My family has been questioning my financial decisions since I was thirteen. "Are you sure you want that for Christmas?" "Are you sure that's worth the money?" "Are you sure you're going to use that once you buy it?" "Are you sure you really need that?" It's from these questions that I learned frugal spending habits like couponing and finding treasures in the clearance bins. I eat the generic version of almost everything, I couldn't tell you three pasta brands but I can tell you which generic canned mushrooms are the good ones. I get most of my cleaning supplies from a Dollar Tree and most of the gifts I give to my friends come from the Dollar Spot at Target. All this aside, I spend a lot of money. I spend three hundred dollars on plane tickets, a hundred and fifty dollars for concert tickets, thirty dollars a meal at restaurants, and fifty dollars on fruit baskets whenever I finish an internship or leave a job. I spend more money than a lot of people I know. A lot of times people are shocked by just how much money I'm willing to spend, especially as a millennial. So, I thought that I would take this time to clear some things up, and share my fundamental understandings about money.
The main reason why I spend so much money—or recklessly spend it depending on your point of view—is that I know for a fact that money is temporary. Money doesn't last forever. Money is not a currency they use in Heaven. I could save every cent I have until I'm ninety-two, that doesn't change the fact that I'm going to die and I'll never have that money ever again. So why not spend it on the things that I love, while I still can? Why not spend it in a restaurant in Venice that serves made-to-order pasta? Why not spend it on vintage postcards in Peru? Why not spend it on floor seats to Coldplay? Why not spend it on an extra dessert at a restaurant I may never get the chance to eat at again? Why not use it to enjoy my life to the fullest, to spend it on experiences over things, use a temporary means to create lifelong cherished memories? I could be dead tomorrow, the world is a dangerous place. But the world is as dangerous as it is breathtakingly beautiful, and when my time has come, I don't want to be one of those people who regrets never doing what they wanted. I want to be the person that meets Death as a friend, and chat with him about my adventures happily.
On the island of Hydra in Greece, a trip extension that cost extra but was worth every penny for the banana gelato alone.
Another reason why I spend money like crazy is because money is constantly changing. Money is nothing more than a system we created, and continually adapt to a changing world. We literally invented the idea of credit and credit-scores, where money that you don't see or touch but you've apparently dealt with determines if you can buy a house. Companies compete to give you a tiny plastic rectangle (now with chips! Wow!) that is supposed to represent all of your money as well as some of their money that you can pay them back for if you spend it. Doesn't that sound insane?! When I played with my Barbie cash register as a kid, I never realized how similar it would be to real life. Who knows where money will end up in the next ten years!
Forecastle Festival, I saved money for weeks to get insanely expensive tickets just to see my favorite band at the time perform for forty-five minutes. It was amazing.
Now let me clarify, I spend a lot of money on experiences and meals and soul-enriching activities. But that doesn't mean I pay my rent late. That doesn't mean I wait until the last minute to pay my credit bill. That doesn't mean I cut my tithing short. That doesn't mean I don't have a savings account that I meticulously take care of. I pay my rent two days early. I pay my bills the minute I get them. My New Year's resolution this year was to tithe 20% and it's super hard but I try my best. In our society, it's almost as if we view adventurous and financially responsible people as two different entities. You can in fact be both. Just because my budget has a Miscellaneous Adventure category doesn't make me any less frugal.
My best friend and I enjoying front row balcony seats at the "Alice in Wonderland" ballet because why not see a ballet the week before finals.
My aunt has this saying that she has used for all of her professional life: "Everything can be solved with either time or money." I would like to amend that statement to: "Everything can be solved with time or money, and Jesus." These are the words that I will use, because every blessing I have comes from Him. I get to eat gelato in Austria because of His sacrifice. I get to walk through the Louvre because of what He has given me. I get to walk, I get to breathe, I get to write this article, I get to live because of Him. My life is a cherished and beloved thing. So why not use the tools I have to make it even more wonderful?
Floor seats for Coldplay's World Tour. I've wanted to see them since I was a child, and now that dream has come true.
