Relevant Links
- Stealing from Your Kids | Life on Target Podcast
- Matthew Giambrone, “Escaping Inflation,” Hearth and Field
- Hearth and Field
Show Summary
For this weeks episode, I wanted to dive into an email from Hearth and Field with a piece from Matthew Giambrone titled “Escaping Inflation.” Inflation is something that everyone is experiencing in one way or another in the United States, and especially at the gas station. Giambrone outlines a few ways that he believes we can fight inflation, and I wanted to discuss those and provide my own perspective on them. I recommend reading his piece, but here is a paraphrase of his main points:
- There is no inflation of time. If you can find more valuable things to do with your time, do them. I recommend specializing in skills that will give you a competitive edge regardless of what happens in the market.
- Buy things that don’t decrease in value. He gives the example of storing food in bulk. I think that’s is also wise to invest in tools and property that enable you to make more money off of them in the long run. That is part of what I define as “productive property.”
- Buy things that are quality and will last for a long time. He describes inflation as a compounding process, so that each time you have to buy a replacement of a cheap good, you have to pay more. If you buy some thing that will last from the beginning, it actually ends up being a lot cheaper in the long run. It comes out a greater upfront cost, the savings over time are tremendous.
I think that small business owners and entrepreneurs are in a unique position to face inflation and even thrive. Entrepreneurs have control over their time, which gives them the opportunity to spend their time in strategic ways. Investing in productive property and in goods that will last can help put you and your family and a better footing both now in the future.
