But what CAN you do?

One of the reasons to wear a watch is to be more conscious of time, more aware of time as a limited commodity. For many, the most important thing we can do with the time we have is enjoy it. Many would also say, someday I/you will have the things you want and live the way you like. That’s very grown up, it’s mature and rational. It’s also flawed. The flaw is the assumption that someday is out there and you’ll live to see it. Realistically, statistically, if you are young and healthy and don’t have dangerous or self destructive habits, that’s probably true. (Vintage Russian Vostok dive watch. Starting around $30 on eBay.) 

However, there’s no guarantee. There is no way to know you won’t be the outlier who gets a fatal disease, steps in front of a bus or falls down a flight of stairs. What that means is, you better enjoy every day as much as you can. 

Maybe you want to be a mountain climber, a musician or a world traveler. There are countless aspirations and bucket list items we all carry around while making excuses for why we can’t. It also isn’t unreasonable or uncommon to not know what makes you happy. 

A basic way to figure it out might be to make a bucket list or ask, if I was independentlg wealthy, what would I do? We aren’t talking about a list of expensive luxuries but simple terms, statements like, “I would travel, I would collect art, I would drive luxury cars.” The point is to give yourself a little wiggle room. 

People have a tendency to tell themselves and others what they can’t do. A more useful question is, what can you do? What step can you take today to live more like you want? 

You might not have the budget for fine dining but you can learn to cook, and cook as well as any chef. If it’s the service and dining experience you crave, there’s always the desert menu or cocktails and appetizers at happy hour. If it’s dancing and being social, bars serve cola in the same glasses they serve mixed drinks. See where this is going? (Potato latkes with poached egg, made at home for less than a dollar.)

Perhaps you like nice clothes. It’s a rare person that can afford expensive Italian suits but thrift stores are full of them and most neighborhoods have a tailer or dry cleaner that can do inexpensive alterations. Lots of people will comment on well kept clothes that fit. Few will ask where you got them.  (Florsheim Royal Imperial brogues. Thrift store, $10 new with tags. Retail $225 Florsheim) 

Stop buying coffee out and put $3 a day in savings. That’s almost $1,100 in just a year. A simple Google search turns up plenty of $300 round trip flights to Europe if you aren’t picky about when you fly. Even if you only go for a long weekend, that’s three or four weekends in Europe a year. Sounds like a jet setting lifestyle to me. (French press available on Amazon. $10 French Press) 

Maybe it’s cars you love. If you aren’t picky about the year and you are willing to turn wrenches yourself, just like cooking, anyone can learn and there are usually dozens of luxury, sports and vintage cars of all sorts available on Craigslist at prices for anyone who can afford a car at all. You might not get a Ferrari but vintage Alfas and Fiats are a lot of fun and are as true sports cars as any. At the time of this writing, a search on Craigslist for cars under $1500 showed everything from Jaguars, vintage Triumphs and Mercedes to Lincolns, Cadillacs and a smattering of Mustangs and Camaros. Basically, short of a late model super car, you can drive almost anything you want for $1500. You’ll need to be ready to repair or restore the car yourself but you really can have the luxury, sport or muscle you want. (Project MG on Craigslist. Drive it home for $1500.)

This could go on and on with everything from open coursware offerings of free Ivy League education to every activity under the sun all there for those who will simply show up. Harvard Open Courses

You might not climb Everest but the world is full of mountains. If you want to climb, you CAN climb, and if it’s Everest you want, every morning you drive past Starbucks with your better tasting home brewed coffee, you can raise your cup to being another $3 closer to your goal while enjoying those weekend hikes and preparatory trips on smaller mountains along the way. (Mt Tam near San Francisco, CA.) 

Just stop focusing on what you can’t do and start doing what you can.