Waste Not, Want Not

I have been thinking a bit lately about the relationship we have with money and i think the biggest issue, for me, is that I hate wasting it. Now I am aware that everyone will have a different idea as to what wasting money is for them. Mine consists of several ways I feel we waste money. 

One is spending it on takeaway food. Now we have done this a bit in the past and there are times when we do do it and I don;t feel it is wasted at all. Recently on holiday we chose to have fish and chips as a picnic in the park before we headed to the beach for an evening walk and some running down large sand dunes. The money was well spent as we were all famished, it was our holiday, we enjoyed lounging in the park eating together and they were delicious! When we buy takeaways at home when we have plenty of food in the cupboard but we are all being too lazy to come up with an idea so we get a takeaway I always feel it is tainted by the fact that another $50 has been spent unnecessarily and I imagine how many nice groceries we could have bought with that same money.

I feel similarly about buying drinks in a bar so we do this only rarely and make sure it is definitely for a treat occasion. Buying new clothing can sit up there too and I always find myself browsing beautiful clothes but finding the ridiculous pricing of some stores almost laughable. Who would spend money on the dress that could be one weeks mortgage payment? I guess some people do. Not me! I like to find classic items that last a long time, or basics for not much that I can mix with something a bit fancier. The ultimate is finding something expensive and gorgeous in a pre-loved clothing store and getting it for a song. 

Now the flip side of this is that life does involve the spending of money for us to function and we can't be so frugal that we don't do this but I think spending needs to be considered so that when you do part with hard earned money you are getting something you really need or love and not something you will regret. The hard spending is the unexpected items like car maintenance or a health bill but they are important to be able to manage and if you choose to spend and save wisely you should be able to have a back stop that allows you to spend this money when needed and so it never feels wasted.

What spending do you feel is a waste of money?

spending money