I almost spent $9 on really good honey at the store the other day.
Usually, in our relationship, we consider Katie to be the spender and me the saver. But honestly, I think I’m a spender in disguise sometimes.
So honey was on my list at the store and I’m looking at the shelf, and I see this super premo top shelf honey that’s like $9. It was over twice as much as the regular honey we get.
Clearly, this honey was made by the finest bees in hill country. Why wouldn’t I want to get the best? I’m a person of fine taste and I can appreciate the clear distinction in flavor that this honey would obviously provide.
I quickly convinced myself that this honey must be so much better than the regular lame honey and so I picked it up to drop it in the basket.
But after thinking for a moment, I realize- I really don’t need that honey.
Would it matter if I spent 5 extra bucks on honey? In the big scheme? No.
Would that honey taste better and become a must have staple from now on? Well, possibly. It might have been awesome.
But truthfully, I just didn’t care. I was going to pick up the honey, drop it in the basket and not really think twice about it after that. My most common use of honey is to create honey mustard. I don’t even eat honey by itself much anyway.
It didn’t matter, this wasn’t a purchase that mattered to me.
And so, I put the premo stuff back on the shelf and dropped the regular honey in the basket and I never missed it.
Although, in that moment, it made me realize something about myself that I need to be on the guard for.
I always seem to gravitate towards the most expensive things.
Not buying the best may make you happier.
I have a hard time not wanting the best.
It feels deeply ingrained in me. But I always want to get the best of whatever I’m buying.
But the truth is, you just can’t do that with everything you want.
And that’s why I’m so happy with our washer.
When Katie and I got our new washer and dryer set back in 2010, what we really wanted to do was go all out. Back then, the fancy front loaders were all the rage. And we really wanted one.
In the end, they were just too expensive, so we got a set that did a good job, but wasn’t fancy at all.
And we couldn’t have been happier.
In fact, a lot of people ended up being dissatisfied with the fancy front loaders and it’s way more common to see fancy top loaders now.
When it came time to get a new one, we did the same thing. We researched the best quality washer for the best price.
And we’ve been super happy.
We feel happier that we didn’t spend a ton of money on something that wouldn’t have made that big of a difference in our lives. Yet, it still works great. It’s perfect for what we need it to do.
It’s not about being cheap.
I’m not trying to talk you into living a cheap lifestyle.
That’s certainly not what we do and it’s not what I recommend for you.
What you do have to remember is to prioritize the things that matter to you the most.
Buying the best honey wasn’t a priority for me. I was just as happy getting the regular kind that we always get. Buying the washer that works perfectly for us without going all out on a fancy one that we don’t need feels great.
But we also love to spend on the things that are really important to us.
Your money is there for you.
Your money is there to help you live out your priorities. The things that matter the absolute most to you.
It’s not about being cheap. Learn to really spend on the things that matter. On experiences that you’ll remember the rest of your life, and on tools and toys that are a complete game changer and make you happy any time you use them.
Where do you find yourself overspending on things that you don’t really care about? Where do you wish you could be spending a little more?
Jared
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