Follow the Yellow Brick Road

We are taught to view our expenses as subtractive, as life obstacles to be negotiated. In terms of budgeting, we are told to trim, sacrifice and find ways to reduce our spending. Of course living within one’s means is the baseline goal, but I believe we need to think about the tension of income versus expenses differently. 

Try thinking of your expenses as additive rather than subtractive. Woof, my medication is so expensive! Yes, and it helps me stay alive and healthy. My car just broke down again! Yes, and how do I want my response to look? Do I love my car? Do I need a car right now? Can I get creative? Am I not making enough money to fix it?

Expenses make up the content of your life: the joys, the nutrition, the education, the travel, the home, the information you receive. Imagine you are in charge of creating your own path in life (because… you are) and it is made of yellow bricks; you are designing your personal yellow brick road. Your income is the dirt, your expenses are water, and together they make a beautiful pathway for you. Certainly, the ratio needs to be balanced so your road will be stable and long lasting as well as smooth for your journey.

This yellow brick road represents the basic things you need to subsist: food, shelter, transportation, medicine, etc. You need to have enough bricks for your next step and you also need enough for further down the line when you no longer want to work but you’re not done with your journey. And of course, you need a stash on hand in case a flood comes through and wipes you out.

Once you get beyond the basic necessities, you get to decorate, create community and add flair. Consider these the result of excess income. Your particular road might have a band, a park, a donut shop or an airstrip. These are the elements that make your path distinct from everyone else’s. These are the goodies that help you wake up in the morning and find meaning in your life.

But you can’t have the accessories if the main path is damaged or out of material. In life, there are things we can control and things we can’t control. Financial freedom is being prepared for both — now and in the future.

I urge people I work with to think of their income and expenses as working together to create their magnificent life. It puts the agency back in their hands. Instead of blaming their bummers on circumstance, they can start to finally see that they are in control of all of it. What do you want your income to be? What do you want your expenses to be? Are you paying an excruciating amount of money for an apartment you don’t even like? Does it make you sick every time you have to skip dinner with friends due to finances because that’s what actually fills your cup? Do you need help understanding and negotiating major healthcare bills or disability accommodations?

I recognize that the oppressive systems in our country make it so that many folks have a harder time taking back their agency. If you’re getting paid 50 cents less per hour than your white male counterpart, you aren’t getting a head start. I argue that the best way to get where you want is to understand the rules of engagement and take matters into your own hands. If you stay in a victim mindset, you’ll stay in the victim role. If your expenses truly are more than you can afford, what needs to change? You’re in charge. Change it. And if you don’t know how, find the right help so that you can learn the correct questions to ask.

When we view our financial situation as ours to manipulate, we can start to make better decisions that are aligned with our truest values and desires. I also find that when people let go of the idea that “expenses = life-sucking things” their behavior changes. The desires to impulse buy or avoid your accounts transform because you’re not rebelling against something you can’t control. Does this sound familiar? Well, I’m already broke anyhow, so I’m just going to buy this cute tank top from Instagram, because, screw it. When you start to see all your actions as part of your bigger picture, you tend to become a better steward.

I’m not saying any of this is easy. At all. But I do think it’s simple. What are your obstacles? What are your desires? What questions do you need to be asking? Who do you need to enlist for help?

My hope is that all of us will shift our perspectives and take the wheels of our lives. My hope is that each expense we see on our bank statement can represent a life well-designed. My hope is that each of us finds our perfect ratio and follows a glorious yellow brick road.

Megan Janssen is a financial educator and founder of Money Juice. Learn more at www.money-juice.com