I have had thoughts about saving money lately. One of my main themes here is minimalism and saving money is definitely “one of my things”. I want to maximize on life by minimizing everything else basically. I have to say that I am a good saver since I am 17 years-old. This is the age when I joined Police Academy and I earned my first money. It was a slight change from 50 DM (Deutsche Mark) to 1000 DM (for police school, no less!) so I wanted everything and I wanted it right away. My father and I bought my first cell phone (Nokia 8210) because I was not 18 years-old. I remember this day so clearly; I was so proud. And you know what this phone was able to “do”? Call people and write text messages. Long story short, I indulged. I invited friends to dinner, lunch, bought them clothes, bought myself even more clothes, the world was my oyster. Not for long however. My parents saved me by helping to get rid of the debt which I am still so grateful for. Believe it or not, this never happened again! I learned – the hard embarrassing way!
These days, I can say that I am pretty good with money and a saver rather than a spender. This cartoon pretty much sums it up pretty well and I could end this post here but I won’t, hah!
I have to thank my mom that I have been a pretty good saver throughout my life. Of course I buy things and I spend a good chunk of money on books, travel and food but overall I do save as much as I can. However, for some reason there is always a way not to miss out on beautiful and meaningful experiences and believe it or not, most of them are free. Balance is key here. Like with everything else in life. I mentioned in earlier posts on minimalism that if I don’t have money, I don’t spend it. Simple as that. Spending invisible credit card money never worked for me and I never understood the concept of building a credit history by using your credit card all the time. How about not using it and just spending the money you actually have on your account? Of course, there are occasional exemptions that can be considered but also rather avoided. Car loan, mortgage and such. Then again, would you sign up for a loan for a down payment for a house? I would not. “Do I really need this car?” “Do I really need this pair of pants?” Questions like this should be asked. Actually, whenever I am in any store, I ask myself this question with every item I put in the shopping cart. Strange? Helpful, simply because most of the stuff I don’t even need anyway. [How many extra shampoos and conditioners, make-up and cremes do you need?]
I think it is also important to have a certain amount of money in the saving account. For emergencies or expenses that might come up out of nowhere, and we all know, they will come up since life goes on. This money I do not touch and my debit card is what I reach for usually exclusively. I believe that saving too much money is also not a good idea. There could be a bank crash and whatnot and all the money is gone; especially these days, everything is possible, right? [election]
This post has been triggered by a conversation I had today with a very good friend at Starbucks about their horrendous prices for let’s say….. everything? A salad in a tiny plastic box for $ 11? Really? Give it a fancy/”healthy” name and people will purchase it, right? I buy my not so fancy “Grande Latte” at Starbucks every morning so I am guilty as charged.
However, I have my “money- plan” and usually stick to it and I am optimistic that even more money could be saved. Smaller living is so much better anyway. There was a time when I thought huge houses/mansions are the goal in life and if I ever accomplish that, then I are okay/good/made it in life. Actually, and over the years, I figured that this is not what I am all about. Easier, simpler, healthier, smaller and back to nature are salient factors in my life.
