While saving up to go back to school, I briefly worked as a cashier for a small burger joint. My supervisor would schedule weekly team huddles – highlighting items that were expected to be pushed for the sales quota that period. No matter the week: the same item came up, time and time again.
“Whenever a customer orders a main, don’t forget to ask if they want fries with that.”
This is commonly referred to as cross-selling.
At its heart, the purpose of cross-selling is to increase business profit by encouraging consumers to purchase more than originally intended. But it’s presented to the customer as added value: the perfect complement to an inevitable purchase that’s already destined to happen. You’ve committed to the burger – why not pay a bit more and have the fries as well?
It was while working here during one of my lunch breaks that I learned about financial independence (FI): a concept describing the ability to afford cost-of-living without the requirement of work.
Prior to this, I had always regarded jobs as something every average Joe had to do to live. But FI introduced the idea that working could actually become a choice.
Companies use cross-selling to their benefit all the time – maybe I can apply the concept to increase the value and quality of my own life. I was sold:
If working to make a living is the inevitable burger purchase, then I think I’d like FI with That.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that achieving FI will be as easy as a last-minute addition of fries to a food order. But the alternative is working until I’m 65 (or quite possibly past that age), so I think pursuing FI will be worth the effort it requires.
I’ve made some progress thus far towards achieving FI, but I’ve still got a lot of work ahead & a lot of learning to do.
I hope to use this blog to document what I learn about personal finance, my progress, and reflect on how my thoughts and relationship towards money may change over time.
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