I definitely like my morning brew...and until recently I stopped at Starbucks every single day. $25.00 a week...not financially brilliant. Today was the first day I actually got a coffee at Starbucks in over a week...and that was because we went for our Sunday morning bagels after Mass. I'm thrilled that I've gotten my coffee making down to a science, where it actually tastes just as good as getting it out. So although I did pick some up today, I don't intend to do it again for a while...
I was reading a post from Grace at Graceful Retirement. Her post was on "what you really want" and how it relates to your money. As an example, she mentioned that she enjoys getting coffee out during the weekends. It's a treat for her as she reads her paper in a different environment. (This is somewhat of an attraction for me on the occasional Friday as well). But she also mentioned that she used to get a coffee every single day, mostly out of habit...which didn't bring great value to her. She was willing to give up the coffee stops during the week, but not on the week-end because she valued this activity.
This concept can be applied to most anything that you spend money on. Finding out what is meaningful to you and what you value will help you decide how you spend your money.
And, on a side note, those following my Lenten promises? Well, let's just say it is a work in progress......
4 comments:
Sharon, I really agree with that. For me, it's not coffee, it's eating out. I used to do a lot of it and it got routine. I found I wasn't getting enough enjoyment from the money spent. Now I prefer to go out less often, but enjoy it lots when I do go.
We still can do stuff we enjoy while trying to save money :-)
I really like this post. We value our outside interests, so as long as we can afford it, I continue my voice training, the girls have their riding lessons and my husband has his photography. When I took a year off from work in 2004, we cut back on everything including music, which was really hard for me, but worth it at the time to stay with the girls. My goal is to finally become debt free so if one of us chooses to go part-time or leave our jobs, we can still pursue those interests that really enrich our lives.
And by the way, I am Cathy in your post - before and after! Loved the cartoon :-)
That cartoon was Cathy? It looked a lot like ME! Thanks for the reference to my blog--I definitely enjoy reading yours.
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