makeunder my finances: epic vs. enough

October 13th, 2011   /   4 COMMENTS   /   life

Epic vs. Enough

Hi MML, it’s Cathy from Fiscally Chic with another post about finance with intention. If you’ve been reading my blog, you’ll know that I recently attended the inaugural Financial Blogger Conference. It was an amazing experience. I made new friends, learned more about blogging in a weekend than I have the in past year, and am inspired to make my blog even better for my readers.

One of the other takeaways from the conference was from the final speaker, Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income. He challenged us to “Be EPIC!” Be noteworthy. Be amazing. Be shareable. Make the message epic. And make the delivery epic. The phrase “Be EPIC!” has been haunting my thoughts for the past few weeks.

abbydays Etsy listing

I also noticed that many of the male presenters talked about making more money, developing products, and/or growing your product and brand. While many of the blogs of female speakers were about saving money or being frugal. Yes, I generally fall into the second camp. So I got to thinking, I need to think like a guy more often. Cutting costs in my budget only gets me so far. The better way to increase my net income is by earning more income. I need to take ownership of my skills and do more. It’s OK to make money! I don’t want to just get by, I want to be epic!

Which is interesting because I’ve been mulling over Christine Mighion’s comment from one of my first contributor posts for the past few months too:

It’s my experience that money and how you feel about it is an attitude. I have lived hand to mouth and abundantly. I find abundance much more fun and it’s truly wonderful to give back and share this abundance. I think you should be smart with your money, but do enjoy it!

In that post, I talked about being happy with “enough.” I’ve never been poor or had to live hand to mouth, and I don’t want to be. I don’t want to be greedy and ask for a mansion, private island, and expensive car. I just want enough money so that I don’t have to worry about it. I don’t really like budgeting. I’d rather make more money than I spend, instead of trying to spend less that I make. And yes, having more money means I can give back to others and my favorite charities. I noted in the comments that my husband and I are both savers by nature, but also enjoy some of those savings on nice dinners at restaurants, trips, etc. It’s all about finding the balance that’s right for you between saving and spending.

But this question is still in my mind. Does being happy with “enough” put limitations on myself? In thinking about differences between men and women, it seems like some women set wimpy goals in comparison to men. In the job world, part of the reason women don’t get paid as much as men is because women generally don’t expect to get paid as much as men. Women are told to be appreciative and not be greedy. But it seems like this line of thinking can cause women to undervalue themselves. And this thinking will cost women thousands of dollars over their professional lives. According to Forbes.com, “By not negotiating their salaries, many women sacrifice more than half a million dollars by the end of their professional lives.” That’s serious money.

As a business owner or employee, I challenge you to know your worth! Learn to negotiate. Take pride in your work. Really know your customer and offer them an amazing product. If you believe in yourself and have confidence, it will shine through in your work.

Here are a few amazing articles about earning more money:

Do you struggle with the balance between epic and enough?

  • http://www.adrianawillsie.com/blog Adriana

    Hmm, that’s an interesting way to look at it. I remember when I was first setting up my website to sell my artwork, I had the hardest time setting my prices. It was my boyfriend who had to convince me to make them as high as they are – but I’m so glad he did, because they sell well at that price. Still, it takes me an enormous amount of willpower not to offer a 50% discount to anyone who says hello to me. Sigh. Just like you said, it’s so hard not to feel greedy when asking a fair price for your work!

  • http://onesydneyroad.com Piper

    Cathy, this is a such a great, thoughtful post. I think women in general typically want things like freedom or passion in work rather than focusing on money. This though makes us forget to reach big & dream big. I’ve been reading Tara Gentile alot lately and realizing that we need to charge what we’re worth too. I agree that good enough is great and my hubby & I live frugally – but it can be sometimes hard to remember to enjoy what we have to or to feel okay with growing that!

  • Kristal

    I struggle with this alot, to not set wimpy goals. I’m more of a zen happy go lucky type person that can be happy in many situations, but I have to be careful this doesn’t lead me to laziness. What a great point about how men & women in general think differently.

  • http://www.bellaorganizedinteriors.blogspot.com Alana of Bella Organized Interiors

    So many true statements! I am currently starting up a business in hopes that it will increase our income, thus giving us a little more “wiggle room”. I have been a SAHM for about a year and a half now {therefore having only one income to “work with”} and it gets kind of old to ALWAYS count every penny. I don’t expect a mansion or private island either, but it would be nice to go out for dinner and a movie with my hubby without having to pull out a calculator. And, of course, to be able to share that abundance with others would be wonderful as well!