Last week, I had a great time catching up with friends. My closest girlfriends always try to spend time together when I’m around, and we had a wonderful day at the beach chatting about our lives and making new memories. While we were there, my friend’s husband jokingly commented on my jacket, saying something like, “Oh, Pauline is wearing Pauline’s jacket again. Do we need to send you a care package to Guatemala so you can wear something else?”
Hey, buddy, I don’t need my jacket in Guatemala; it’s too warm there. Before I came back for what I consider a routine one-month vacation—which, by the way, you’d probably never take—the jacket had been packed away for six months. Before that, I wore it almost daily during my motorcycle tours across Europe and the US. For two six-month stretches in 2011 and 2012, I traveled on those continents, riding about 50,000 miles with limited packing space. That’s why I have this specific jacket.
It’s a $100 Columbia jacket I bought in late 2010. It’s good quality, a light pink color that doesn’t look too outdoorsy, and suitable for wearing outside of a National Park. It’s not even three years old, fits well, and is very comfortable, so I don’t see a need to replace it anytime soon. In the 30 months since I bought it, my net worth has increased by 87%, while my friend has yet to buy his first house. Sometimes, you have to pick your battles.
Every day, when you make purchases, you’re making decisions about how to allocate your money. Some expenses are essential, like housing, food, clothing, and transportation. Other expenses are personal treats, like a cup of coffee, a book, or a romantic weekend. You deserve these little pleasures, and without them, life would be boring. For me, food and travel have always been top priorities in my spending. I spend generously on these without hesitation. Other spending areas aren’t as important to me, and spending more on them would feel wasteful.
I’ve lived in a 200-square-foot space, didn’t own a car until I was 28, and have been wearing the same jacket for three years. Yet, right out of college, I bought my first rental property with cash and had enough savings to travel the world for a year. I’m not bothered by my small living quarters or lack of a car, and I don’t care what others think about it. But I’m proud of having graduated college with enough savings to buy a flat. I don’t understand why my friend, who is a year older and earns a decent income, can’t see that every jacket, pack of cigarettes, and other non-essential items he buys for his rented house are steps away from financial independence.
Do you get criticized for being frugal, or do people around you understand the bigger picture?