Money Realizations Through Comfort Zones

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Comfort zones. You usually hear about them from some motivational TED talk or those inspiration junk food posts on Instagram. They’re most often used to help people toss their fears and worries and try new things.

Could stepping out of your comfort zone force you to get better with your money and see what type of expenses matter? I think so. Actually, scratch that, I know so.

It’s possible to have money realizations through comfort zones. It’s even more likely when you step out of them.

Before I stepped into the world of personal finance, I always thought I was good with money. I didn’t have credit card debt, didn’t have a car payment, put money into savings every month, and my student loans were manageable.

Well I wasn’t so good at money. I didn’t have credit cards so I wasn’t actively help build my credit as much as I could. I saved money but never considered combing through my expenses to see where I could cut back. And small purchases that added up were what killed my bank account every month. Things weren’t so good after all. Wha oh.

In a change of pace, I moved to Thailand for a new job and everything suddenly became different. I’m sure you’ve read the typical internet story of someone going out of their comfort zone and ~*~realizing their true potential~*~. Well this one is about how my view on money and monthly expenses changed.

When compared to western standards, Thailand has a low cost of living. Moving here caused me to get out of my comfort zone money wise. As time passed on, the expenses I had in my previous situation didn’t seem so necessary.

My entertainment “fun” budget got drastically altered. I no longer had Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Spotify. Money spent on movie rentals and tickets were tossed. These were all individually small expenses that I justified under “having things that bring me entertainment and joy”.

My food budget changed. With a time consuming full time job and a long commute, I used to eat out a lot. Having food expenses that were out of whack made budgeting confusing. Constantly seeing the smiling Thailand street vendors and the act of intentionally eating better finally made my food expenses become more under control.

The biggest thing I got rid of was my auto insurance. I really don’t like driving cars. Good public transportation is a better fit. It’s what made me so resistant towards the common act of people my age financing new cars when they really shouldn’t.

Now my monthly expenses total less than what I was spending back in my previous situation in the U.S. Thailand is great but I know I’m not going to stay here for super long so returning to the U.S. (and having a higher standard of living) is a given. My mindset, however, is here to stay.

My perspective towards “need” expenses has changed a lot.

Being here, in this new place, caused me to question expenses I normally would have shrugged off.

Hulu subscription? Oh, well it’s only $8.65 a month and I get to keep up with my favorite shows! Spending $8 eating out? Oh, it’s not that much, plus I’m in a hurry! Paying more than I needed to for auto insurance (because it’s not like I could have negotiated it or anything).

I mention this because so often people say they can’t save much money because most of it goes to bills and expenses every month. For some people that may be the situation, so growing income would be a better focus to have. For most people, they can cut their expenses more.

We have to periodically remind ourselves of what is essential. Excess often lies in familiarity and comfort.

Has your mindset towards certain expenses changed? What things are worth and not-worth cutting out? 

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Colin // RebelwithaPlan

Colin Ashby is the writer behind Rebel with a Plan, a website dedicated to people who choose to rebel against the norm of living in debt and feeling financially unenlightened. He believes everyone has an eccentric quality to embrace and that lattes are sometimes a necessity (despite what the personal finance community tells you).

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