2010’s to avoid these missteps in the future.

No oversight seems so prevalent that those that I made surrounding my health and the many ways in which I could have taken better care of my body.  I’m blessed not to be overweight or have any significant chronic health problem, and my “numbers” always come back as pretty good at the doctor’s office.  As a result, I let a few aspects of my health slip.  Let’s look at three examples.

(1) At my first job, there was a free soda fountain, so I spent over 6 years drinking at least one soda per day.  Sure, sometimes it was diet, but there’s no question that I was probably getting 5-10% of my daily calories from it on work days, justifying it to myself as a “free” reward to myself because I was working hard and not gaining weight.  I’ve begun to reverse this in the last 3-4 years, now drinking exclusively water at work and not buying/drinking any sugary drinks at home.  Now the challenge is making sure I actually stick to it and drink enough water.

(2) I’d often spend weeks without going to the gym or getting any significant physical exercise in the early 2010’s.  With an hour-long commute and increasing work responsibilities, I convinced myself that I was “too tired” and that I’d get to fitness “soon” (which, of course, kept being postponed.  I coached a teen basketball team one summer, and when they needed another body to fill in for a scrimmage, I was completely gassed after 10 minutes and felt sore for days.  It was embarrassing to be a 24-year old coach who was outpaced by 14-year-old girls and boys!  We also had a challenge at work in 2014 during which we had to count our steps for 8 weeks and calculate the average, with a company goal of 10,000 per day.  Much to my dismay, I discovered that I was only getting about 3,500 per day on a normal day in the office (and I was still the highest among my coworkers… which doesn’t speak well about the average person!).  I even had a gym at work for two years but didn’t develop a regular schedule and lost the habit when I changed jobs.  Not good.  I’m happy to say that I’ve made real progress on this one in the last few years as well.  I got a fitness tracker, and although I was skeptical at first, it has honestly motivated me to move more.  I’ll take a brisk walk at lunch, move around every hour at work, and jog in place when I watch TV.  I’ve averaged about 8,500 steps – more than double – and these walks are now something I look forward to every afternoon.  I’ve also been joining Lady Centsei at the gym once a week and am working towards twice per week.  Getting up and getting ready together keeps my motivation high.  Small incremental changes are making a world of difference.  That little bit of accountability goes a long way. 

(3) I love salt.  My goodness, just the thought of potato chips, French fries, and crackers is enough to make my mouth water.  I’d go to the grocery store, see the snack food isle, and light up like a kid in a candy store.  My roommates and I would keep almost a dozen bags of chips in the kitchen at any given time; I’d go out with my coworkers once a week for pizza; I’d add salt to more foods than really need it.  This one, however, did show up in the numbers, as my blood pressure went from excellent to just average.  I knew I had to make a change here before it became a problem.  We now only buy snack foods when we host parties, and I’ve stopped adding salt to foods that really don’t need it.  Hopefully the 2020’s show more improvement here.

There is no question that far too often, I used good numbers at the doctor’s office as a mental excuse to not improve my health further and to not correct some easily reversible bad habits.  A passing grade, however, is not the same as a good grade, and I knew all along that I could have done so much better.  Let’s call this “Centsless Decision #1.”

I also wish I’d been more aggressive towards retirement investing at the very beginning of my career.  The stock market was in complete shambles in 2009/2010 when I first started, and I knew that it was an excellent time to invest (“buy low”).  My company had a 5% match on the 401k, so I put 5% of my paycheck away towards the 401k, patting myself on the back for being so “forward-thinking” and “maxing out” the benefit.  And there was a nugget of truth to this.  After all, almost half of people have absolutely nothing saved for retirement, and a staggering number of people who are offered a match (free money) don’t take it.  At the time, it never dawned on me that I could have saved a much much larger percentage.  If I’d saved 50% of my income and made the maximum contribution to retirement for just one year in 2009/2010 ($16,000 to my 401k and $5,000 to my IRA), that $21,000 would be worth over $60,000 today and over $450,000 when I retire. 

Chart 1 ($21,000 invested in 2009 for 10 years would have a rate of return of 11%)

Chart 2 ($60,000 invested in 2019  invested for 30 years [when I’m in my early 60’s], assuming a 7% rate of return)

That’s all without contributing anything else.  Let’s not even get into the idea of if I’d saved even 20%+ of my income towards retirement – like I do now – every year since 2009.  I thought the 5% plus match was good enough, so I should focus on paying off my student loans, buying a car, and moving out of my mom’s house.  None of those are bad things, but I’d just never heard of anyone stashing away 40% of their paycheck or more for retirement.  The concept of financial independence and saving large percentages of one’s income was foreign to me at the time, so I missed out on a very lucrative time to invest for my future.  Centsless Decision #2.

