External Discipline

“Can’t” is a powerful external discipline. When you live Hand-to-Mouth, spending decisions are splitting decisions. There isn’t anything left at the end, so choices are forced. The money is gone. A challenge with building Capital is that gradually the discipline must be internalised. There is “money left”. Except the money has a job. If limits aren’t “artificially” placed, then the money is fired. Given the challenges of Climate Change, the analogy of cutting down trees and digging up coal is appropriate. Yes, we can burn Fossil Fuels. Is it sustainable? A Burnt Tree produces no fruit, no oxygen and no shade. The initial stages of building Capital are the toughest. Even if you can wrestle a gap between hand and mouth, there are always unexpected expenses. Some possible form of spending must be seen as less important than the saving and investing. Less important than building. Building Capital starts with building a Buffer. Then comes the challenge of shifting from a Consumer to a Custodial mindset. When “Can’t” takes the long-view.

Forest or Wood?