Why I Purposely Waste Money
I'm a pretty frugal person.
Just come over and check out my beat up furniture, old car, and closets full of yard sale clothes and you'll see I'm telling the truth.
So why in the world would I purposely waste money?
Let me give you some real life examples.
1. Every time I sweep the floor I come across about 13 tiny black ponytail holders that belong to my daughter. I could be frugal and pick them all up and put them away, or I could finish sweeping the floor after being interrupted by 16 other minor emergencies and not give myself cause for one more interruption. Decisions, decisions…ponytail holders in trash or one more gray hair? Trash.
2. When the kids finish a session of coloring, there are usually about 8 or 10 crayons on the floor. About half of those end up broken when the kids get up from the table and start walking around without picking them up. I suppose I could be frugal and save the broken ones to make one of the million craft ideas on Pinterest. Or I could just throw them away and get it out of my already too-cluttered house. Clean house or cute crafts that I'll most likely never get around to anyway? Trash.
3. 2-year-old destructo-man decides to rip a page out of a book. I could tape it back up, but it's highly possible that it will sit on the desk for a while, adding to a really annoying pile of other junk. Or I could waste money and just throw it away. I think I will. Ahhh! No more annoying junk sitting around!
4. Suppertime has arrived, but the lunch dishes are still not done. It's just been a fast-track day with no time to breathe. I could save money and set the table properly or I could waste money and use paper plates that will go straight into the trash, leaving me more time to enjoy playing with my kids after dinner. What sounds like a better life – playing with cute kids or washing dishes while I get annoyed that everybody else is in the other room enjoying family time without me? Paper plates, please. My money-wasting bills are tallying up, but I'm enjoying life and eliminating stress!
5. Most of our grocery shopping is done at local farms and the farmer's market, and we fill in all the gaps at one particular grocery store. I could wait and buy dish soap and tissues at Walmart for probably a good couple dollars cheaper than I could at the grocery store. Or I could spend a couple extra dollars not to have to unbuckle 3 kids, walk to the back of Walmart while wrangling said children to stay with me, check out while keeping children from annoying the cashier by touching the weight sensor on the self check-out, maneuver our way safely back across the parking lot, and successfully buckle all three children back into car seats. I'll waste the money, thank you.
Shall I continue with my examples, or do you get the idea?
While we ought to be good stewards of our finances, we should also remember that time is money. I've never heard the expression “lack of stress is money”, but I know it's worth money to me!
While I will do all that I can to practice being frugal in ways that will not cost a lot of extra time and headache, I will not worry so much over pinching every penny that I drive myself insane in the process!
Do you have any areas where you purposely “waste” money?
Can you think of frugal things you've been doing that you need to give yourself permission to let go?