A College Gal’s Guide to Money – Part 3: Splurging

The final topic of this little mini-series on money has to do with everyone’s favorite thing to do with money: spending it. Despite being a huge advocate of budgeting and saving (aka part 1 and part 2 of this series), I think a little splurging is also healthy. It’s like eating healthy – sometimes you do a great job and fill up on fruits and veggies, and other times you eat ice cream for dinner. It’s called balance. While money can’t buy happiness, you can’t deny that there’s always a bit of a rush when you purchase something you’ve been eyeing for a while.

 

Splurge Appropriately

With splurging, there’s two keys to keeping yourself in check: planning and self-control. If you’re going to spend money on new Tory Burch boots or a Kate Spade purse, go for it. But don’t just do it at the drop of a hat. Set aside a little bit of money for a “splurge” until you’ve amassed the full amount you need; then, when the time comes, you can spend that money and not feel guilty for it later. You’ve successfully planned for your splurge. It can also be more rewarding that way – eating dessert is that much more fun when you’ve been eating healthy all day and you’re “treating yourself.” (This post already contains a lot of food metaphors… I’m not even sorry.)

Splurging also requires a bit of self-control. If you know you’re saving that splurge money for a $200 pair of boots, don’t blow it when you reach the $100 mark. If it helps, make a “vision board,” or a list of items on your splurge list that you can go back to any time you’re tempted to spend your money on something else. I personally keep a little note in my phone of all the things on my wish-list, and it’s really good to look at whenever I’m tempted to buy something random. I’ll look at the notes page and ask myself if I really want whatever other item I’m looking at as much as I want those other things, or if it’s just some frivolous purchase. This has saved me from buying so many lipsticks at Target, y’all.

 

Splurge Wisely

Buying fun, expensive items is great. But you know what’s even better? Buying fun, expensive items on sale. If you’re thinking about splurging on something, figure out if it’s the type of item to go on sale. Last fall, I knew I wanted a pair of Tory Burch riding boots – I wear riding boots nonstop in the winter, and really wanted to get myself a high-quality pair. The boots I was looking at go for $500 normally, but I knew they went on sale every once in a while. Sure enough, I waited until Thanksgiving and guess what? They went on sale for $200! That’s $300 I saved by waiting and making a splurge when it was most beneficial.

Also, splurge on items that you know you’re really going to enjoy and use regularly. The most expensive items in my closet are those boots and my Barbour jacket. Both of them get worn almost daily throughout the winter – they’re things that cost a lot of money but get a ton of use. If you’re going to blow a lot of money on something, make sure it’s something you’re really going to use and give it the love that it deserves.

 

That’s all for today, folks! I hope you guys have enjoyed this little series – I’ll be back to normally scheduled blog content next week.

xo, Taylor