Balancing Saving And Fun

There”s a reason frugality is often seen as a way of sacrificing your ability to do what you want, when you want, and saving money for emergency funds, investments, and increased earnings later on down the line. That”s because it is. Even if you pride yourself on doing low cost activities with that provide high fulfillment at little expense, you”re still (in most cases) looking at spending at least some money to do it. If you like hiking, you still have to put gas in the car to drive to the state park near you.  If you prefer sports with friends, you”ll have to cough up the money for equipment upfront, and you”ll pay to keep that equipment maintained.

Now this isn”t to say that not all hobbies should be forsaken in the name of the almighty dollar, but rather that you should set a specified amount aside for your hobbies each month and stick to it. This will allow you to keep saving, keep investing, and building upon your earnings and letting compounding do your work while still enjoying yourself. This means that I can happily watch my emergency fund build up while I take archery lessons, play paintball,  or even purchase (World of Warcraft, if you”re not familiar with the acronym.

So feel free to set aside some money for the things you like to do. It”ll make the journey to financial freedom that much easier.