For an audio version of this post, please click on the speaker icon (top left).
Index Of The Seven Deadly Sins Links:
Although popularized by the epic poem, The Divine Comedy
The version I am using as the basis of this series of posts will date back to the 6th Century AD using the nomenclature of the Catholic Pope, Gregory the Great.
These sins are ordered from the least deadly to the most egregious (and this series of posts will follow the same ordering).
So first up to bat is Deadly Sin number one, Luxuria (later donning the name of Lust)
“Luxury is an enticing pleasure, a bastard mirth, which hath honey in her mouth, gall in her heart, and a sting in her tail.”- Frances Quarles
Luxuria is the act of self indulgence , whether it be sexual, for power/money, or extravagance.
This sin earns its right in the pantheon of financial cardinal sins for many an individual has entered financial purgatory after falling victim to this sin’s sweet siren call.
This sin does not make a distinction between the rich and the poor.
No, this sin does not discriminate.
Whether you are a high earning physician or someone relying on government assistance to get by, there are stories throughout the internet of individuals falling off of their path to success by purchasing items well beyond their financial means.
These victims fall prey to the demons of advertising and lending, whose deadly combination entices them to overextend their finances with low introductory APR special offers and extended terms so that the monthly payments appear to be reasonable.
This leads to a death by a thousand cuts as the consumer is eventually consumed by the interest from being on the wrong side of the lender-borrower equation.
Let he who is not a sinner cast the first stone.
For those following my blog from its inception (thank you by the way), you know that I completely fell for the lifestyle inflation trap that most physicians do immediately graduating from residency.
Luxuria certainly had its grip on me.
As I approached becoming an attending with the resulting “big bucks,” I felt that my current ride, a Plymouth Breeze I had bought used, was suddenly beneath me.
I thought a German luxuria luxury car was more befitting of an up and coming interventional radiologist and thus marched right into a Mercedes dealership and “bought” one before I even finished my fellowship.
Financing the car with a 5 year term made the monthly payments seem reasonable (which was completely not the case as I was already heavily in debt from my student loans that were continuing to grow during forbearance/deferment).
Luxuria certainly blinded me from the financial path of righteousness and changed the course of my financial outlook because of it.
It is easy to rationalize the sin of luxuria as a physician:
- I deserve this! I have been delaying gratification my entire life until now. I should go for it!
- My friends and family perceive doctors as being rich. I need to look the part or they will think that I am not a good doctor.
- My income puts me in the top 1% of the country. I should therefore emulate what the other one percenters do.
- I am just starting out as an attending. I have decades of high income to look forward to. Future me can easily handle this so why do I need to delay happiness?
In our materialistic society, our social status is implicitly tied to outward signs of wealth.
This leads to extravagance of lifestyle as we all want to be “The Joneses.”
You know I would really be depressed if I was the Joneses. Everyone seems to blame me for everything.
Don’t Let Keeping Up With The Joneses Lead You To Financial Ruin – Winning Personal Finance https://t.co/ZHVsZB7uj8 #Winning #PersonalFinance @WinningPFin— xrayvsn (@xrayvsncom) July 19, 2018
This feeds into the sin of Luxuria which grows more powerful and causes us to never be satisfied as there will always be countless ways to indulge ourselves even more.
They call it the hedonic treadmill for a reason, and luxuria is the power source.
As powerful as Luxuria can be, it can be defeated.
The key is recognition.
Creating a budget helps you silence the siren call of Luxuria by forcing you to track your cash inflow and outflow.
When you assign a purpose for every dollar that comes into your household, there will be none left for Luxuria to feed off of.
Putting a reign on cash outflow is the first step in building your financial dam and diminishing the power of Luxuria.
The classic book, 
What are some of the ways that you have fallen into Luxuria’s grip?
Note:
If you are in search of financial help, please consider enlisting the service of any of the sponsors of this blog who I feel are part of the “good guys and gals of finance.”
Even a steadfast DIY’er can sometimes gain benefit from the occasional professional input.
-Xrayvsn
NOTE: The website XRAYVSN contains affiliate links and thus receives compensation whenever a purchase through these links is made (at no further cost to you). As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Although these proceeds help keep this site going they do not have any bearing on the reviews of any products I endorse which are from my own honest experiences. Thank you- XRAYVSN
The deadly sins are countermanded and superseded by virtues. In the Psychodrama written by Aurelius Prudentius Clemens in the 4th century entitled “Battle for the Soul” he explores these sins of Luxuria he writes: “Flowershod and swaying from the wine cup, Every step a fragrance”. With her attendants Beauty and Pleasure, and her weapons of rose-petals and violets, she succeeds in swaying the army of Virtue “in surrender to love”, before succumbing to ultimate defeat. Trip to Sandles anyone? The slayer of Luxuria is Chastity. In it’s wider context Chastity is akin to purity likely from the Greek Chatitoo which… Read more »
Wow. I thought I was up on my knowledge of this subject but you definitely are well versed in this Gasem. In some of the subsequent posts I did actually write about the virtue that is used to negate that particular sin.
