If youve ever read five words about personal finance, they were probably Spend less than you earn.

Its popular because its simple.

In fact, its too simple.

Its the smallest piece of a big puzzle with lots of complicated parts.

Its time we taught those instead.

Whats Wrong With Spend Less Than You Earn?

You make X amount of dollars per month and you spend Y amount.

I think we can all agree that thats a bad way to live.

The problem with this advice isnt that its bad, its thatmost people already instinctively understand it.

Thats not to say everyone isgoodat following it, but instinctively we get it.

Weve had it beat into our heads since we were in Kindergarten.

Life, on the other hand, is less intuitive than simple subtraction.

Sometimes being irresponsible gets you there, but many more times life gets in the way.

An unexpected car bill ruins your savings plan for six months.

You lose your job right when you need your medical insurance.

Not to mention, the spend less than you earn advice rarely accounts for opportunity cost.

If you have $10k in credit card debt that you spent on gadgets and toys, yes.

You need this advice.

Sometimeschoices are complicatedand this advice often ignores that.

This advice is well-intentioned.

There was just one problem: I didnt have money for a suit.

My first job, likeso many millions of Americans, was at Walmart.

Getting a suit wouldve been a weeks worth of work even on the low end.

Whether were aware of it or not, life is full of these little choices.

Whether we like to admit it or not, having more stuffcangive you more opportunity.

In my case, buying the phone was better than buying the suit because it helped kickstart my career.

For someone else, the suit might be a better choice.

However, in virtually all situations, there are cases where buying something can give you a leg up.

Rather than spendinglessas an absolute rule, you should probably learn how toinvest in yourself.

Investing, as a principle, is aboutspending money now to enrich yourself in the future.

Will emptying your wallet on Steam sales pay off?

Will buying a suit?

However, shaminganypurchase just because spending is bad isnt helpful.

However, its easy to see how housing costs can eat up even a hard workers budget.

The average student loan debtapproached $30,000 in 2013.

On a ten-year term, the monthly payments toward student loan can range from $200-500 per month.

John Oliver hasa masterful explaineron how minor municipal violations can cause devastating damage to someones finances.

Individually, any one of these scenarios can cause huge headaches for someones finances.

Thats not to say that reducing your spending ispointless.

However, youre not clawing your way to financial independence by clipping coupons alone.

It cant hurt, but its not enough.

However, spending is just one of the two numbers that you use todetermine your financial gap.

it’s possible for you to only reduce your spending so far.

Increasing your income, on the other hand has virtually no limit.

Making more money isa lotharder, of course, especially if youre already in a financially crippling situation.

Its also quite often the only solution that works long-term.

you’re free to createpassive income streams.

You canask for a raise.

you might pursuea higher paying jobin a different field.

None of these areeasy.

Not by a long shot.

However, neither is saving money.

However, personal finance is more than just math.Its about your mindset.

Reducing your expenses is justone of the three pillarsof improving your financial life.

Illustration by Tara Jacoby.