FOMO on CyberTruck

Yes, FOMO even happens to me.

In the last few weeks, Tesla’s CyberTruck has started making its first deliveries. As a person who loves technology, I was curious about what people were saying about it. I started hearing about all these fantastic features: its ability to turn on a dime at slower speeds, the ability to use it as a backup battery to power your house, the potential to get a battery pack extender for towing, and the ability to charge another Tesla as a backup option. (I own a Model Y). Then I started envisioning buying the latest Tesla solar roof with the PowerWall batteries, complete with the CyberTruck and Model Y—the bastion of clean energy and no more reliance on fossil fuels. And then, after my two-day hyperfocus on anything and everything CyberTruck, I came out of the fantasy world and figured out how much something like that would cost. Let’s just say I don’t have cash to pay for it.  

Then, I started to feel like I was missing out. I spent two days in a research cycle to find out I couldn’t get it at least anytime soon, and then I felt sad. Don’t I deserve a CyberTruck?  Then I realized where my thoughts were taking me and wrangled them in. I started spouting off what I was thankful for. I wanted freedom more than a truck, even though it's a fantastic, super duper, amazing truck. American marketing had gotten me and sucked me in. It had created an emotion in me that I felt I needed something I didn’t know I needed until I consumed the marketing.

The Marketing Machine Industrial Complex

Companies spend millions/billions of dollars trying to sell you something. A product, a service, or insurance. And they do it by hacking into our brain chemistry and understanding the words, phrases, and visuals that will drive us to feel or act a certain way. And they spend tons of dollars researching human psychology to sell better. This isn’t a morale post where I discuss whether this is right or wrong. But just a fact that it happens. And because of that, you need to make a plan to fight against it. If you don’t have a plan, you will fall to the whims of your emotions and find yourself buying the latest iPhone because it is made from titanium. Who cares that the current iPhone you have works perfectly well.

Because companies' sole purpose is to part with you with your money, you need to have a plan to combat this. I can give examples of how my family personally combats this marketing industrial complex. You need to however, find what works for you and your family and experiment.

First, you need to have a plan for your money.

Plan for Money

1. Make a value list
2. Track where your money goes
3. Make a plan for your money
4. Make a plan for your emotions 

I go more in-depth in my Steps to FI(RE) Series

Value List Example

1. God
2. Family
3. Time Freedom
4. Physical Exercise
5. Adventure
6. Work that Matters
7. Dress Freedom
8. Money

Values are necessary because whenever you have an impulse decision, you ask whether it falls in line with your values. This is helpful, especially when making a plan for your money, and then all you have to do is follow the plan. It makes it much more straightforward, which is why it is number 3. For numbers 2 and 3, I use YNAB. No shocker there.

Make a plan for your emotions.

• A couple of things I do. For anything over $100.00, I have to talk with my spouse about it and wait 24 hours before I buy it. Even if there is a sale. The only exception is if we’ve pre-decided on the amount and are waiting for a deal.
• I also check in YNAB for the money available before I make an impulse spend.
• I also have a want list I use to write things down in notes. I have to write things down there. I spent it.
• Lastly, I look at the total cost of ownership. For example, if I’m making a purchase, I think through the potential things I will need to add to that initial spend to get a scope of the actual cost of owning that thing and then wait 24 hours before I purchase.

In Conclusion

We desire things and materials. But ultimately, we don’t want things to own us. This isn’t about perfection. It is about focusing your efforts and resources on what you value by factoring in the emotions you will feel that can detract from your long-term desires. Creating some white space between the impulse and the action can help remove the emotion and work your plan, and that is what I wish for you.

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This article is informational; it should not be considered Health, Financial, or Legal Advice. Not all information will be accurate. Consult health, financial, or legal professionals before making any significant decisions.

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Updated 12/18/23