I’ve seen a tendency these days of things getting done with a just enough mentality. You know what I mean. Doing just enough to get by. Maybe this is a result of trying to multi-task too much? Maybe it’s more because of the consumer mentality and we try to get the latest stuff and fight to keep up? I’m not sure what it is but in this day doing something “just enough” is not good enough.
Let’s look at some of the ways things are getting done “Just Enough”:
Paying Credit Cards
Credit card companies give you and option to pay a minimum amount every month. What they don’t tell you is if you keep paying just the minimum you’ll never pay off your balance and with interest payments you end up paying much more for the item you purchased. Now add in all your other purchases you make while paying the minimum and you can see how your bill can spiral out of control! The minimum payment is a tool on the card company’s behalf to make sure you stay in debt to them and they can profit from your purchase. Pay more than the minimum! A lot more. I daresay pay it all off but I know this isn’t always possible. So pay as much as you can but pay more than the minimum.
Affording a House
We make only so much in a month. Instead of a reasonable limit, people go out and buy as much house as they can just afford. They stretch every ounce to pay for the house. Most times with a bad mortgage (like an interest only or ARM) so they can squeeze more house in their purchase. Then comes insurance. And taxes. And an alarm. And legal costs. And new furniture. And work around the house. Before they know it that dream house went from being just affordable to putting them in debt.
When thinking about buying build an extra monthly 20-30% cushion into your budget for those “what ifs” that come along. Make sure you get a mortgage you can handle that won’t jump astronomically in a few years (Read: get a 30-year mortgage). It’s ok to get a smaller house. And if you can’t afford that extra cushion then you have to wonder whether you could afford the house!
Work
Not everyone is absolutely passionate about their jobs, I more than understand that. There are days when I “mail it in.” But doing just enough at your job won’t help you get ahead. Just enough is mediocre. Know what happens to the mediocre jobs these days? They get outsourced or cut from the budget. You have do what you can to excel and differentiate yourself from your co-workers. This will help you get promoted or at the very least not laid off!
Customer Service
Ever go to a store and you can’t get any good help to answer or question? Or maybe the person at the register acts like you’re really inconveniencing them. Makes you not want to go back doesn’t it? Now think about those places that go out of their way to make your experience good. You remember those places and recommend them to your friends. Companies today need to remember this in bad economies. They can’t cut back on customer service to where they are giving us “just enough.” Now is the time to do what you can to build relationships with your customers to make sure they come back to you!
Showing Up On Time
When I was in scouts I took a kind of advanced adult leader course. One thing they would repeat over and over was: If you’re late you’re late. If you’re on time you’re late. If you’re early then you’re on time. In other words the only way to insure that you are on time is to plan on being early (remember the Boy Scout motto is Be Prepared). See it’s not enough to get somewhere just in time.
Personal Finances in General
Are you active in your personal finances? If you are then good for you! But many people do “just enough” when it comes to their finances. Maybe they pay their bills at the last minute. Maybe they put enough money away to say they have savings. Ask them specifics though and they most likely don’t know what’s going on. For the most part they aren’t active enough to really know what’s going on with their finances. A little more work and they could do much more to get ahead!
Do you resemble any of these tendencies?
Think about them and do something about it. Take action to rise up above the mediocrity. You don’t hear about people doing well and getting ahead by doing just enough. Be more. We all can do a little more in aspects of our lives to be the cream of the crop!
What do you think?
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You make an excellent point! Just having enough to get by isn’t enough. What happens when things change suddenly? If you have just enough, you won’t have nearly enough when a job loss, unexpected expense or some other problem comes into view. It’s time to stop living on the edge.
Miranda’s last blog post..Do You Need a Gatekeeper for Your Personal Finances?
@ Miranda – Understand that I know how difficult finances can be sometimes but like you say it’s too dangerous to be on the edge of you finances.
Miranda is right – living on the edge is too dangerous, especially in these times. Suze Orman has been saying that she thinks credit card companies are going to start lowering credit limits or else eliminating peoples’ credit altogether…so if your credit limits are nearly maxed out and you are using your credit cards for your day-to-day living expenses, you could be in big trouble.
Hannah’s last blog post..Pasquini Livia 90 Espresso Machine and Other Pasquini Products
@ Hannah – Imagine that! Someone could be depending on a card’s credit for bad times and find that it’s revoked. You need a cash reserve and you have to make yourself marketable too!
I could really be better in just a few areas you mentioned
This mentality of just enough causes so many problems. Great article.
@ Jarod – Absolutely. I’m no saint either. I could improve in a lot of these areas. Just knowing that will help me improve though.
I think the way the work format is set up these days doesn’t flow with the mentality of people in these times. For that reason, people may procrastinate more and half ass work, I’ve done that myself as well, I’m sure others are the same. If you work specifically when you want to, or more from home you will be more likely to put more effort in the time you do sit down and work.
From a company’s perspective, customer service has to be top notch. Always be accessible, always be out there with your possible users, and always be human and honest. Especially in times like these, even when a company makes a mistakes, consumers will forgive for companies who come right out and take blame.
@ Craig – Sometimes work has a way of beating you down to where you don’t want to do more work than you need to. In a case like that you have to consider some kind of change. I’ve felt this way too though. Still you won’t be noticed for better things if you’re just “one of the masses.”
Aren’t we all our own customer service too? Everything you are saying about a company holds true for each us. If someone in my group mucks up I’d rather know about it ASAP then find out from another department or after the situation got worse. I appreciate the honesty of someone telling they messed up how can we fix it.
I can definitely imporve in some of these areas.
Keeping ahead of the game and doing more than enough is something I’m trying to achieve in ‘09′.
Good enough is not good enough and that was my biggest problem in 2008. 2009 is the year of going beyond your limits in the workplace, savings, socially, and with your family.
Showing up on time is something that is just so underrated and ignored and can be the difference between achieving and failing.
Doctor S’s last blog post..The Unemployment Rate Meets Entourage
@ Doctor S – I’m working on little things I can do to make my workflow better. Things like cleaning up my inbox and keeping my workdesk clean. Small things that will help in the long run to make me more productive.
Showing up on time, really on time, shows consideration in the work you do. It is underrated.
Keeping my inbox clean is something I’ve been doing since I switched to gmail from thunderbid. It’s not an easy task though as the amount of email I get is rediculous these days.
Cleaning my desk and keeping it clean; now there is something I can improve on.
This is such a good point and affects so many things, but it is in the area of finances that a lack of organisation and planning can have such a big impact. There are so many ways to improve your situation, but you need to organise yourself otherwise you end up paying more in the long run.