2012 is going to be the leanest year financially that Neal and I have ever spent together. Although we hope to have a new income stream established by year’s end, we will probably have no income for most of the year. Living off savings is a psychologically difficult state for me. Even though we have planned this for awhile, I can’t help mildly freaking out about it every few weeks. I have never NOT saved money. Even when I was living in DC on $10,000 per year. I always found ways to bank a little money for the future. But this is the future.
While I want to spend as little of our savings as possible, I don’t want to make the mistake of not enjoying some of the unique opportunities we have while living with my parents. Like babysitting. It will be a monumental waste if we are so frugal that we don’t go out on dates or weekend getaways while we have built-in babysitters. We are aiming to carve out some kind of balance where we live lean, but also enjoy some of the things that So Cal has to offer (which is A LOT!).
The deal we hit on is that for all the activities I want to do, I need to sell something personal to make the money for it. I’m not a huge purchaser of stuff, but I am definitely a keeper of stuff, AKA a pack-rat. Since I know that experiences bring me more happiness than material possessions, I have started giving up things that I have long thought I would never part with. My test question has been, would I rather have this or go to Disneyland? If you know nothing else about me, you should know that Disneyland trumps almost everything.
Here’s the tally so far:
- Sold items: $507
- Birthday money from my aunts: $30
So all that is to say, I’ve made enough money that I’m going to Disneyland today! Addison and I are off to buy my annual pass (thankfully they have a $199 So Cal resident pass) so that we can enjoy a year of Disneyland fun before she turns 3 and costs money too.
If there’s one thing that’s sure to boost my flagging spirits, it’s a roller-coaster!
I think that is money perfectly well spent!
Comment by lindsey — January 26, 2012 @ 11:02 pm
[...] you know how freaking huge that place is?! I pretty much thought I was going to die about 5 minutes after we got into California [...]
Pingback by Um, so Disneyland might have been a mistake . . . « Don’t call us, we’ll call you — January 27, 2012 @ 12:24 am
Awesome! What great motivation for getting rid of stuff, too! I may have to try that.
And I totally hear you. Now that we’re students again, our budget is so different. Thankfully we have savings to supplement when needed, but it’s hard to be in the position of seeing numbers go down instead of up (especially when we lived so carefully for so many years in order to have that extra). Sometimes I want to buckle down and just do bare-minimum expense on everything, but I have learned some important lessons in the last year about the need to feed the soul, and when you have or can make the means to do so, it is totally appropriate. Especially when you are intentional and can be disciplined with yourself to know what types of purchases/experiences will really be worth it. I like to remind myself of things like “A date is cheaper than a divorce” and my latest (thanks to your suggestion via email a while ago) “temporarily paying for maid services after I have my second child is cheaper than a therapist or better than having to spend time in the psych ward.” That really rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?
Comment by v. blanchard — January 27, 2012 @ 2:41 am