Caught by The Police last night

June 24, 2007

 No, I wasn’t caught by the cops, but by The Police, one of the greatest bands of all time. If you were born in the 70s or earlier, you must know who Sting and The Police are.

 After 24 years, they decided to play together once again, and I was at their Reunion Tour last night. It was one memorable night. The band members might not like each other, but they can still put on a great show. Sting is over 60 years old and he’s in better shape than I am and his voice still sounds great. Really amazing.

 There were 20,000+ fans and The Police rocked the whole venue. It was one of those unique experiences that might not come again. Best of all, I didn’t pay for the tickets.

 Would I have paid for tickets? Probably not. I’ve always believed that financial responsibility, like everything else in life, is about balance. If you really want to buy something that’s outside your budget, then you can choose to rebalance your priorities for a few months, sacrifice on some things and buy what you want. That’s why I live a fairly frugal life. I tend to save money as much as possible so I can buy my gadgets, spend on my hobby (photography) and hopefully have an enjoyable retirement. I’ve been to a couple of concerts, but in general I skip them, simply because I thought it would be wiser to save that money to buy other things that are in my wishlist.

 But then I kept thinking about this article from Accumulating Money, “Spend Your Money on Doing Things Rather Than Buying Things“.

 How is my frugality affecting my life? Not every concert will provide me the same experience as this last one, but I have definitely skipped on some that might have come close. And what for? For another gadget that will be obsolete in a year or two? For a nicer TV in my bedroom? The TV will break or it will get out dated and will be replaced. But last night’s experience will last forever. Why am I giving up on so many life experiences that could expand my horizon, enrich my life or even make my life more enjoyable? Where’s the balance between living frugaly and enjoying life? I know everything it’s about balance, but what’s the right balance?

 I’ll be doing a lot of internalization and re-evaluating things in life. I haven’t achieved the right balance between saving and spending money yet. Being frugal is important, but making sure you’re living your life, is more.

 I wanted to wrap this article with the previous sentence, but I didn’t want you to leave with the wrong impression. You still have to be financially responsible. If you are in a financial situation that allows you to live these enriching moments, then go for it.

 But if you think you’ll be stretching your budget, then think about balance. Can you temporarily rebalance your priorities so you can save enough money to enjoy a Concert like this one? Could you cut your cable or not eat out for a few months and save money? Could you cut your sodas and just drink water for 6 months (a soda every workday for 6 months might save you enough for a ticket)? Ask yourself: “Can I temporarily sacrifice some of my lifestyle so I can go to this Concert and still be financially responsible?” If you can’t imagine yourself making any sacrifices, then you probably don’t want this bad enough and most likely could live without going to this Concert.

 On the other hand, if your budget is already stretched enough and simply there isn’t anything else you could temporarily sacrifice, then you probably shouldn’t be thinking about going to concerts in the first place. It is a memorable experience, but you have other problems way more serious than finding money to go to a concert. More likely, you are living a lifestyle that you can’t afford.

Posted in Finances, Frugality, Lifestyle