Guacamole at Chipotle — How It Has Affected My Money Mindset
“50 pesos ($2.68) por favor.” You serious?!? The burrito is handed the counter into my hand and as my mouth salivates, I pour the cilantro, onions, salsas, and guacamole all over my plate. Yeah, you heard that right, GUACAMOLE. Unlimited, help yourself guacamole. Freshly made and in a cute pineapple shell.
Oh the avocado. It’s been trending and jacking money from hip millennials for years now. So much money that Avocados from Mexico has had a Super Bowl commercial for the last 6 years! $8.50 (157 Pesos) was the average cost of avocado toast in LA according to Time in 2017. The cost of likes? Priceless.
Chipotle has been a staple in my diet for the last few years. If you do it right, you can get 2 meals for the price of one calories wise. However, I always munch it all in one sitting. I go through the line and get just about the same thing every time, except when I have a gift card or the company is paying. If this is the case, I’m getting that guac for an extra $1.95. Pure luxury. What an absolute treat getting this guac on the burrito. Not only does it add to the already delicious taste, it even supposedly makes me healthier! It’s a win, win! Well actually, it’s a win, win, lose when I order it for myself. That extra $2 hurts when it’s my own money.
Okay Guac talk is over. You get the point, I love it just like millions (billions?) of people. So when I don’t opt for the guac, what message is that relaying to brain and my worth?
Relationship with Money
I was raised watching my dad getting the best deals everywhere he goes. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not cheap as he buys only top of the line items, but he will deal hunt. It’s somewhat of an art form how he gets the salesperson to lower the price. He goes into some strange character and always finds a way. I’ve grown up with this mentality of being frugal and being smart with my money. It’s led me to deny some luxuries, and I’m always crunching numbers in my head. Also, I’ve never been broke or had to ask for money. Frugality seems like a virtue to me. I think it is a virtue, but so is self-worth. By not opting for the guac, what am I telling myself? Is my happiness and health not worth 2 bucks?
I’ve always been cheap. My friends know it. I walk in with a new pair of shoes and they go, “Paul, you actually bought something?!?”. It’s my reputation. I die when we split the check evenly, even though I ordered no drink or side. I’m the guy who will download phone apps to get the first meal for free and then create another account with a different email to do it again. I spend a considerable amount of time doing this. By scamming the system, I’m sending a message to my self-worth that I can’t make the extra money if I tried. I’m saying that I won’t be able to ever afford these luxuries, these are for people that are able to make more money than me, and therefore more capable than me.
Time is money. Yeah maybe, but how much money. Renting out your time for money hurts. Say you make $20 an hour. An hour of your life that you will never get back is worth $20? This wage will determine your decisions and lifestyle if it is your only source of income. Your personal wage says a lot about you and your services. It may be difficult to raise your personal wage if you’re an employee, but as an entrepreneur you can do whatever you want! Say you raise your wage to $100 an hour. What will that do to your psyche and your product? What changes may that bring along in your life? If you’re worth $100 an hour, you probably won’t be wasting your time on hold for $5 off your phone bill every month.
Jen Sincero sums up what I’m trying to say here.
When we’re broke, we focus all our energy on the fees and the debt and we don’t really focus on the growth mindset. We’re so wrapped up into seeing how we could save money believing we could escape that situation and we don’t even realize that that mindset is what holding us back from making money.
We all have our own relationships with money. We develop these relationships from the narratives our parents and society gives us. It can be healthy or harmful, and it’s worth examining your own relationship with money. The truth is, money is a tool that we can use to become the best versions of ourselves and if earned honestly, we are creating value through our product and we’ll be able to put more back into the system, therefore helping others.
I’m currently in the process of rethinking and examining my relationship with money. One of the reasons I’m living in Mexico is that it’s much cheaper here. I can survive longer here without working as much. But what does this mean? Am I not worthy of LA yet? Well.. maybe, but I plan to get back there with more experience and a much higher wage. I wonder what sort of fire might light under ass if I take on more expenses. How much more “productive” with my time will I become? As of now, one thing’s for sure… I’m getting the guacamole!
