What a philosophical point I wrote there. I’m not sure this is a SMART goals, by any means, because my ability to measure it is pretty non-existent.

That said, philosophies are useful too.

Upon reflection, I’d say yes? This is going ok.

At the moment, definitely yes. Part of my financial plan to go to grad school involved me cutting back on retirement savings (though not stopping entirely) and I realized when I did some calculations to prep for this choice, that due to being pretty diligent in my 20s, this was likely an ok choice.

So my balance there was that the goal is still to max out my IRA and HSA but I know I probably will not be contributing to my self-employed 401k again until I graduate. In reality, I had sort of sketched out my retirement planning in my early 20s entirely unaware of 401ks and brokerage accounts, so anything extra that I’ve managed to add to them over the years should either pad my retirement savings or maybe let me skip out of the rat race a few years early.

Which will/would be nice. But so is following some of my dreams.

Another thing I’ve not generally been willing to sacrifice over the years is traveling.

You travel different at different periods of your life.

I am already mostly past the bar and partying scene being of any interest to me, but I have some fond memories of some real questionable choices while traveling in my earlier years.

Some of those places are spots I’d be happy to go back to, even 20, 30 years from now, but I can tell you I will have no interest in hitting the clubs or trying to bar crawl a famous street (I’m looking at you Duvall Street) without dying. The museums and culture tours will still be a good time.

At the moment, I’m trying to concentrate more on visiting spots that might have more taxing physical goals – cool hikes, white water rafting – things that my 30 something and soon to be 40 something body can handle easily, but 50s+ Mel might struggle with.

I can honestly say that no matter my financial state at any given time over the last decade, I have never regretted traveling. Even if spending money on that slowed down attaining any other goals.

Also if you are an American who has never left America – I highly recommend it. It can be a bit ego deflating to hear what the rest of the world thinks of us, but I think pretty eye opening. It can also actually make you even more proud to be an American sometimes because our country really does have some amazing things going for it – and from a distance a lot of our bipartisan issues blur considerably.

I can definitely say that in America, growing up in New Jersey, I think many Southerners are a little nuts (and am well aware the feeling is probably mutual), but when I run into someone from Kentucky or Texas in a foreign country, I am so excited to run into another American, because as different as we may be, we still have unrelenting American optimism to bind us.

**Tangent: A funny (?) thing here in the UK is that everyone always asks if you’re Canadian first because Americans never mind being mistaken for Canadians (aww… you think I’m nice?) but Canadians do not appreciate being mistaken for Americans. And it always makes me laugh a little.

Another thought on this is that it really is a balance. There were a lot of times in my 20s that I didn’t exactly love the very frugal life but the freedom in my 30s to make some choices I’ve made – to wait for the right job, to not stress over losing a job, to chase a few of my own creative projects, to go back to school – has been awfully nice. I wish I could go back to younger Mel and tell her that not only will it pay off, but it will pay off sooner than it seems in those moments.

I would also go back and tell her to breathe and it’s ok to spend a little more money at times because a few of those seasons were straight up miserly – especially when I was dating a guy who was dead set on retiring at 40 and not spending any extra money on fun until then.

I suppose my key takeaway here is to have a plan. Know how much you need to save to hit your goals (emergency fund, retirement, house, travel, etc. You decide) and when those numbers are hit – live a little. Or a lot. And include some fun along the way (see travel goal).

If you’re interested in seeing how the other goals on my Money Manifesto are going, you can read those posts here:

1. ) I will pay off all my debt. 
2. ) I will tithe 10%
3. ) I will save at least 15%
4. ) I will build up a $10,000 emergency fund.
5. ) I will max out my IRA every year.
6. ) I will put effort into learning how the stock market works better.
7. ) Then I’ll invest in it.
8. ) I’ll put effort into learning how REITS work.
9. ) And then I’ll invest in it. 
10. ) I will own a home and it will not be a McMansion. 
11. ) I will pay for cars up front, in cash.
12. ) I will write a book. About a little man named Jorge who lives in a jar in an antique shop. He has a mustache. 
13. ) I will keep on learning thrifty and frugal ways to live and then actually use them.