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The “Stop It” Guide to Personal Finance: Part One

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Mr. Groovy
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Mrs. Groovy stumbled upon a very amusing Bob Newhart skit on YouTube last week. Check it out:

Bob Newhart shows the secret to mental health: stop doing the things that compromise your mental health.

Now, Bob’s “Stop It” therapy was tongue-in-cheek, of course. If only fixing one’s mental health were so easy! But fixing one’s wallet isn’t nearly as complicated as fixing one’s brain. “Stop It” therapy can actually be very therapeutic in the financial realm—at least that’s what I’ve discovered in my journey to financial independence. And since the middle-class financial circumstances I was weaned on are hardly alien to millions of Americans, I’ve decided to create a “Stop It” guide to personal finance. Here’s the first rule to that guide:

Stop It Rule One: Stop engaging in behaviors that are patently detrimental to your finances.

Don’t have kids you can’t afford, don’t take education for granted, and don’t be a low-down criminal thug. If you engage in any of these behaviors, stop it!

Also, don’t be a lazy shit. We all have laziness in our DNA. But in order to succeed financially in this world, you got to fight through that innate flaw. So if you’re a lazy shit, stop it! Stop sitting on your arse. Stop consuming hours upon hours of mindless entertainment every freakin’ day. Make the effort to learn the skills that will get you a worthwhile job, and make the effort to become super-competent at whatever job you currently have.

Comments

11 responses to “The “Stop It” Guide to Personal Finance: Part One”

  1. steveark Avatar
    steveark

    Great Newhart clip! I was always incredibly lazy but I figured out ways to gamify work and make it fun. Most experts agree, you can’t ever turn your flaws into strengths, but you can design your life to detour around them and succeed in spite of them,

    Reply
    1. Mr. Groovy Avatar
      Mr. Groovy

      Same here, my friend. I had a fierce battle with laziness and it had the edge early in my adult life. I didn’t gain the edge on laziness until my 30s. Laziness is quite an oppenent.

      Reply
    2. steve poling Avatar
      steve poling

      My personal cure for laziness was to ask myself, “If I don’t do this, who will?”

      Recent unhappy events in my life have taught me the following:

      1) Babies mess their pants and cry until an adult cleans up after them. An adult cleans up after himself. Some go to the grave as babies.

      2) Wise adults anticipate bowel movements and visit the bathroom before making a mess. (Even if it keeps the Pope waiting.)

      3) It’s OK to be lazy if one’s laziness motivates a labor-saving alternative. The best programmers automate away the task at hand.

      Reply
  2. steve poling Avatar
    steve poling

    Agreed. Sometimes our worries can bring about the thing we worry about. Like Newhart telling the lady he’ll do that which she most fears.

    Maybe we should focus on opposites. You’ll recall that I pointed out that “stupid people” are those whose action hurts themselves and hurts others. And the opposite are those whose actions benefit themselves and benefit others.

    At every point, we should think what we can do to benefit myself and benefit others. Then “Start It!”

    Reply
    1. Mr. Groovy Avatar
      Mr. Groovy

      I love it! The “Start It” guide to personal finance. You’re onto something, my friend.

      Reply
  3. Frogdancer Jones Avatar
    Frogdancer Jones

    But… but I worked hard to retire early so that I could BE a lazy shit whenever I want to…
    🙁

    Reply
    1. steve poling Avatar
      steve poling

      Dude, you’re doing retirement wrong. You don’t retire FROM working, you retire TO doing what you want to do.

      If that’s just vegging on the couch, you’ll be dead in 5 years.

      Reply
      1. Mr. Groovy Avatar
        Mr. Groovy

        FDJ is just having fun. She’s the farthest from being a lazy shit as is imaginable. We spent a day with her in Melbourne and she has the energy of a teenager.

        Reply
    2. Mr. Groovy Avatar
      Mr. Groovy

      Haha! If you’re financially independent, you’ve earned the right to be a lazy shit. But I hardly think being a lazy shit is in your DNA. You have too much zest for life.

      Reply
  4. Mr. Grumby Avatar
    Mr. Grumby

    It’s hard to argue with Bob Newhart!

    Reply
    1. Mr. Groovy Avatar
      Mr. Groovy

      Agreed.

      Reply

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