Selective indulgence April 28, 2006
Posted by irishmadness in Budgeting, Debt, Frugal living, Saving, Uncategorized.trackback
Two conversations with co-workers this week have me musing on what I call selective indulgence.
Basically, it means building in a little splurge to make the tight budget required to pay down debt palatable. And when I say little, I mean little. For my co-worker buried under student loan debt, it’s coffee from the coffee shop instead of his kitchen once a week. One friend vowed that once she finished grad school, she would only drink real diet Coke, even if it meant cutting expenses other places. For me, it’s my collection of Republic of Tea flavors instead of generic black or green tea.
Now, while those all revolve around caffeine, your splurge doesn’t have to. It can be almost anything inexpensive that makes you happy. The key, it seems, is choosing something that lets you say, “Hey, I can handle brown-bagging it while everybody else goes to the Mexican place for lunch.” It seems that by giving yourself permission to not scrimp and save in one area, it makes the other sacrifices easier to bear, which means you’re less likely to splurge on something that really will bust the budget. And that means a lot more money saved in the long run.
Absolutely! It’s also true that building flexibility makes it easier to stay on track. For instance, if I have no free cash at all, I’m more likely to splurge regardless of price (I can’t afford anything anyway … I may as well get what I want). On the other hand, if I have $20, or $50, or $100 a month that I can spend on anything I want, I’m more more likely to think twice about an expenditure (I can buy this with my “allowance,” but then I can’t buy anything else. Do I really want THIS?). Kind of like when you tell a kid he can have a particular toy if he uses his own money, versus saying you’ll buy something.
It’s also worthwhile to consider incremental indulgences. About 15 years ago I had the opportunity to present a paper at a conference in Paris. This was an important conference and opportunity, and I got some funding help to go. However, I did have to use student loan funds to help pay for the trip. I wanted to work in a few extra days of vacation, but it seemed indulgent given the debt load carried. My mother pointed out that I should consider the incremental cost of a few days hotel and cheap meals against any other recreation and see if I still wanted it. After all, I had a *free* trip to Paris whether I stayed or not, but if I went another time I’d have to pay the plane fare.
You’ve got great ideas! I’m really enjoying reading these posts.
I’d forgotten about the Paris trip, but you’re right, that is a good way to handle things. Actually, the Richmond trip falls into that category for me. I still have to pay gas and some expenses while I’m there, but getting the hotel for free makes the trrip much less expensive and gives me a chance to see a bunch of things I’ve wanted to see.