My Money My Way, Your Money Your Way
Success is if you get what you want out of life, money included.
I love to splurge on some things, almost irrationality. I will have 42 pairs of shoes when Stock X verifies my latest pair. Do I regularly wear all of them? No. But at one point, I needed the shoes. I needed new dress shoes for a suit or a new pair of Nike Waffle Ones because my current pair was dirty. I wanted a pair of Waffle Ones that could get dirty on a night out and a nice pair to wear to work. It seems ridiculous, I know, but it separates me from the ground. It is worth splurging on for my body’s sake. I struggle to understand those with a few pairs of shoes.
I have two gym memberships, one at a CrossFit gym and another at a commercial gym. I can’t go to CrossFit every day. It is a 20-minute drive on a good day, and sometimes I want to do my own workout. I pay over $200/month on gym memberships. CrossFit is not cheap! I love it and find an investment in my health worth it with high costs. Some people want to pay $10/month to go to Planet Fitness, and I don’t understand it but, I don’t need to understand. Both work.
Money gets dangerous when you are too concerned with others. You assume that if someone else is spending their money differently they must be doing it better or wrong. But success is measured by whether you get what you want out of life, and for better or worse, money influences.
You see it in the longevity space. Recently, a current obsession arose with extending and optimizing our lives to slow aging.
On one hand, Bryan Johnson is obsessed with anti-aging, adopting the mantra “Don’t Die”. He is the most measured man in the world. He follows a series of protocols, throws millions of dollars at research and health tracking for his body, and defaults to an algorithm to make decisions. It is working. His metabolic health is equal to the top 1.5% of 18-year-olds. He has reduced his speed of aging by 31 years. He is the world’s most public science experiment capturing many eyeballs.
For how polarizing it is, Bryan’s processes are met with negativity. People say he doesn’t understand life. He spends too much money. He is cheating death and is too afraid to live. He is existing, not living.
LeBron James and Derrick Henry are searching for immortality in their athletic careers. They are fascinated with “cheating” the typical athlete lifespan.
LeBron James is 39 and still one of the best players in the NBA. He reportedly spends $1.5 million per year on his body. He does cryotherapy, red light therapy, eats an exclusive diet, and spends time in a hyperbaric chamber. Sleep is of crucial importance, which includes a midday nap. The time spent plotting to extend his career might be longer than the practices he does. It is an investment. His body maintenance is a full-time job.
Derrick Henry, a 30-year-old running back for the Baltimore Ravens — a rarity in the NFL to be a running back at 30, reportedly spends $240,000 a year on his body. I bet it is more. He follows a strict diet, not eating until 1 or 2 p.m. He employs a personal chef and is known for his difficult workouts.
Neither Lebron James nor Derrick Henry receive flak for their spending. They refuse to accept their decline and are celebrated for their efforts. People litter the internet with ways you can copy them and achieve similar results, but the same isn’t true for Bryan Johnson.
Why is Bryan Johnson ridiculed, but Derrick Henry and LeBron celebrated? Who is to say what is correct? All three are trying to extend their lives in some way. There is no correct answer. What works for one, may not work for the other, but Bryan Johnson, LeBron James, and Derrick Henry are trying to accomplish similar goals with their spending.
People always have a take on the best way to do something. LeBron James' methods work! Bryan Johnson’s don't! Those same people realize we are a very diverse population and with diversity how can there be a universally correct answer?
It is true for money. A reasonable plan that works for me, might not work for you despite nothing being wrong with it. I spend my discretionary income on shoes and gym memberships, contribute 5% to my 401k thanks to my company match, trade options, and buy stocks in my Charles Schwab account. Those tendencies might cause others to lose sleep or leave others needing more risk. That is okay. It is better to accept our differences rather than try to convince others what is right or wrong. It is dangerous when you assume that if someone else is spending their money differently or assuming more risk they must be doing it better or wrong.
There are multiple right answers. What works for Bryan Johnson might not work for LeBron James but LeBron could learn from what Bryan is doing. In life and with money, it is not always binary. It is not always yes or no or right or wrong.
Spend your money your way. Bryan Johnson, LeBron James, and Derrick Henry certainly do despite what others say. One thing holds true, success is if you get what you want out of life and that is all that matters.
-Scantron
Appreciate you reading. Let me know what you think.