Chipotle's pork bowl totals about $11, after tax. A meal at Wahlburger's, typically that of a burger, costs $8. Anything extra works up the price faster than your appetite. ALone these entrees cost as much as the total for the raw ingredients to prepare them. I wrestled with how I really pay for conveniecne at these places, not the product. Thus, the real strategy might be to prepare the meals in advance, as a carpenter measures and gathers tools prior to beginning his work. With the ten or so dollars saved from forgoing fast food, I rather commit to owning Ina Garten's Modern Comfort Food.
Fortune favors the prepared, my school’s motto went.
Now, my aim isn't to best the Barefoot Contessa herself, but to overcome the ease at which I spend on non-durables. As Musashi advises, "Those who desire to learn the Way [of anything] must take each detail to heart... scrutinizing them carefully." Scrutiny of my spending habits, thanks to a fruitful consultation with a financial planner reveals I have a surplus of income each month. I have a greater vision, and it requires I picture money for what it is, a means to a visual end. Every dollar might go some length to the bare necessities: food, water, shelter. Yet I believe that money can go the distance and run laps for bigger dreams.
What does it cost to write a book? Cook a meal? Host a TV show? Ms. Garcia observed with me, it’s the compounding effect of actions. See, the reason actions today don’t feel impactful is due to time inconsistency. The way our brains evaluate rewards is inconsistent across time. We value immediacy over delay, since time immemorial. After all, back then, it was a matter of survival. Skipping a paid lunch for a cookbook doesn’t sound fun, until the cookbook helps me save a couple Benjy’s a month on meals.
I need Ina Garten to guide my building process, the way a foreman guides the crew on-site. Ten bucks on a cookbook beats ten on a cup o’ rice with some meat. Reading these books won’t make me millions overnight, but… Writing my own stories about the habits & paradoxes of my choices, connecting them, forming rings of truth & knowledge may bring me more comfort than food. As they say, time tells all.
