06.02.08
Defining priorities — what can you live without?
After taking a look at some personal finance sites, it seems that the usual mantra is “spend less than you earn” or “earn more than you spend”. There is a philosophical difference between those two concepts, much like looking at a glass half full or half empty.
I think part of the problem with budgeting is that it seems too much like one of those “lose 20 pounds in 2 weeks!” diet plans. And we all know how well those work out — yoyo weight loss, anyone?
Some advocate cutting out the daily cup of Starbucks, others have DIY manicures, still others mention ideas such as packing your own lunch and using the library for entertainment purposes. Then there’s the intense frugal methods of canceling cable, Internet, and not using heating/AC.
After looking over these, it seems that it’s when people pick and choose between what they are giving up that they can truly stick to a savings plan. Those who are strongly motivated by watching their net worth rise or hideous amounts of debt — those people have my admiration, but I don’t consider then the average person.
If I really had to choose necessities, I’d have to say it’s high-speed Internet and good food.
About the other necessities. Rent is a given; I’m sharing an apartment with four friends in two months, so we’ll see how that goes. I try to shop for clothing that’s good quality and try to shop less over the year. I actually don’t buy clothing that often, so I don’t consider it a regular expense. We’re going to be relying on public transpo for the most part, so I definitely need to be there to see how it’s going to work out.
In all though, I’m a homebody, so I don’t spend much on the usual suspects. I don’t go in for Starbucks, manicures, expensive shoes, or what not.
However, I refuse to live without my book budget, good food, and the Internet. I’d be willing to live without heating in winter before I’d cancel my high speed access — so that just goes to show where my priorities lie.
I’ve been talking to a friend about going to the weddings and she mentioned that I shouldn’t go if I can’t really afford it. I told her that it’s true that it’d put a pretty big dent in my budget, yes, but that weddings were one of the things that I would not “save” on if I could help it.
Ultimately, like a food diet, I feel that a money diet also has to be one that is custom tailored to one’s lifestyle and personality or it’s very likely that it would not work out well.