Sometimes We Make Money to Spend It | brokeGIRLrich
This sounds like a weird sentence- but sometimes I need to remind myself of it.
A good friend of mine was recently debating leaving her job. She had another lined up to start in a few months, but she was pretty miserable there. She has an excellent savings account and knew that she wouldn’t struggle bridging the gap, but still had trouble pulling the trigger and quitting.
Of course, she did (because you can only have your soul sucked out by a job you don’t like and don’t need for so long), and her story reminded me that sometimes money is there to spend it.
So this post goes out to all the money hoarders out there. I feel you. I get super wrapped up in watching different savings and investment accounts grow and the thought of touching them makes me literally nauseous.
Even over the last summer and this past winter, I went into those seasons fully expecting to withdraw from my emergency savings to get through them and felt sick about it. I even padded that account going into those layoff periods.
And then I still didn’t want to touch it.
Now clearly, there’s nothing wrong with being a hustler. And there’s nothing wrong with being motivated to make more. But there are times when you hit a point of “what on earth is all this for?”
And the answer, for me, is to spend it.
Spend it carefully. And wisely. And always save for that rainy day (flat tire, surprise appendectomy, kid’s college fund). But spend it! There’s no point in dying with a ton of money left.
Everything IS bigger in Texas!
Personally, I’ve had one of those weeks this week. We’ve had several days off in an awesome city (San Antonio) and we’ve spent most of it wandering the city and drinking heavily… which certainly adds up. I did some math on what I spent this week and had a “woah” moment before I realized it really didn’t matter. I’m not only hitting all my savings goals for this year so far, I’m exceeding them. So the fact that I’ve dropped like $250 in 3 days when I’d usually spend less than $50 isn’t something to lose sleep over.
And also lost a Fitbit. I’m a little sad about the Fitbit. But again, if I replace it, it’s not like it’s a huge expense.
To be fair, everything about this post is something that you get to revel in after building a solid financial footing. There have absolutely been times in my life when I couldn’t quit the job I hated and I couldn’t randomly drink my way through the Riverwalk 3 days in a row. But I got from that point in life to this one and you can too!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be checking out the best deals I can get on a new Fitbit using Raise discount giftcards and clicking through eBates – because there’s still no reason to spend more than you need to on something. ;o)
I still have an Amazon gift card I’m struggling to spend. For whatever reason, I don’t have trouble blowing money on food. But spending on anything else is incredibly difficult for me! I cringe when I’m filling up my gas tank. And you’re totally right! There’s a reason we save!
Kate @ Cashville Skyline recently posted…How I Launched My Freelance Career From the Caribbean
Sometimes I have trouble spending money I’ve saved too, even if I saved it specifically to spend it on something. But I suppose that’s better than spending tons of money you don’t have saved…
Catherine Alford recently posted…Why Money is the Most Important Topic Imaginable
Definitely better than that!
It’s all about balance. As you said, as long as you’ve done the saving and have appropriate emergency back-up, the money is there to be spent. Sometimes when I’m on vacation I have trouble letting go of the saving mentality, but if you can’t relax on vacation, when can you?
Gary @ Super Saving Tips recently posted…Is Debt Really a 4-Letter Word?
I’ve been saving money every month to pay for my car insurance (I like to pay 6 months at a time instead of paying monthly). I have to renew in March and have enough money saved, but I’m so used to seeing the balance in my savings account that the thought of taking $500 out of the account is stressing me out! Even though the money was always tagged for insurance.
Thanks for reminding me that it’s okay to spend the money we save!
Michelle recently posted…Arthur’s Weight Loss Journey!
Ugh, I feel the same way about car insurance payments. I pay it all once a year, so coming up on June, I always have a nice high balance in my bank accounts to pay it – then after I pay it, I feel a bit deflated, even though that’s what the money was for all along.
I hate spending money! So much so that at one point I wouldn’t buy new shampoo… Just used the husband’s and smelled like an Old Spice commercial for a while there. I’ve let go of some of the extreme though haha. It’s been a process.
Femme Frugality recently posted…Freelancers Workshop #Pittsburgh via Whetstone Workgroup
HAHA. I totally do that at home with my parents sometimes. I just start using my brother’s Axe body wash/shampoo until we’re totally out and have to buy something anyway.
Lol exactly. In other hate spending on personal care news, my kiddo trashed my hair dryer a couple weeks ago, and I have yet to replace it. My hair has been AWESOME let me tell you…
Femme Frugality recently posted…Around the World in 80 Books: Montenegro and Mongolia
I am a big fan of separate savings accounts for separate goals so my clients have accounts for travel, personal care, clothes, etc. and it’s so funny because as their accounts build up and they see their wealth grow, they are loathe to take the money out for what it’s intended. A happy compromise I usually see is some sort of cheaper option for their goal. For example, one client had a tattoo fund and it was fully funded, but he decided to get a black and grey tattoo instead of a full color tattoo because it would cost less.
Shannon @ Financially Blonde recently posted…Goals Based Investing
I’m living extremely frugally while I pay off massive debt, and I think that even after my debt is gone, I’ll probably still have a really hard time spending money. I like the idea of budgeting a certain amount every month to be “fun” money so I don’t have to feel guilty.
Jen @ Frugal Millennial recently posted…Frugal Frustrations: When I Feel Like Giving Up