Money Can’t Buy You Happiness…
July 29, 2008
…unless travel, or snowboarding, or fine food and drink, or mountain biking, or vehicles, or scuba diving, or electronics, or a nice place to live, or peace of mind makes you happy.
I’ve been thinking about money a lot lately, which is unusual for me, unless it has to do with how I plan to be rid of it.
At the beginning of last year, I was more in debt than I’d ever been. I’d just finished my degree, spent a semester in Austria, moved to a new city, and filled my new apartment with furniture. I had planned on the debt, though, and I was making great headway on it by the end of the year.
I guess I got cocky with that little taste of success, and I started to loosen my already fairly slack grip on the credit card. Unfortunately, right after buying a few rather ridiculous toys, some unexpected expenses came up (such as a dentist’s bill reaching into the thousands), and I’ve now found myself nearly back to where I was.
When I moved here, the plan was to spend two or three years paying everything off and then moving on. After making more progress than I thought I would last year, it’s a little depressing to be pretty much back at the beginning now.
So to get back on track I’ve started to keep a budget, or at least a tally of what I’m spending my money on, and I’ve been looking at what expenses are hurting me the most. There is the obvious toy expense that I’ll have to keep a handle on, but another big money sink I have is food. I’ve mentioned this before, but I spend a ridiculous amount on food, so I guess this is where I should start trying to save. I’m not going to revert to eating like a university student, but am going to try and be smarter about what I buy and prepare. I’ve started bringing breakfast and lunch to work most days, I’ve been freezing more, and I’m trying to not let anything go to waste. I don’t know the average food costs for a single guy, but I’m willing to guess it’s under $750 a month.
It’s important not to dwell on debt, but it’s dangerous to ignore it as well. I guess a middleground has to be found.
Maybe I should start busking downtown. I can rock out to When the Saints Go Marching In on my keyboard now. On my expensive keyboard that I probably shouldn’t have purchased…
Oh boy, I think we’ve all been in this space at least once in our lives. It’s sad the way a medical bill can totally flatten you, isn’t it - I’ve experienced it myself more often than I care to think - makes me have serious doubting thoughts about the nature of medicine and the healthcare industry - but let me not get started because I’ll end up ranting!
Your observation about food is also spot on. I recently started buying all our fresh fruit and veggies at local farmers’ markets and I cannot believe the difference it makes to the monthly budgets - and like you, my biggest expense is food. I’ve found I can save a good few hundred rand a week by not shopping exclusively at supermarkets.
And yeah, watch those toys… but still have fun!
:-)
Comment by Absolute Vanilla... (and Atyllah) — July 30, 2008 @ 12:57 am
I just had one of those unexpected expenses this week. $800 for brakes and the like for my wife’s car. I had a nice bit of savings in the book too. Poof!
Good luck with the budgeting.
Comment by strugglingwriter — July 30, 2008 @ 8:49 am
Dude, you definitely should’ve taken me up on my offer to lend you my keyboard for you try out. ;)
Comment by Amanda — July 31, 2008 @ 11:52 am
Yeah, I probably should have Amanda, but I do so enjoy spending money!
I hate those unexpected expenses, Writer. I never have an emergency fund. I had to replace most of my braking system last summer, so I know how painful that can be. Definitely drains the savings.
Farmers’ markets are a good idea, Vanilla. I’ve been meaning to search out a good one here. Most of the markets near my place are more trinket-based that actual food. But I love buying fresh from farmers.
Comment by Rob — August 2, 2008 @ 12:43 am