<< Back to all Blogs
Login or Create your own free blog
Layout:
Home > A strange observation about my spending in May

A strange observation about my spending in May

May 27th, 2010 at 03:34 am

I made a rather strange observation this month.

In May I gave $250 each to my brother and sister. (I'm helping my brother with debt, and helping my sister save for college.) When I add that $500 to the total that I spent in May, I'm on track to spend less in May than I have in each of the previous 5 months.

So basically I started spending less overall when I started helping my family.

I was ruminating on that oddity today. I think I know why it happened. Helping my family gives me focus.

Again and again this month, I found myself contemplating a $50 something or other that I would normally buy. But instead my thoughts wandered to my sister going to college, or my brother travelling around the world once his debt is gone. I started to wonder if really want anything any more. What I really want is freedom and choices for the people I love. What I really want is connecting to the people I love. I already have enough on hand to make food, and be warm, and find love, and relax with a cup of tea at the end of a long day. What more do I want? I want my sister to have a choice about what she does next - that's what I want.

I'm also starting to appreciate the pace of buying used things. I've been discovering again and again how much I like waiting. Eventually the object of my desire shows up at the thrift store. I like to find it there waiting for me, one of a kind, at the end of a month-long search. I love the atmosphere it creates in my home: I'm at the end of all of my searching. I'm there.

Posted in Budgeting, Personal Finance | 3 Comments »

3 Responses to “A strange observation about my spending in May”

  1. Apprentice Bliss Hunter Says:
    May 27th, 2010 at 11:10 am 1274958631
    1274958631

    Great points made - I think it's about entering a different mind space where it's not so much about being a Consumer as it is about being a Human being.

  2. Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
    May 27th, 2010 at 01:31 pm 1274967110
    1274967110

    Welcome to the world of second hand wait-shopping. Heh-heh, I waited 4 years to find the right 2nd coffee table. Wink

  3. Jerry Says:
    May 28th, 2010 at 03:02 pm 1275058926
    1275058926

    You are on to something here - when we focus on others it leads us to be less likely to nickel and dime ourselves to death, doesn't it? Not only that, but we have the insurance of knowing that we make some positive decisions to assist somebody else. Very cool.
    Jerry

Leave a Reply

(Note: If you were logged in, we could automatically fill in these fields for you.)
*
Will not be published.
   

* Please spell out the number 4.  [ Why? ]

vB Code: You can use these tags: [b] [i] [u] [url] [email]