Splurge on Experiences

I'm reading a book right now about being a cheapskate.  I'll review it for everyone when I finish it.  The general gist of the book is that being frugal and limiting our consumer ways can really increase our happiness.  Which, you've probably guessed, is something I'm kind of into.

Anyway, one of the chapters I read today talked about how we should stop spending our money on stuff and start spending it on experiences.  The experiences are what we'll remember when we're eighty sitting on the porch in our rocking chairs anyway, not all the items we once owned.

And after a wonderful weekend spent visiting family and friends, I have to agree.  Laughing, chatting, seeing movies together...that's the good stuff.  I'm so glad I splurged on a ticket to go home for a quick weekend getaway.

Totally worth it.

The yummy-laden table.

Proud grandmothers.

What are your favorite memories from your life so far?  Do any of them involve stuff/objects, or do you mostly remember experiences fondly?

Simplify

We've decided to simplify things this summer.

We're downgrading our apartment to one similar in size but much cheaper, just across the street from where we are now. We're decluttering and getting rid of stuff we don't use or just love. We're switching Flanna to a less expensive preschool, but one that we really like, where she'll learn about God and Jesus and fruits of the spirit and wonderful stuff like that. I'm going to be working less, maybe even just mornings like I always intend to! (Somehow the extra $ from extra work hours is always soooo appealing, but I've got to find a balance in which work doesn't constantly push to overtake my precious family time.)

All this, to hopefully get our life to be a bit more manageable on less work with more play. On less stuff and more calm. On less spending and more saving. On less comparing ourselves and more accepting ourselves.

I think the changes will be good. Hard at first. (I hate to make changes to my sweet daughter's life when she's so small and doesn't understand why!) But good in the long run.




How does your current situation compare to the life you pictured for yourself at this stage in the game? Do you think that you judge yourself by your own standards, or by comparing yourself to others? I've found that the times I feel worst about my life are times when I'm judging myself by other people's standards, or looking at myself through other people's eyes. And then I feel best about my place in life when I just look at the life we've made through my own eyes. Does this resonate with you? Or if not, what helps you accept this life as your own?