Hipster
/ˈhɪpstə/
noun INFORMAL
a person who follows the latest trends and fashions in clothing and lifestyle, especially those regarded as being outside the cultural mainstream.

A timely comment from @bozz arrived on an article of mine, while I was thinking of writing another article that broached the same topic, from a slightly different perspective.

We also know that saving money isn't really considered the cool thing to do these days ... Even though it really is.

Saving ,money isn't cool - spending money is cool. Just look at the Instagram influencers and their early-90s P.Diddy approach to life - Wads of cash, making it rain, bad boy for life. They still haven't moved on to the Jay-Z/ Beyonce approach of, becoming business moguls. It is far easier to spend money, than to make money though, so in a convenience culture, it makes sense that people take the easy approach. No one wants an influencer that helps them actually improve their lives, because the tasks that lead to improvement,

Are boring AF.

But, if you really want to be "outside the cultural mainstream", rather than a handlebar moustache and specialty coffees, being financially secure would really make a person an outlier. It isn't sexy, but neither are handlebar moustaches.

The problem is, that at least in the early days, becoming financially secure doesn't come with a lot of visibility. This is bad in a convenience culture that is driven by attention-seeking behaviors. Investing money doesn't create an impression on strangers, because it isn't the kind of thing that people are going to post about on their social media. Talking about money isn't cool, it is low-brow, right?

Isn't it funny how one of the most impactful mechanisms on our lives, is considered a taboo topic to talk about, and those who do talk about it are basic? Think about it for a moment and recognize that the wealthiest people in the world, have likely spent a lot of time thinking about their financial decisions throughout their lives and talking about them with people they trust. Most of it isn't public, because we have created a mechanism of liability of "this is not financial advice" when it comes to investing into investment products.

Suggesting consumer products to buy, isn't considered financial advice.

But it is.

It is influencing people to use their money, which makes it financial advice. The difference is that there is no expectation of a monetary return on the spend, but there is an expected return on the product being bought, right? They are convincing people to trade something that can be spent on anything, for something that can't be spent on anything at all - a consumer product. Following consumer influencers? Financing their lives in the hope of having a similar life to them?

Now that is basic.

For those not interested in numbers, finance is boring. However, it is exactly because it is boring that there are so many opportunities to make gains, because the average person needs immediate excitement in order to do anything. It is like a friend was saying last night how she doesn't get young colleagues she works with now, who don't want to do the boring tasks. When she was their age, it was her ability to get Very good at the boring tasks, which allows her to do a fuckload of fun shit now at work, and get paid well for it.

She still has boring tasks to do as well.

Essentially, the road of success is paved with a shitload of boring tasks. All the millions of little actions that need to be undertaken and accomplished that compound to make up large movements down the track. If we aren't willing to do the small things to word financial improvement, we aren't going to get the large. So, while millions upon millions of people are learning about which beard wax is going to work to make their beard more glorious, a select few are learning how to, make their money work for them.

There is a growing amount of "finfluencers" out there though, because there is a shift in mindset where people are realizing, that if they want to actually make a difference in the world, they need to do it at the economic level. Social issues and the environment aren't going to be fixed by protests, they have to be approached through economic incentives. It has to be through a change in mindset where the best way to make money, is through providing socially healthy products and providing community value.

It isn't sexy. It isn't cool.

It is practical, and requires real things to be built. Clean tech isn't the responsibility of corporations and governments, it is the responsibility of the consumer. If we aren't demanding better products and business behaviors through the way we spend, they aren't going to be developed. No amount of craft beer consumption is going to fix the climate, or stop a war.

You want to make changes, you have to make money.

And that means, how you spend money matters.

Cool?

Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]