{"id":73152,"date":"2011-03-15T04:00:02","date_gmt":"2011-03-15T11:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/getrichslowly.org\/blog\/?p=73152"},"modified":"2024-03-05T21:34:56","modified_gmt":"2024-03-06T04:34:56","slug":"how-to-spend-your-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getrichslowly.org\/how-to-spend-your-money\/","title":{"rendered":"How to spend your money"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday, as I was otherwise occupied (I spent five hours writing a post about programmable thermostats, a post nobody will even like!), the conversation on Donna Freedman’s<\/a> article got a little cranky. Donna wrote about pinching pennies on some things so that she could splurge on others. In Donna’s case, that meant a trip to England.<\/p>\n

Tyler K., who’s always a little<\/i> cranky, wrote in response<\/a>:<\/p>\n

I’m just waiting for the post where someone’s passion, the thing they’re willing to scrimp on everything else so that they can afford, is a Range Rover. Or anything else but travel, really…It’d be fantastic to see someone write about not going to Europe so they could buy a luxury SUV<\/b>…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Other Brian expressed his frustration<\/a>, too:<\/p>\n

I agree with Tyler 100%. I’m pretty sure the person that wrote that post would get absolutely BLASTED in the comment section for their prioritization of Stuff over experiences…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And Jane, who is usually mild-mannered, chimed in<\/a>:<\/p>\n

I would love for someone to actually have the courage to write an article about how they scrimped and went without for a big screen television!<\/b> Why is that any less valid than saving for a trip to Paris? I’m sure everyone would say that it is just as valid and cite J.D.’s mantra \u201cDo what works for you.\u201d<\/a> But let’s be honest \u2014 there is a pretty obvious privileging on this site and others of certain types of ways to spend your money. Travel is one of the ones that people categorically praise.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

First of all, I’m as tired of travel articles as everyone else. Yes, it’s one of my pet topics, but we’ve featured it a lot around here lately. Time for it to take a back seat for a while. Second, I think travel gets praised a lot because people enjoy<\/i> it. For years, I heard people extolling the virtues of travel, but until I tried it, I didn’t really understand.<\/p>\n

That said, Tyler, Jane, and The Other Brian have a valid point. We do<\/i> talk a lot about Experiences here \u2014 but I think that’s because in Real Life, so much attention is heaped upon Stuff.<\/p>\n

Stuff isn’t evil<\/b> (though too much of it can certainly become a burden<\/a>). Maybe it’s time for a little reality check…<\/p>\n

How to Spend Your Money<\/h2>\n

Jane is right: My gut reaction is to cite my motto: “Do what works for you.” Because that’s what it’s all about. If you’re out of debt and meeting your savings goals, spend your surplus on whatever you want.<\/b><\/p>\n