Saving money and play
Everybody knows saving money is important. The reasons for saving money are innumerous. People need to have money for upcoming bills, for the unexpected, like a relative visiting from out of town, and for emergencies just to mention a few. There’s one reason for saving money that tends to be forgotten, but it’s very important. Would you guess that it was for play? Well…really entertainment or recreation in any form.
Too often we neglect our need for entertainment, but it’s a necessary part of a well-rounded life. There are a number of studies that conclude it’s just bad to work all of the time. You need to do something you enjoy, and to fit a frugal lifestyle, you need to plan for it. Planning would include putting it on your calendar and budgeting for it.
You work hard now it’s time to enjoy life
Play-Recreation-Entertainment
Have a good time doing something you enjoy. I’m not talking about the vacation of your lifetime. (I’m not excluding it either.) I’m talking about, occasionally, doing something you want to do for fun. It could be a movie or dinner out, possibly with friends. Maybe it’s a road trip to the city to see a play, a museum or an artist in concert. Maybe it’s bowling, or an antique show, or an evening of board games. It could be anything, but it needs to something that enhances the quality of our life. Something we look forward to and remember happily.
We need to plan for these events for several reasons; ultimately, they all have to do with being frugal. I constantly say we need to maximize our resources—time, money, and energy (which includes emotions). First of all, this should be an event that reduces stress, even if it is exciting. It should provide a break from your regular schedule, but not cause anxiety over tasks left undone. So, planning/timing is important. Money issues are important, too. If it will stress the budget too much to take the family to the theater, this might mean choosing a movie night at home. (This could be even more fun than going out; there’s no crowd to tell you to “pipe down” when something’s so funny you can’t stop laughing, and you can replay your favorite parts over and over (and over?) again.
I do want to note that budgeting money and time for “play” can make elaborate plans more doable.
There’s always “that guy”
I know a guy who doesn’t plan ahead. When an event he wants to attend is announced as coming, he goes into what he calls “frugal” mode. (He may be making fun of me, but I don’t care.) So he can get the money together to go, he becomes a pinchpenny about everything. He looks for the most inexpensive foodstuff he can find–not necessarily nutritious food—and purchases the least amount he can get by with. He also drops in on his “friends” and neighbors along about mealtime. (He’s single, thank goodness!) That might not be so bad, except we rarely see him otherwise. He starts bumming rides and cigarettes. He’s even willing to be late on bills so he can “do his thing.”
This guy isn’t frugal. He’s not miserly. He’s just cheap.
Personally
I prefer to live a frugal lifestyle. I use a budget to manage my funds. My cost of living is governed by my budget. Because it’s important to me to do certain things I consider fun, like enjoy exotic foods, go to the theater to see a few movies a year, take a vacation…the list goes on, recreation is a category in my budget.
Just to be clear, I’m still employed, and I don’t party or take a vacation every weekend. I am realistic about my income with regard to both my cost of living and the cost of things I like to do. Based on my income I’ve put together a budget that allows me to live reasonably—not extravagantly—and save from every paycheck for extras like “play.” (See my post how to make a budget.) When the time comes to do recreational things, I don’t have to be a financial contortionist. I have the money to do them.
Comparison
Technically, “that guy” and I both save money (in this specific instance for play, entertainment of some type). The definition of saving money is setting aside funds for future consumption. He does accrue money to be consumed later, but his “later” is soon to come and his “saving” is sporadic at best. Per my budget, I regularly contribute to a fund purposely designated to finance a variety of future recreational options.
This guy makes a really decent salary, but doesn’t have a budget and lives an indulgent life that takes most of what he takes home on paydays. His lifestyle has to be drastically adjusted when a whim (like hearing there’s a concert he’d like to attend) hits him. I’ve got two examples of how his lifestyle has to change to meet his entertainment needs:
1) He has a large yard and hires a lawn service to maintain it. In the winter he also has someone with a plow clear his driveway. When he wants money, he’ll “reschedule” and do the work himself a time or two. (His HOA has some strict rules, so you know he has to be hoping the weather will cooperate and he has the time to get it done.)
2) I just mentioned the Home Owners Association rules? Well, one rule is that you can’t work on your car in your driveway or the street. That includes washing the car. Well, of course, this guy has a nice car and, usually, has any work that needs to be done on it taken care of at the dealership. He also has it detailed fairly regularly, but…occasionally—when there’s something special he wants to do—he’ll sneak in a late night or early morning oil change or car wash. I know he’s been caught at least once changing the oil. The HOA fine nixed whatever plan he had for the money he was “saving.”
It’s not uncommon at these times to hear this guy brag about how frugal he’s being, about how much money he’s saving by changing his own oil, or how much he saved on his groceries or the electric bill this month, all so he can make his event. What isn’t common is to hear about him doing any of those money saving things when he doesn’t have a specific agenda.
Sometimes, it seems like he is cheating fate. He does manage to enjoy a number of events, but there have been plenty of times I’ve heard him say, “I really wish that had worked out.” (You do know that these events are announced weeks ahead of time, right? But if he were smarter, he could just get on his computer and check out what his favorite groups or venues were planning. He could get the information months, maybe a year, ahead.) He could do some financial planning…Maybe make a budget? At least avoid the drama.
I’ve thought about this guy’s lifestyle. As I said earlier, he’s very indulgent with himself. Basically, he lives for the “now.” I’ve seen him go through some crises, and he always has to go into debt to handle them financially. (That causes him to change his lifestyle, too.) Anyway, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find out he was willing to go into debt over entertainment; that would be the kind of thing he wouldn’t admit to though.
That guy isn’t frugal, but “frugal” is a lifestyle. It’s my lifestyle. I live on a budget. My budget consists of a number of regularly funded categories. I add money to those every time I’m paid. I withdraw from most of them according to a schedule that I’ve determined I can reasonably live on. There are, however, several funds, including Recreation and Emergency, in which I keep enough surplus to allow money not only for my plans, but also for life’s surprises, pleasant or unpleasant. I don’t have to change my lifestyle to have money when I want it.
Conclusion
It’s important for us to have recreation. Recreation is essential to a balanced life. (It keeps life interesting and also helps with emotional and physical health—even if our choice of “play” is not particularly active.) Unfortunately, many people neglect the need to enjoy life. There’s no reason for this if we’re frugal. We can respect our time and financial resources by planning ahead for our entertainment and by saving money for it as part of a budget. If we build a financial cushion, we can even be ready to partake in some spontaneous events without stress. It’s frugal to save money for entertainment/recreation/play.
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