Cost of (Luxurious) Living

Depending on the individual, these numbers will vary quite a bit, however, a quick Google search told me that the average person pays monthly fees of $73 for cellphones, $161 for cable & internet, $479 for a car note, $67 for car insurance, and $235 for health insurance. Compile those costs together, and that comes to one large monthly fee of $1,015 a month, or $12,180 a year. And that is a very linear snapshot of the many things us first worlders spend our money on, as I did not include things like dental, life, or home insurance, etc.

Again, per the individual, many of those costs vary, either much higher, or lower. Nevertheless, what is apparent when looking at these numbers is the fact that we have found many unnecessary reasons and ways to trade in our hard earned dollars for services that we do not always need. (I am aware that by law, one must have car insurance, though one can also slash those prices by paying only for liability.) We often blame the rising cost of living, when proclaiming, “I don’t make enough money,” but look back more than 50 years ago, and you will find a people that did not spend so much money on so many extra things, which is likely why they were able to save so much more.

In many ways, we spend money unnecessarily on things that may go wrong, such as insurance. Of course that is an entirely different subject, so I won’t delve too far deep into why I am one of those “INSURANCE IS A SCAM!!!” sort of quiet rioters, but consider this: If having insurance really helps so many people, why is it that there any multi-billion dollar insurance companies? Answer: it is virtually a controlled lottery, where if you are healthy, you lose, yet if you get hurt, you win. Everyone is so afraid of winning with no ticket (getting hurt while uninsured), that they pay to lose. So, ultimately, the insurance companies are helping themselves so much more than they are helping any of us.

Maybe we can all think of more frugal ways to spend (or save) our money…