Project Self: Consistently Inconsistent

One of the things that I've been working on in my own life is consistency. This is sort of a holistic approach to life, where you believe that the things that you do should reflect who it is that you are. This is a nice way to go because it lessesns the need for pretense, posturing, or otherwise managing the impressions that other have of you. I like this style, since it makes life a little less stressful. Of course, less worry about the things that you say and do can lead to a loss of tact. Not that I've ever been accused of that.

I think that across the board, I do okay in being consistent. But when I dig a little deeper, things don't look quite as consistent. I'm a pretty frugal person. I believe in financial responsibility at the personal level as a matter of character. I max out my Roth IRA every year. I have a positive, tangible net worth (which is surprisingly rare for many college grads my age - even those who are currently pulling a high-5 or low-6 salary). And I even have enough saved up to live my current lifestyle for 6 months, should anything dumb happen to me.

I also believe in taking care of the poor and needy. I contribute financially to organizations that serve those in need. I'll give my time when I have extra time to spare. And much of my research has the low-income, low-education population as it's context. I've published a journal article that examines educational materials that social workers use in teaching nutrition and budgeting. I've given presentations on public policay and socially responsible management practices that focus on this population.

In fact, it was on one of these conferences where I was presenting some of this research, where some of the inconsistency in my life struck me. Not necessarily in a bad way. But in a salient way, for sure. I had just gotten done giving a presentation at my conference in the morning, when I decided that I was going to drive around and get some dinner that evening. And sure enough, I found one of those really fancy places where you can drop a week's paycheck (well, a week's paycheck for an undergrad, maybe) on dinner. And I definitely dropped a bill and a half on dinner. And I was running solo. And this was without anything to drink, other than water (which was done on purpose, since I didn't want to interfere with the taste of the food).

Don't get me wrong. This was probably the finest meal that I've ever eaten. And the "value" that I got for the meal was actually pretty high. I ate some things that I had never eaten before in my life. The food was inspired in it's conceptualization, deftly prepared, and immaculately plated. The ingredients were premium products and incredibly fresh.

But after I had squared up the bill, I realized that this could have covered a month's worth of groceries for myself. It was funny. Most psychologists would have predicted some sort of cognitive dissonance effect where I would have been disgusted with myself. Sort of like people eating veal, after the find out what it is and how it's raised. But I just realized that not only does veal not bother me. Eating that meal didn't bother me at all. In fact, I was pleased, even knowing the opportunity cost of that meal. In fact, it wasn't even that out of the ordinary for me to spend a lot on a meal. I've looked over some credit card bills. And while it was the first time that I had spent three-figures on a meal for myself, there were some pretty high bills in there. Spending $40, $60, $80 on a meal has become sort of regular, a nonevent.

So it seems that, for me, at least, consistency lies within a domain, or perhaps a couple domains that I perceive as being linked. And what I've realized is that I tend to value (and as such, am willing to pay for) experiences more than things. When I was shopping for a tablet laptop, I was willing to settle for a used, older model from a lesser brand. In fact, I spent under $750 for a laptop and DVD burner, delivered. New, this probably would have gone for $1800 or so, had I gone with the Thinkpad version that I was originally planning on. And last April, I had my hands on a two sets of Final Four tickets that could have gone for about $1500 or so. Instead, I invited a buddy of mine to go, and we watched the games in person. But interestingly enough, I didn't spring the $20 on a t-shirt or hat so that I'd have something from the event.

Don't get me wrong. I still like my stuff. The things that I own are nice. I have a nice watch. I have a few laptops. I have a closet full of nice clothes. But virtually none of the things that I own were bought at full price. On the other hand, they're very functional. But I have a hard time really spending a lot on the things. I don't worry nearly as much about my experiences. Which is good. It's a happy thing for me that the things that I think that I need don't need to be too fancy. And the things that I like to do generally aren't too expensive. Which tends to prevent this whole cognitive dissonance thing from becoming an issue.

So somehow, I've made it seem reasonable to myself to spend a buck fifty on dinner for myself. Go figure. Anyone in Chicagoland up for eating too much at Charlie Trotter's with me at some point in the near future?

-Chairman