this wasn't in the plan |but life is still pretty good

When I was in college, a friend mentioned that she always thought of her spending in terms of how many hours she had to work in order to spend a certain amount of money. At the time, I totally hated the concept, since I was just making a bit over minimum wage, it was very frustrating how many hours I'd have to work to buy anything! I preferred to think of my spending in terms of what percentage it'd pull from my bank account, and how much would be left afterwards.

But recently, I've come around. I've decided that, for me, it is a great tool to decide how much I really want something. I work from home on a very part time basis, and my income is totally extra, in the sense that we don't rely on it to pay any bills. So it either goes to savings, or is used for things we want. Last year, I was planning a trip that initially included just me and the kids. I looked into airfare for The Tall One and decided that even though he'd only be there for a short time, having him spend that time with us would be worth the hours I'd need to work in order to pay for it.

I like to use this little mind game when I'm debating a small purchase or a lunch out. Sometimes it's worth it and sometimes not.