I'm Sick of Spending Money

WARNING: I want to apologize from the start about this post. It is going to be filled with rants and raves in a stream of consciousness that would make Faulkner himself blush. Call it buyer's remorse or just plain bad luck, but I am literally sick of spending money after shelling out $170 for raw duck last night for dinner.

You will have to wait for my restaurant review for the complete details of the fiasco of a dinner at one of the "top" restaurants in the country, but on the ride home I started thinking about the value of a dollar. My fleeting thoughts turned into an obsession this morning when I read that retail sales were up almost 2%. Why is everybody spending so much money?

Obviously there is no correct answer for this rhetorical question. However, I began to ponder the reasons why I spend money. It didnt' take long to realize I spend money to create a feeling or emotion. Shortly after, I came to the conclusion that everybody spends money to create a feeling or emotion. I'm not going to get anymore philosophical on this point, but think about it. Even when we buy things considered necessities (food, shelter, clothing, etc.), we buy them to create a feeling. We spend a wide range of money of clothes to feel comfortable or pretty. We buy certain foods that give us a feeling of satisfaction or to make us "feel" full. People buy homes made of different materials to feel safe or in different locations to be convenient.

The problem with spending money is we often fail to identify the feeling we desire and how much we are willing to sacrifice for that feeling. I went to dinner last night with my wife for a "date" night. We both wanted the feeling of connecting with one another. The choice we made was to go to a fancy restaurant we wanted to try as part of this connection. However, was the few hours we got to spend alone eating raw duck with terrible service and leaving the restaurant sick worth $170? Would it have been worth $170 if the dinner was fantastic? The answer to both of these questions is an emphatic, "No". The reason why is connecting with your spouse costs absolutely nothing. If our objective for last night was to experience a night of fine dining than the money I spent would be linked to the "feeling" we were chasing.

The next time you make take your wallet out or are planning on making a purchase, spend a moment to think about the emotion or feeling you are trying to get by spending the money. Often times you will see a disconnect between the two or at the very least think of a more affordable alternative.

Sorry for the diatribe, tomorrow I will get back on track of giving more practical advice. However, I am going to be testing this theory in the days and weeks to come. I hope you do too. Let me know some of the things you do to stop spending money. Post a comment below.