The Purple-Blue-Red Philosophy of Spending Money

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In no particular order, here’s a list of things that bring me joy:

• Being in nature
• Spending time with family & friends
• Writing
• Coding
• Reading
• Traveling
• Coffee
• Chipotle

All of the purple items on this list cost me zero dollars to enjoy. The blue items actually do require some money to enjoy.

In no particular order, here’s a list of my core monthly expenses:

• Rent
• Groceries
• Gas
• Utilities
• Phone
• Internet

I don’t like this list as much. All of these items cost money and they don’t necessarily bring me a ton of joy.

The Purple-Blue-Red Philosophy of Spending

Using these two lists, I can create what I call a Purple-Blue-Red philosophy for spending my money. This philosophy is simple:

• Spend as much time as possible doing the purple things.

• Spend money on the blue things occasionally without feeling guilty.

• Spend as little as possible on the red things without depriving myself.

The end result is maximum joy with minimal spending. Here’s how I implement this philosophy in my everyday life:

Purple Things

These things are free and they bring me joy

I spend at least some time everyday reading and writing. I spend some time on the weekend writing code. I spend whatever time I have in the evenings and the weekends with friends and family. All these things are free and they all bring me joy. I like that.

Blue Things

These things cost money but they bring me joy

I buy Chipotle probably once a week…sometimes twice. Or three times. Who’s keeping track?

I use my Keurig to make a cup of Barista Prima Italian Roast coffee every morning. I occasionally buy coffee at Starbucks on the weekends too. Sure I could save money by not drinking coffee at all, but I always look forward to enjoying a hot cup each morning and I feel like I do better work when I drink it.

I take mini-trips once or twice a year and over the past three years I have traveled internationally twice. Trips are always worth the money for me.

These three things bring me a ton of joy. Obviously I could cut them all out of my budget, but I’d be sacrificing joy for money. That’s not a trade-off I’m willing to make.

Red Things

These things costs money and don’t really bring me joy

Housing is the largest expense for most people. For me, a big house with a huge yard just has no appeal. In fact, owning a home at all isn’t on my radar right now. I’m perfectly content living in an apartment that requires minimal upkeep and no yard work. Because I don’t care about living in an overly spacious place, I focus on minimizing my housing costs as much as possible so I can save a boatload of money each month and have more to spend on things I actually do care about (financial freedom and Chipotle).

The same goes for all my other living expenses. I keep my phone bill around $20 per month, I have the most basic internet plan, drive an ordinary Honda Civic, and keep my utility expenses and grocery bills fairly low.

I need these red things to live but they don’t necessarily add joy to my life, so I spend as little as possible on them.

Joy vs. Cost

Here’s how I picture these three categories on a scatter plot:

I’d like to spend most of my day on the purple things. These things give life meaning at the beautiful cost of zero dollars. The blue things are like little treats. They’re great to enjoy every now and then. The red things are just necessary evils. They cost money and bring little joy. 

The reason I want financial freedom is so I can pay for the red things without a 9-5 job and spend more time focusing on the purple things. 

By following this simple Purple-Blue-Red philosophy I’m devoting as much time as possible to the free life-energizing purple things, using the blue things as mini joy-boosters, and minimizing the necessary evils of the red expenses.

This allows me to cruise towards financial freedom quickly while still enjoying the ride along the way. 

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