So I am getting ready to switch to an i-phone. I have been waiting for a year, watching my t-mobile plan run out. I got a free I-touch that I use for listening to books, but recently cracked on the sidewalk. When it happened, I was almost relieved, thinking, now I have a real justification for a new purchase. I wonder at my desire for what everyone else has. The commercials make me wonder if everyone in the world will have to have one in order to breath. The apple bug crawls in my ear and tells me that I need an ipad or anything they are selling to live a better, more "simple" life.
T-mobile sales reps know that I want an i-phone and have been calling incessantly to try make their plan so good that I will change my mind. The irony is they have no better rates to offer. They suggest different plans for more minutes, but nothing is cheaper then what we currently have, which is the 750 minutes family plan. The truth is that I hate talking on the phone, so I don't do it much!
I am on my third pre-paid phone, because I lose them or accidentally drop them in toilets on a regular basis. The trap is that there are always better versions of the phone coming out, so to buy now means missing out on the next version. My tech friends tell me the 5G is coming out in September, which could mean a better deal on the 4G. Everyone with a phone says the 3G is terrible and you have to wait. Does it matter if I have a phone with cameras pointing both directions? Do I want to spend more and will it get me more. My husband says he doesn't need one, but I think he secretly wants one and that it might distract him further than his blackberry, which is mostly used for email. I the crackberry for his birthday long ago and still wondered what I was thinking.
My conflicting goal is to not overspend. The question I face is to consider if and when new phones will fit the budget. I wonder about how others budget for the random wants of life. In my world, budgets have felt like parents telling you not to buy the toy you covet. At 35, I still feel like defined dollar amounts to groceries, entertainment, gas, clothes all secretly make me want to defy them. Rules and limits, like bosses, are hard for me.
Question for you: [PLEASE COMMENT] - What allows you to live within limits that support financial freedom and personal enjoyment? (or conversely, what constricts you from financial freedom)
1 comment:
I don't know--limits are hard. I still feel guilt for spending too much money. Right now, I'm on the way to the grocery store to buy orange juice, and even that feels profligate. Do I need orange juice? Couldn't I eat the bruised chard in the garden for vitamins instead?
I think I do have to make room in my life for creative luxuries, whether it's French Roast coffee, an iPhone, or orange juice. Life requires sacrifice, but it also requires joy.
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