Next on the list is a story that goes to show the potential downfalls of not following my own advice.  It was late 2014, and we’d just closed on our house.  We knew we were going to need to fix the shower, since the prior owner had the shower head only five and a half feet about the tub, and I am over six feet.  The original need for the project was a very practical one.  We weren’t experienced with home improvement and contractors, and did not do enough research on the expected cost.  We did not get three quotes on the work (Part 3 #1) and instead went with the first contractor that offered to do the job start to finish.  We didn’t give enough time to think about each incremental expense, each of which were expensive (Part 3 #3).  We got a bit too wrapped up in the aesthetic of the project and lost sight of the original priority (Part 1 #3), which was just a higher showerhead.  What started as a simple tub/shower replacement turned into an entire bathroom remodel at twice the total cost.  To top it all off, the contractors went over budget and over on time (shocker…), and we didn’t make “that” phone call (Part 3 #5) to hold them accountable to their agreement.  In fairness the new bathroom does look nice, brings us utility, and did add some value to the house (some value; you should never expect a 100% return on investment from a home remodel project, however).  Nonetheless, the house project ended up costing us thousands more than we would have paid if we’d been more patient, gotten more quotes, and researched more thoroughly, especially for something this big.  Centsless Decision #3.

Another habit I wish I could have fixed was one that many working people fall victim to: buying lunch.  I fell into the trap early in my working career of buying lunch about three or four days per week rather than bringing it.  I tried not to spend much, only spending about $7-8 on days I went out, but this was about three times the cost of preparing lunch at home, which I estimate to be about $2.50.  $5 per day really adds up, even three times per week.  How much, you ask?

Chart 3 ($5 per day, three times per week, invested for a 40-year working career, assuming a 7% rate of return)

$183,737, or almost 4 years of expenses for the average American.  You could also read this number as “4 years onto the number of years until financial independence and retirement.”  Those $5 daily habits can be detrimental to your finances, whether its lunch, coffee, alcohol, or something else.  A restaurant is not the same thing as a kitchen.  Some people spend $10-15+ per day on lunch, and they do so 5 days per week.  That would be worth $500,000 in retirement!  And that’s only the financial impact, not even considering that most restaurant meals are less healthful than those from home.  I let a $5 daily habit become routine, and if it goes unchecked, it could add years onto my working life.  Centsless Decision #4.

Finally, I also look back on the 2010’s knowing that I could have done more to help my community and make the world a slightly better place.  Far too often, I found myself focused on myself and my immediate social circle, without taking as much time as I could have to help those have been less fortunate.  This isn’t to say that I’ve done nothing or have been completely selfish: I played in a community band for a few years, volunteered for professional and/or career events at a local high school, helped several family members and friends in need, and donated a percentage of my income to charities.  However, none of these things have had the kind of consistent, impactful change that I could have made with a more in depth commitment.  Though none are profound, I do have some skills (teaching, finances, music, or maybe even blogging nowadays!), and there could be some very real social benefit to sharing those with others more often than I have so far.  There was always some excuse, like being too busy or not being totally passionate about the work, but I certainly always found time and money for other things.  It’s not that regret investing this time and money in my education, experiences, or family/friends, but I do wish I’d made the effort to more significantly benefit other people or groups outside my immediate circle to help make the world a slightly better place.  Centsless Decision #5.

It’s with this last “Centless Decision” in mind in particular that I’m starting to shape some of my goals for the 2020’s and beyond.  I’m hardly full of grandeur, but perhaps *I* can actually leave the world a little better place than I found it.  I’d love to do so through some of the themes of this blog.  I hope this is a starting point.  Over the last decade (coincidentally), I’ve spent thousands of hours learning about personal finance and tens of thousands of hours at work learning about the financial system.  After all, this is something I have time for and is completely passionate about.  It’s (metaphorically) a crime that we don’t teach people about money when they’re young, and it’s (literally) a crime that so many fall victim to predatory institutions.  This effect is particularly true for lower income folks and immigrants.  It’s easy to say “they should have known better,” but quite another thing to get out there and help people.  My dream is to start a non-profit devoted to free financial literacy for teenagers and adults, with a focus on helping English Language Learners as well as lobbying for financial education reform in schools. 

While this non-profit is my long-term goal, it doesn’t mean I can’t start now, so I have.  If it’s not too much to ask, I could use your help, too.  Please consider sharing this blog with anyone you know that could benefit from its contents, and feel free to write to me if you have a question or need advice.

Wow, that digressed a bit!  Let’s get back on track and wrap things up with a summary of ways in which the last ten years could have gone even better.

The 2010’s were a great decade, so here’s to the another (mostly) Centsable one!

If you have your own Centsless Decision from the 2010’s, I’ll again hope you’ll consider sharing them in the comments!