"Mo' money, mo' problems" is not something I find myself saying a lot, because, frankly, I have yet to experience "mo' money." I mean, I do okay, you know, which right now means "not going into debt, but also not saving nearly as much as I'd like." Yes, I have an emergency fund. No, I do not have anything resembling retirement savings. (Yes, I know that's bad.) I actually cried a little bit when I did my taxes. (Nope, no refund. Being a contractor is so awesome, you guys! Thanks to the self-employment tax, I can PAY FOR THE PRIVILEGE of not having any benefits of any kind, ever.)
ANYHOW.
My point is, I am doing just well enough that when a little bit of "found money" comes into my life, I can reasonably teeter between "spend it on something sensible, like groceries" and "spend it on something fun, like gray patent leather Sperry Top-Siders."* Part of me thinks I deserve a bit of a reward for spending the past two and a half months eating beans and rice, with the thermostat set at 60 degrees. The other part of me keeps reminding me that there's a reason I've been doing that, and further more I'm just now getting to a place where a) my lifestyle is sustainable and b) I'm getting used to the frugality, so why kill the streak now?
For reference, the "found money" is a $100 Visa gift card I got for finding a new apartment via Rent.com. I could do a lot of things with $100. I could buy three weeks' worth of groceries. I could buy a sewing machine and one or two "learn to sew books." I could buy the necessities for the dog I'm adopting on Friday.** I could buy the aforementioned shoes. Point is, I could go back and forth on this for weeks, because boy, there are a lot of things you can do with $100! And pretty much all of them are justifiable, at least a little bit!
So come on, Internet. You excel at giving advice, solicited or not. Tell me what I should do.
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*No, I'm never been a boat shoes kind of girl before, but they're gray! and shiny! Other than the price tag, what's not to love?
**YAY
Singing along to: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Home
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