I've never been that good with money. My whole savings / investment MO is to hide the money away so I don't see it. Otherwise I might buy something I can't really afford on eBay. My first ever transaction on eBay was selling a 6x6 foot Millennium Falcon for $1500 back in '98. Then there was the Planet of Apes sleeping bag with the shredded inner lining, that I retrieved from my parents trash bin. Not in my wildest did I ever think it would sell for $800. I've probably put all that money right back into eBay, purchasing crap that I didn't need.
Over the last few years I've managed to get my 401k to a pretty healthy level, pay off my car, my student loans, I don't have credit cards, and occasionally over pay my mortgage. Somehow saving for the wedding is harder than I thought it would be. Maybe the recent set back of a failed transmission, and it's $2k price tag, has demoralized my saving heart. I received my quarterly 401k update and it's obvious the economy's fiscal legs are shaky; Since the beginning of the year, I've lost two dollars for every one I've contributed.
A mild panic set in as I hurried down the hall to my accountant co-worker, the provider of gracious, vague, yet helpful financial advise. Once it was established that I wasn't retiring in the near future, she told me worrying about the drop was useless and suggested I ride it out. To my surprise, she also suggested I contribute more if I could. "Buy low, sell high" she said, which is about the simplest financial 101 cliché to understand but was tough to recall realizing a financial loss. While I don't have any more funds to float toward the market, I'm comfortable after this advise and not touching a thing.
I don't live paycheck to paycheck, but it seems like I am always spending more than I'd like. I suppose if circumstances required my fiscal scrutiny I could manage with less. I'll have to do with less if I move to Seattle. Making less will require the occasional social lie. No, I can't go for sushi because I have plans with X Saturday and will be doing Y on Sunday, when in reality X and Y are the same thing: Sitting at home watching the tele with the lady. It will be quite a change to not do everything I want, when the idea or mood hits me, but I'm up for the social downgrade in exchange for happiness.
This weekend I have three dinner outings planned, and none of them are going to be cheap. I'm showing up prepared to lay down more than a few bills tonight not just for my dinner, but to buy a friend's sushi as payment for a foolish bet. Wish my savings challenged wallet luck. Upon winning the bet, my friend's exact words were: "I'm going to eat so much sushi, you'll have to postpone the wedding."
1 comment:
Here's what you do - drive to the river, and catch some carp with an old tennis net, then slice it up with your ginsu, then roll it up with some rice from taco bell (.49 cents) and some green colored paper from the scrapbooking store (about .50 cents per sheet) and voila! sushi! Think of the money you could save by just bringing your own. The event may have already happened, so my suggestion would be to steal money at knife-point to pay back your loan. Good day kind sir.
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