Can You Afford The Maintenance Fee?
Like it or not, everything in this life has a cost. The cost of time, the cost of money, and the cost of energy. The cost to maintain anything we want in life is what I like to call the “maintenance fee”. This is the additional cost to what we’re trying to achieve and maintain what we have. It’s not the initial cost to get something, but the cost to keep our achievements, possessions, or even relationships healthy and thriving. When it comes to big decisions in life, we often factor in (or at least I hope we do) the cost to maintain that decision with the initial cost to determine the total cost. For instance, when buying a home you often think about what it’s going to cost to maintain that particular home. You’re probably considering how much property taxes are going to be, how much it’s going to cost to upkeep the home (i.e. landscaping, the time/money to clean it, etc.), and even how much the utilities will be. Another example would be if you’re planning to have children, you’re probably thinking about how much time you’re going to have to commit to raising a child, how much it’s going to cost, and how your lifestyle is going to change in order to raise that child to the best of your ability. The cost you’re considering is not the initial cost to attain whatever it is you’re trying to attain, it’s the maintenance cost. How much time, effort, or money you’re going to have to put into that relationship, that career, that possession, and even in yourself to maintain everything to the standard of your liking.
The problem a lot of us have is not that the maintenance fee exists; it’s that we forget to factor it in. We forget how much time and effort it is to maintain relationships, our achievements, and even ourselves. This even applies to the simplest things in life such as the items we purchase everyday. For instance, let’s say you’re buying a new beautiful cashmere sweater. What is it going to take to maintain that sweater in the best condition? Well, you may have to get it dry cleaned once in a while, maybe you have to personally wash it and that takes time and effort, maybe you might even have to factor in purchasing the right detergent or stain remover. This is very meticulous and I know we’re just talking about a sweater but this concept applies to everything. Why buy the sweater when you can’t commit to paying the maintenance fee? Why get into a relationship if you don’t have the time to devote to that other person? Why purchase a super expensive car without being able to afford taking it to the shop, purchasing the tires, or simply getting it washed?
The question you should be asking yourself is: Can you afford or are you currently paying the maintenance fee to take care of yourself? This is the biggest lesson of all. How can we devote our time and make commitments to other things in our life, when we can’t afford to take the time, make the effort, or even pay the money it costs to maintain ourselves? I am guilty of not always wanting to prioritize taking care of myself when that should be the first maintenance fee that I even consider. Why is it that you put off going to the doctor, getting therapy, purchasing that gym membership, or even dedicating time to spend working on yourself? It’s because we forget the importance of paying that maintenance fee.
Imagine you have a houseplant. Now what would happen if you simply ignored it. You didn’t take the time to water it, you didn’t refresh the soil, and you didn’t even make sure it got the proper sunlight. What would happen to that plant? It would perish. How are you different from the houseplant in that manner? The obvious answer is that you’re not, but you do have a higher maintenance fee. What are you going to do to devote your time, energy, and money to maintain yourself and your lifestyle?
My last question for you is: How do you expect to move forward with your life and grow, if you can’t take care of the maintenance fees for the things you have in your life now? If you keep adding things into your life whether it be making commitments, entering new relationships, or acquiring possessions without being able to afford the maintenance fee for what you currently have, you soon won’t be able to keep up. The “bills”, so to speak, will be too high. You won’t be able to grow and it will all come tumbling down. Start with what you have, take exceptional care of it, and when you can afford the time, the energy, and the cost for something new in your life then you can add to your plate. This will create slow and everlasting growth. A life you can sustain for many years to come.