Customers typically ask us how big the engine is or how many people the RV can sleep. These are easy questions that customers are comfortable asking and sales people are comfortable answering. But there are other questions a customer may need to ask that are a little more complicated. Such as I’ve spent my whole life working hard and saving money, now I want my dream RV, why do I have this ugly feeling in my gut?
Most people agree that when you are young and healthy you should earn money and set some aside for later. The theory being that when you are older you will be able to maintain your lifestyle even though you aren’t able to continue working. If you’re someone that did the saving part of the program really well odds are your brain is now wired in a way that is constantly whispering in your ear that saving is good and spending is bad. You probably even got to a place where you enjoy saving and dislike spending.
There does come a point that you need to rewire your brain if you want to enjoy the second part of your life as much as the first. First ask yourself a question. Why did you save the money in the first place? If you are being honest you may not even know why. You just know that you did, you are proud of what you have done, and spending it would unravel all you accomplished. This is irrational thinking. You aren’t undoing an accomplishment by spending your savings your achieving it. I’ll say that again, spending your savings is the goal.
Money is just a credit. An IOU from the rest of society to you. It’s possession represents half a transaction. You paid someone with your time or assets when you received the money but you haven’t really been paid in full for your efforts until you turn around and spend it and get some type of good or service in return. If you can get your mind right then buying the RV should feel good not gut wrenching. You are finally cashing in your IOU for something of value. Something nice that you can enjoy and use. The experiences and priceless memories that will follow are a lot more valuable than digits on an on-line banking screen.
I’ll close with this final thought. Think of a good friend. Someone you want the best for. Now picture them out having the time of their life in an RV. Now instead picture them at home staring out the window doing nothing with their day. Obviously, if you could choose, you would want your friend to be living scenario1 over scenario 2. Even if in the second scenario your friends had a few more bucks in their bank account you wouldn’t choose that for them. Life is about friends, family, experiences, and memories. It’s not about wealth, assets, and a false sense of security. We will all leave this life someday and no one knows when or how. There’s no time like the present to go get paid in full and get out and enjoy all the great things life has to offer.
