Did
the pendulum swing too far the other way?
I went from being horrifically in debt, to being mostly debt free (with
the exception of the house mortgage, and that’ll be done in ~ 10 years) and
with a decent savings. I’m also on a
path of decent retirement savings. When
a startling $4K bill comes up (damned those taxes … free healthcare my aunt
fanny) I can pay it without missing a beat.
It’s obviously VERY different from where I was. That being said, have I gone too far?
I’m
responsible for managing the household finances. That lays solely on me. I need to monitor what comes in and what goes
out. A lot of people take on this task,
it’s an important job and one I actually enjoy doing. However, I’ve come to a point that I feel
like I’m becoming a cheapskate. This
past weekend, I spent $50 on tights / stockings. I haven’t spent that much money on tights or
stockings in over a decade. I like them,
they’ll keep me warm, BBE loves the look of them, there’s no draw back … but …
They
weren’t on sale. I frivolously spent $50
on something I should have waited until it went on sale. I look at the bank statement and that number
LEAPS off the page and SMACKS me in the face.
SELFISH, SELFISH, SELFISH. I’m
feeling guilty. We need to save up for
when stuff breaks, when the vehicles need service or repairs, when the boys
want to take dance class. We need to
make sure we’re planning for everything.
Where’s
the healthy balance? Between being
frivolous and being frugal?
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