Day Nine of Abstinence and tracking spending. I had my third no spending day in a row yesterday, but today I am going to lunch with a friend so I will spend money. Even though I don't love to spend money eating out, it is an investment in friendships.
Last night I was reminded of that when I was watching a rerun of Sex and the City. the girls were taking a bus trip to Atlantic City and Carrie looked around at all the pairs of older women and said, "we need to remember to invest in friendships because someday it will just be us girls." That is so true.
Therefore, I decided that once a week if a lunch date comes up I should accept it. Although this spending makes me a bit nervous, if I am being reasonable in other areas, this is perfectly acceptable and fits within our budget.
In the future though I think I may suggest coffee or even tea at my house when I can though, because I really prefer that if we are going out I spend the money on dates with my husband. Also, I don't love it when friends suggest we all go out for an expensive dinner, but sometimes I do this as you have to have friends.
Any thoughts on the above? I am trying to figure out a healthy relationship with spending. As you can see, I am confused about this issue.
Lunch with a Friend
January 12th, 2011 at 04:57 pm
January 12th, 2011 at 05:12 pm 1294852341
I can say that spending any money hasn't come easily lately (mostly due the fact that we don't have much of it, and let's face it, what we have goes to the kids). I get together every other week with two good friends. We always go to the same place so I can easily budget $12. I am worth $6 a week to have fun with other mothers. Similarly, DH gets together with a group of guys every third week and spends $6 on a pint. I have moved from the "Gee, should I go out and spend x" to "That x is in the budget for this spending period." And I've come to the conclusion that it is ok to spend money on experiences: matinees at the theatre, outings to the Museums, etc.
January 12th, 2011 at 07:28 pm 1294860495
However, I personally think that going out to eat dinner with friends every week is more money than I'd want to spend. It may be up to you to suggest another activity, or another locale, that isn't so costly.Coffee at home sounds fine to me.
January 13th, 2011 at 12:12 pm 1294920722