I had it in my mind to make better decisions and think about where my money was going this month. I’m not very patient with my money, because I have enough of it (which is such a blessing and I take it for granted constantly) and I don’t have to live paycheck to paycheck. So dropping cash here and there on things that I want right now isn’t such a big deal. But someday it might be a big deal, and that scares me.
So, this month I wanted to really consider purchases over $50. I didn’t count my normal expenses (mortgage, gas, food, etc.). But I did intentionally think about (most) everything else.
I was only partially successful with this action item. I also did some wheedling in my own mind to justify things.
Here are a few examples of my purchases for this month:
$80 for Ryan and I to stay at a cabin in Lake Tahoe the night before Tough Mudder with our whole team. I went ahead and spent the $80 since I knew it wouldn’t get cheaper than that (since we’re splitting the cabin ten ways). Also, that’s just $40 a person and so it doesn’t really count. Right?
$75 for a new athletic watch. I had a great waterproof watch with a pedometer in it but I’ve turned my house upside down looking for it and I can’t find it. So wanted a replacement and found one I liked at REI. Instead of spending the $75, I took a few days and bought a cheap version from Target for $19. It’s not like I am climbing Everest here. I can use a cheaper watch.
$58 on this same trip to REI on other things. I also bought a water bottle, bike grease, and a bike jersey that day. Thinking back, I should have put the water bottle back — I got it to run with and now I’m probably not going to use it like I thought I would. And had I had more time, I would have looked online for a cheaper jersey (even though the one I bought was on sale). I wish I’d made a different choice here.
$73 for tickets to see NEEDTOBREATHE in concert. This one was difficult. I thought these tickets were a little overpriced to begin with, and then there were far too many fees. Two tickets to the show came out to $73 total. But I’ve wanted to see them forever, and once again that’s for both me and Ryan so perhaps it’s not as bad as it seems. I’m still torn on this one.
$?? There was a day when I had a bunch of stuff from Target in my cart (tank top, dress, sandals, napkins, etc.) and I looked at all of it and thought, “I need none of this.” I put it all back and walked out of the store with nothing but the satisfaction of knowing that deep down inside, I may have a little willpower after all.
So it was kind of hit or miss. I found myself taking one or two things out of my cart (virtual or real life) so that I wouldn’t hit that $50 threshold. That might be a little better at least for my bank account, but it’s still not the total monetary patience I was looking for.
Partial monetary patience is better than no monetary patience. Don’t despair that you didn’t do more- be happy that you were faithful in as much as you were.
That’s true. One of the hard things about this whole project is not beating myself up over stuff.
This is an interesting concept that SO opposite of my Amazon Prime see-it, want-it, click-it, buy-it, it’s here tomorrow lifestyle. I’ve convinced myself that my time is valuable (as opposed to my money, I suppose) and that I’d be “wasting it” if I shopped and bargain-hunted. But really, how many of those things do i need RIGHT AWAY! I’m going to have to think about this particular balancing act. Good one.
I agree about “wasting” my time hunting for a bargain. I know I value my time over my money, so I will usually go for whatever is easiest. Then again, how much do I really need?