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Living Large
By Daphne | July 10, 2008
Anyone who doesn’t have a problem with money, either makes enough or knows how to manage what they have in order to stretch it enough. After all money is only a tool, a resource. You may have been the person who liked to go out to dinner with a group of friends and then pick up the check. Or you may be the person who wants to do that instead of throwing a party at your house.
Many people have a dream or something that they would really like to buy or spend money on, although it doesn’t always end up happening like that. What really happens is that no money is saved, no plan made yet the purchase is made.
I saw Suze Orman last night telling a couple that they needed to spend less, and pare down their lifestyle. For someone on the outside looking in it is easy to say spend less. When people are making more money than they need, yet are greatly in debt, most likely it is because they are living large on all scales of their life.
Living large occasionally can be fun. Instead of getting the nosebleed seats for a play or concert, lets say you splurge and decide that you want to go all out and get better seats, so you can actually see the performer.
Live large when you are on vacation, instead of an inside cabin on a cruise get a balcony or a mini suite.
When you do not have a lot of money and no plan, living large can be reckless. Although when you are living large and you have a plan, you will be surprised how far your money can go. Let’s say you really want to go on a cruise and you have saved up for it. By altering your plans slightly, traveling just a week or two before peak season, you may be able to get a better cabin for the same amount or less than if you traveled in peak season.
To live large, you do not have to go to a scalper to get great seats. There are online discounters that offer half price seats for certain days. Even some theatres will offer discounted tickets if you sign up for their email list or buy tickets online. Great seats for much less and you would still be able to afford a beverage during intermission.
Multimillionaires don’t stay that way because they spend all of their money on whatever catches their fancy. They have good investments, or source of income.
Anyone who ever went to the store with their parents as a child will realize that they were right. “You can’t buy everything you see.” If you bought everything you wanted or could afford you might not have enough money to be able to afford what you really need.
Living large when you can’t afford it can become a mountain of debt in no time. Just like anything else, plan for it.
Topics: July 2008 |