“I wonder how much
money have I spent on $4 lattes this past year and is it irresponsible?”
Now my
train-of-thought of course is, I’m almost 50-years-old and I have worked since
I was 15 and I LOVE a pumpkin spiced latte and frankly I deserve it (right?).
Well do I? So, I am setting out to conquer a New Year’s
resolution of participating in all the things in life I find exciting and saying
No to some things that frankly don’t excite me!
I recently read an article recommending setting up a “thoughtful spending
plan”. The article stated, “there is
nothing wrong with spending money on things that are important to you, as long
as you consider two things: 1) ask yourself if you have the money to
begin with and 2) cut your spending on things that, quite frankly, don’t make
you too excited”. Sounds easy, right?
The challenge is many
times during the year I participate in things because of a self-imposed feeling
of obligation. I don’t want to say
NO!
Here’s a great
example. Smoked Boston-butts are really not our thing! However, many organizations in our community
sell these as fundraisers. So what do I
do? I spend $25- $30 on something, that
frankly my husband and I don’t like and 9 out of 10 times wind-up throwing most
of it away. Do you know how many lattes I could have bought for $25? A pumpkin spiced latte makes me happy, the
Boston-butt on the other hand…well you get the picture.
Setting up a “thoughtful
spending plan” doesn’t have to be hard! All it takes is a few minutes to do some soul
searching and evaluate your resources and what makes you tick. Why not try it? Throughout the approaching “love” month, see
if you notice a pattern emerging of buying things that don’t make your heart
smile, and adjust it.
The point is to be
intentional about spending money on things that give us value. If that $4 latte
really makes you smile…go for it and enjoy every sip.