I think all who live in first world countries are battling against Luxuria. She’s a mighty temptress, but can be defeated with good discipline.
(No sexism intended, I just thought luxuria sounded feminine lol).
I do think Luxuria is one of those sirens that enticed sailors to their financial deaths with the sweet call. 🙂 Some of the subsequent posts will have a more masculine identifying vice so I think in the end it balances out 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
Cars are the costumes most people wear in public since most areas are designed to make people dependent on them. So it’s only natural to have the car-obsession that we have in America. We’ve made cars an extension of our very identities for over 100 years now.
That really is a good point. A lot of us get judged by the car we drive and a lot of us don’t feel we made it until we can get a desired luxury car.
Thankfully I still have my 2008 Honda Accord. It is a street parked city car. It’s been abused for years. Some kids keyed it a few years ago, dented in 3 out of 4 corners, innumerable abrasions from parallel parking “love taps.”
We avoided luxuries in the form of a car.
We do have a stupid expensive apartment though. This is probably our biggest area of lifestyle inflation. It’s a doozy too. Nearly 3k a month for 600 sqft!
Not too bad sticking with the car. That was something I should have done but the allure of big money was too much. Not the worst mistake of my many mistakes but it did cost me overall
Brilliant concept for a series, my friend! Luxuria took over my house, so I had to kick her out of my car, clothing and dining to reassert control over my appetites. Now she knows to seek easier targets.
Thanks CD. Have to keep rooting inside the creative well hoping it doesnt run out and lo and behold this came out. Well I hope you enjoy the complete set, 1 down and 6 to go ?
Glad you were strong enough to fight this cardinal sin. A lot of people lose this battle on a daily basis.
I find the more I stay away from TV, the better the handle I have on luxuria. Being retired also helps as I’m not exposed to large groups of people wearing the latest and greatest fashion, or sporting the latest gadget. I have no one to impress but myself.
It is true that so much of this influence on us is via television. My daughter gets caught up in it (and to an extent I do too) when you see the latest gadgets etc advertised on TV.
Great start to another wonderful series. I had never heard of luxuria before. I had just assumed it was another term for “affluenza” or something of that sort. Thanks for enlightening me. Fortunately, I am somewhat immune to the siren calls of luxuria. For the most part, at least 😉
As I commented on Crispy Docs post about you, you are one of the rare ones that is pretty much doing everything right from the get go :). I would say you are in the extreme minority and that is why your financial outlook is quite bright 🙂 I like the term Affluenza 🙂 That may show up one day on this site 🙂
Yes, I did indeed see that comment. Truth be told, I have to give credit where it’s due. Without mentors like you and other physician bloggers, I wouldn’t be where I would be. Sure, my natural frugality has given me a head start. But it was WCI’s site that allowed me to avoid the typical doctor traps falling prey to insurance salesmen, predatory financial services personnel, etc. By following Jim and POF, it also helped me fine tune a solid financial investing plan. And thanks to PIMD, I’m now in the fraternity of physician bloggers, which allows me to learn… Read more »
Another great post and some great points made here. The millionaire next door will always be the most memorable finance book I ever read. I read it for the first time in a college personal finance class and it really opened my eyes to so many things.
Thanks Andrea. That is an all time classic book. I am sad to say I didn’t read it till maybe 4 yrs ago, but hey better late than never
At one point, we lived in a brand new house, drove a BMW (used), and ate out a few times per week. It was reasonable for my level of income, but I wouldn’t have been able to retire early if we kept that lifestyle. It’s all about priority. If you value your time more, then you need to invest more and cut back a bit. Now, I have a lot more control over my time. This is worth a lot more than the luxuries we had.
That is an excellent point about trade offs and what in the end brings you most happiness.
Retiring early I think for both of us trumps the showy stuff that never lasts. I have been contemplating when I take the step to actually retire more and more. It is a hard first step to make because I always err on the side of caution. I do think no matter what slowing down my practice or completely stopping it all by age 53 is still my target (so just 3 yrs more at worst)