There was a time in my life (college and early to mid-20s) where it was totally normally for me to go to a bar and drop somewhere between $50-$80 a night at the bar. Obviously, not the best way to blow your budget – but, I did have a good time and I am glad that I got it out of my system.
Today, I easily blew through about $200 without even batting an eye. Where did I spent my money at?
- Costco – I had some stuff that I needed to stock up on. I guess alcohol has been replaced with exciting things like bulk artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers and avocados (and not pictured but also purchased – M&M’s, Pasta and Almond Butter. Money Spent: ~$40
- Dogs at Play – $30 contributed to the fine proprietors of Gracie’s favorite place on earth. We were out of town yesterday and they are really the only place in town that I trust my little monkey with – plus she loves them. Money well spent.
- Pier One – Our new furniture did not come with any pillows. Thus, the need to buy accent pillows. Money Spent: ~$30 (thanks to a sale).
- Books a Million – Obviously, it was very important that I spend about $4 on the Duke NCAA championship edition of Sports Illustrated. Bonus points because the editors chose the goofiest picture of Jon Scheyer possible for the cover.
- Pita Delite – I have been craving one of their hummus pitas forever – Total Cost: ~$10 thanks to a coupon.
- The Mellow Mushroom – Danny requested this for dinner. We had no groceries in the house so I obliged – Total Cost: $28+tip (but, the boy does have enough food for another meal this week)
- Harris Teeter – About $40 for groceries this week + another $20 cash back for Danny to have for lunch this week.
I guess my point in all this is, if I could go back and have a chat with mid20s me, I would tell her to maybe cut back on the alcohol and bar tabs and save more money. I enjoy a fun night out on the town as well as the next person, but, it kills me now to think about how much money I spent back then. And, believe me, when I was first out of college, I was NOT making enough money to justify blowing through large amounts of money at the bar.
As a side note – if I could go back and talk to college age/early 20’s Danny, I would tell him to stop spending all his money on frivolous computer/electronic equipment and save it for a down payment on a house.
Of course, if I could go back and talk to my younger self there are A LOT of other things that I would tell me. But, that is a whole different post that I will save for another time. Off to watch television with my husband and dog.
