Blogging for Change

When splurging is the right thing to do

by Jesse Campbell on
5/7/2014
in Budgeting and Building Savings

One of the biggest hurdles in this track meet we call money management is figuring out when it’s “ok” to spend your money – really spend some money. In trying to grow our financial fortunes, we look at both increasing income and reducing expenses, and then tend to focus on the reduction end of the equation. That usually means a thorough battening down of the financial hatches; reducing spending to a bare minimum and shying away from frivolous costs.

But frivolous isn’t the same as unnecessary. Writing for DailyFinance.com, financial blogger Hank Coleman explains why he’s happy to “waste” money on a personal trainer. “To me, it's an investment that I'm making in myself and my health. Paying (the personal trainer) gives me an added incentive to go to the gym, because he charges me if I don't show up without giving at least 24 hours’ notice. That monetary penalty works for my personality.”

The trick is to not fixate on your money goals, but rather to focus on the experience goal behind the money. Money is, ultimately, just a means to an end. It’s healthy to set concrete fiscal goals (saving X amount by the end of the year, for example), but you have to remember that each fiscal goal is in service to a deeper experience goal.

What’s an experience goal?

Behind every financial goal is a feeling or experience that you’re striving towards. Building an emergency savings account of $3,000 isn’t necessarily about the $3,000 itself, but rather about the feeling that the money will provide you – a feeling of security, of safety. All material goals – houses, cars, college degrees – are ultimately in service to positive feelings that you want to cultivate.

Understanding the experience behind your financial goals is important, because it helps you decide how and when to break from the plan. And by break from the plan, I mean splurge.

As in the example of the personal trainer, spending money on something you could clearly live without could be construed as wastefulness. But just because you can live without something, doesn’t necessarily make it wasteful, or even unnecessary. Ultimately, all the work you do is in the pursuit of a better, happier life. You’re trying to arrive at positive experiences. Often it takes hard work and sacrifice to get to those positive experiences. Sometimes it takes knowing when to set the sacrificing aside and spend appropriately.

Healthy splurging is all about knowing what’s most important to you and your happiness and making smart decisions based not only on your long-term goals, but on your day-to-day wellbeing and overriding values. Stick with your goals and remember why you set them in the first place, but don’t be afraid to spend money when the time is right.

Jesse Campbell photo.

Jesse Campbell is the Content Manager at MMI, with over ten years of experience creating valuable educational materials that help families through everyday and extraordinary financial challenges.

Recommended Articles

Man sitting in front of pile of bills, trying to understand his options.
Professional Budget Advice
Make the most of every dollar and start building toward your dreams! Budget counseling is FREE and available 24/7.
Learn More
Learn more
  • Better Business Bureau A+ rating Better Business Bureau
    MMI is proud to have achieved an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), a nonprofit organization focused on promoting and improving marketplace trust. The BBB investigates charges of fraud against both consumers and businesses, sets standards for truthfulness in advertising, and evaluates the trustworthiness of businesses and charities, providing a score from A+ (highest) to F (lowest).
  • Financial Counseling Association of America Financial Counseling Association of America
    MMI is a proud member of the Financial Counseling Association of America (FCAA), a national association representing financial counseling companies that provide consumer credit counseling, housing counseling, student loan counseling, bankruptcy counseling, debt management, and various financial education services.
  • Trustpilot Trustpilot
    MMI is rated as “Excellent” (4.9/5) by reviewers on Trustpilot, a global, online consumer review platform dedicated to openness and transparency. Since 2007, Trustpilot has received over 116 million customer reviews for nearly 500,000 different websites and businesses. See what others are saying about the work we do.
  • Department of Housing and Urban Development - Equal Housing Opportunity Department of Housing and Urban Development
    MMI is certified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide consumer housing counseling. The mission of HUD is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD provides support services directly and through approved, local agencies like MMI.
  • Council on Accreditation Council On Accreditation
    MMI is proudly accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA), an international, independent, nonprofit, human service accrediting organization. COA’s thorough, peer-reviewed accreditation process is designed to ensure that organizations like MMI are providing the highest standard of service and support for clients and employees alike.
  • National Foundation for Credit Counseling National Foundation for Credit Counseling
    MMI is a longstanding member of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling® (NFCC®), the nation’s largest nonprofit financial counseling organization. Founded in 1951, the NFCC’s mission is to promote financially responsible behavior and help member organizations like MMI deliver the highest-quality financial education and counseling services.