For several months there, I’ve been able to save $2,000 per month (over 50% of my net income).
Those days are over for a while. I’ve made a conscious decision to spend more money on the things that are important to me (of course, a less charitable characterization would be that I’m inflating my lifestyle!). Namely, they are:
1. My own place. Living alone will definitely be a luxury – I pay $750 to share a 2 bedroom apartment, but a studio or a 1 bedroom will cost me $1,000+. But I’m really excited in the apartment search, and it’ll be so nice to finally experience living on my own.
2. Dance classes. For the longest time I’ve put off taking salsa and tango because I thought the money is better served going into my emergency fund. But dance is just about the only form of exercise I can enjoy doing for long periods of time (unlike, say, the treadmill, when every. single. minute. crawls at a snail’s pace.), so I view this as an investment in my health.
3. Fun + travel. I’m going to try to squeeze in more weekend trips. Despite having lived in California for years, I really haven’t seem much of the area at all. I’ve been to more COUNTRIES than I have to the different locales in the Golden State. This oversight must be remedied.
4. Applications. I am gearing up to retake my test and apply to graduate school. School visits, interviews, application fees, etc. etc. all add up. But that’s okay. I’m not going to worry about that expenditure too much. Money that must be spent, must be spent.
For now, I shall put out of my head the $100K tuition bill. I hope, if I get a good enough GMAT score, I can ‘score’ some scholarship money. Too bad there’s no Foundation for the Advancement of Bad Puns! Har har har.
At the end of the day, like Mom said, money’s meant to be spent on the things that matter.
Speaking of Mom, I’d like to give my parents a trip to Santa Barbara or Solvang (perhaps this summer for Dad’s birthday?). My uncle said that my mom has been telling all her relatives about my Vegas present to her. That makes me happy, because that’s how I know she really appreciated the gift (or more importantly, the sentiment).
funny, i too have consciously decided to spend more. however, i plan on “eating” my money;-). i really love good food and trying new restaurants. oh, and i plan to a couple of trips this year as well. thanks to swine flu, my trip to mexico may not happen.
i’m enjoying reading your updates on twitter, my dear! SO glad i drank the kool-aid finally.
all this sounds like worthwhile investments in your peace of mind, quality of life, and happiness. you are a savings guru, so now that you are comfortable financially, it’s good to take a step back and ask how you can live your life more fully.
i agree with you–dance classes are an easy, fun way to work out. i am also a fan of social sports leagues–even though i thought ultimate frisbee was for …odd people…(sorry to anyone that offends), i actually had loads of fun and got a great workout from the weekly games! it didn’t hurt that we won our division, either.
my recommendation for a spot to go in California: the Wister mud pots. they are SO COOL. it is also free!!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/salton-sea-mud-pots-and-geothermal-mud-volcanoes-calipatria
Just prepare yourself for the fact that there could be no scholarship money. I wasn’t quite fully accepting of that fact.
It seems the schools give away 90% of the scholarships to R1 applicants. Heck, of the couple hundred MBA aspirants I’ve met during the process, only 1 got into Kellogg in R2 because R1 application volumes were up 40% and the pool was very strong. And nobody got money for Fuqua in R2.
So, it makes a lot of sense to get yourself together a few months early and apply in R1.
Just don’t apply to all your top schools in R1…because your application quality will go up after you do a couple, so if you had 4 top schools and 2 safety schools, apply 2 top + 1 safety in each of the first two rounds.
Dance classes and giving your mom a trip sounds incredible!!!
I have been thinking about saving more actually. I’ve spent quite a bit in the last months. This May I think I’ll try and see how much I CAN’T spend
After all of your awesome saving and hard work, I think you deserve some fun!
Good for you! And what a sweet gesture to send your parents up here!
There are so many cute (and reasonable b&b places in Solvang) and of course some fantastic wineries. We go over there whenever we need a break. Let me know if you need recommmendations!
Again, well done! 🙂
I took a ballroom dance class in college and it was probably the most fun I’ve ever had getting exercise.
I suddenly realized how little I’ve seen of CA. Now that I might be moving away, I suddenly have an ever-growing list of what I think we should have done while we were actually here!
Great choices… sounds like the dance classes and travel will be fun! Not to mention the great bachelorette pad… something cool will come your way, I’m sure.
Your mom is so right. Seriously, we’re only young once, and what’s the point of saving money if you don’t get to use it on something that will result in great memories? Since you’ve obviously got the savings part under control, no worries there.
It took me a while after getting out of school to actually get into the mindset that delayed gratification is not all good. I still get to save pretty aggressively ($3k/mo) and being able to contribute to my fave causes, splurge on dinner or an impromptu weekend trip, or treat my parents to a vacation is worth so much more to my mental health than the money I spend.
I am actaully starting dance classes too with the rec&park to save some money and because I hate going to the gym.
We are looking for interesting place as well to do weekend trips in California preferably Southern California. Let me know what you find! 🙂
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