June 29th, 2005
things I’ll miss when I don’t have an income
Stag asks what I’ll miss while on a student budget.
Um, so, I’m pretty cheap. And I’m one of those people who, in the grocery store, looks at the per-unit price that’s printed on the price tags on the shelves. And I rarely splurge on stuff for myself.
So realistically, there won’t be much I’ll miss. I’ll miss being able to go out to a nice dinner every couple of weeks—or going out to a nice dinner and being able to get the nice bottle of wine—but that’s a minor thing. I’ll miss being able to buy the clothes I need and afford them (I suspect that I’ll spend more on clothes before interview season than I do NOW, which is frightening). I’ll miss…um, yeah, those are probably the main things.
Because, honestly, I don’t spend a lot of money. I color my own hair. I have it cut rarely (once every six months or so). I don’t get facials and I have a friend who works a salon who does my eyebrows for cheap. I shop at Target and Ross and Payless. When I can’t find what I need there, I go to Steinmart. I buy the grocery store brand if I can and, if I can’t, I get the next cheapest option.
I’m cheap, OK? It’s actually something I’ve started to see as a sort of flaw—this reluctance to spend money on things I can afford because they seem sort of unnecessary. Things like nice dress shoes and a brake job for my car. (Yes, the latter is something I’ve waited to have done because I have been too cheap to spend the $70.)
So I think what I’ll miss being on the law school budget is, perhaps, the progress I have made towards doing nice things for myself. In the last year, I’ve gotten better about buying myself nice clothes or shoes and getting a more expensive haircut. I’ve found the joy in buying figs at $9/lb. when they’re available, just because I love them so much. And I won’t be able to make those splurges as much any more. I think I’ll miss knowing that I CAN splurge (even if I almost never do).
comments
Me too! (Except about the car; I’m putting off a necessary tune-up, but that’s because I’m lazy, not cheap. It’s cheaper to spend money now than to wait until something goes wrong.)
But I was thinking the same thing — I was finally making a little more progress about buying makeup and jewelry and things, and now I’ll go right back to feeling guilty and not buying them. I am planning to buy a suit over the summer, but that’ll be a necessity, not a splurge. (Will one suit get me through interview season?)
I’ll still buy cherries, though. I don’t care how expensive they are.
Yeah, I’ve been keeping my eyes out for a jacket to match a skirt I already own; I think I’m just going to have to splurge and get it. And then buy a new suit, since my other good suit is PANTS and that’s apparently BAD for law firm interviews.
And yeah, I’ll probably still buy figs. They’re only in season for such a short time, and they’re so good…
I’m pretty cheap too, but I do allow myself comforts. I remember how during school and right out of school I would have to add my groceries up as I put them in the cart. I still track my spending, but more like a month after it’s spent, and I adjust where necessary, but I’m going to have to go back to thinking about the money before it’s spent.
Right now, I can hop on a plane and go visit a friend for the weekend when a deal pops up, or go do things (like scuba diving) when the opportunity presents itself, but I’ll have to think more about stuff like that. I too will miss the freedom to do things I can do now.
I think one suit will work. I have several suits, but still use my interview suit from undergrad for really formal business meetings (as long as I know about the meeting a few weeks in advance so I can curb my eating).