A Moment To Talk About It

Herbert’s parents once ate takeout for an anniversary dinner. The mindset stuck with him, and he struggles to spend money even when it’s an obvious life improvement or small investment to fix something necessary. “Maladaptive frugality,” he calls it.

Herbert shared the idea on his blog and posted it to Hacker News. There, it sparked a big discussion. Many people in the comments said most Americans struggle with spending too much, especially on credit, and could learn from Herbert’s attitude. Others confirmed they, too, have a hard time not defaulting to the cheapest option.

Reflecting on his piece striking a nerve, Herbert curated some of the comments. He closed with the following words: “I’m glad we all had a moment to talk about it.”

That’s what writers, creators, and connectors do, isn’t it? Making space for conversations to happen. Filling that space with a trust advance. And then hoping a gentle echo comes back. This blog is little else. It’s been going for some 1,500 days. That’s 1,500 chances to talk about something that might otherwise have stayed silent and hidden.

Here’s to many more such sparks—and to investing in ourselves whenever it makes sense.

Nik

Niklas Göke writes for dreamers, doers, and unbroken optimists. A self-taught writer with more than a decade of experience, Nik has published over 2,000 articles. His work has attracted tens of millions of readers and been featured in places like Business Insider, CNBC, Lifehacker, and many others. Nik has self-published 2 books thus far, most recently 2-Minute Pep Talks. Outside of his day job and daily blog, Nik loves reading, video games, and pizza, which he eats plenty a slice of in Munich, Germany, where he resides.