Spend, spend, spend
A dozen years ago I was a supreme example of consumerism. I always had to have the latest and greatest and I was working just to feed a "new toy" addiction. After a lot of soul searching I realized that buying stuff doesn't make me happy (well, it does for a while) and tried to cut back.
I was pretty successful, until recently, and I'm trying to figure out what's gone wrong and what I can do about it. Granted this latest batch of spending isn't aimed directly at happiness, but still, I'm getting the feeling like it's getting out of control. I'm trying to cut down on spending, but it seems like there's always something that needs to be bought.
I guess owning a home does that to you. For this weekend's BBQ party that I'm hosting I ended up buying $500+ worth of stuff. Granted it's all big ticket items (patio table, chairs, grill, etc.) that I'll have for a long time, but it seems like that's always the excuse. As I was unloading all of it, it left me thinking about how much I'm going to have to spend to move it when I eventually (hopefully many years from now) leave this house.
Then there's the weed whacker that I had to buy. And the lawn mower. And the new camping gear for my trip to The Boundary Waters. And the, and the, and the... It seems like the list never ends.
It's time to make a concerted effort to stop spending. It's not so much that I don't have the money (I do, but just barely), it's more that I want to save the money for other things. What those other things are I don't know, but it seems like hoarding money gives me happiness now. At least for a while.
Maybe I'll just hoard it until I have enough to buy the next big thing.
I was pretty successful, until recently, and I'm trying to figure out what's gone wrong and what I can do about it. Granted this latest batch of spending isn't aimed directly at happiness, but still, I'm getting the feeling like it's getting out of control. I'm trying to cut down on spending, but it seems like there's always something that needs to be bought.
I guess owning a home does that to you. For this weekend's BBQ party that I'm hosting I ended up buying $500+ worth of stuff. Granted it's all big ticket items (patio table, chairs, grill, etc.) that I'll have for a long time, but it seems like that's always the excuse. As I was unloading all of it, it left me thinking about how much I'm going to have to spend to move it when I eventually (hopefully many years from now) leave this house.
Then there's the weed whacker that I had to buy. And the lawn mower. And the new camping gear for my trip to The Boundary Waters. And the, and the, and the... It seems like the list never ends.
It's time to make a concerted effort to stop spending. It's not so much that I don't have the money (I do, but just barely), it's more that I want to save the money for other things. What those other things are I don't know, but it seems like hoarding money gives me happiness now. At least for a while.
Maybe I'll just hoard it until I have enough to buy the next big thing.
posted by Mark at 9:26 AM
3 Comments:
I keep seeing them and thinking they might be my next car if I could have only one car... But then I'd have to sell the Miata, the trailer, the Focus, and I'd still want to keep the truck for getting stuff from Home Depot. And if I keep the truck, then I might as well keep the trailer, and the Miata, and the Focus. Damn, it's all the truck's fault!
See now! Friends don't let friends drive Fords! ;)
Oh and the BBQ money does buy happiness in the form of friends for the afternoon! And somewhere for us all to sit (when the sun shined for that three minutes) But just so you know I can be had cheaper (well sometimes). And the salad at work was perfect. Thanks for the loan!
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