Wealthbuilding

I think it’s safe to say we are currently in the age of frugality.  Gone (for now) are the days of binge-spending and racking up our credit cards.  I would definitely consider myself in frugal mode right now … but I still dream occasionally of some of the things I would like to own.  Here’s a list of things I would splurge on, if I was ‘rich’

1.) COUNTRY CLUB MEMBERSHIP – I’m a big tennis player and fan.  If I had my way, I’d play everyday, but sadly, when winter hits, tennis usually stops.  The beauty about joining a club is that you can plan indoors all year round.  A few clubs in Vancouver are the Hollyburn Country Club and Vancouver Lawn and Tennis.  But at $15,000 to $25,000 to join and monthly dues of several hundred dollars, it’s not exactly a frugal item.

2.) AUDI A4 2.0T QUATTRO – I love this car!  I guess you could say it’s one of my dream cars.  Gorgeous, understated styling and power, coupled with an efficient all-wheel-drive system makes for solid German engineering.  Starting price for this $41,200 CDN – nope, think I’ll be waiting on this one. (Photo: Psmithy)

3.) ROLEX WATCH – I love big chunky watches.  But at $10,000 to $15,000, I wouldn’t exactly call it good use of my money right now. It’s nice, though, isn’t it?

(Photo: Char1iej)

4. ROUND THE WORLD CRUISE – I can’t think of a more comfortable way to see the world.  I love the idea of feasting on sumptuous food and being entertained as you travel from port to port.  These kinds of cruises can easily cost up to $30,000 or more … someday.

5.) LUXURY CONDO – I’d love to live high up in an amazing apartment with stunning views.  Imagine waking up and making coffee in a high-tech kitchen with all the latest gadgets.  At a cost of at least $1 million, this could be a tall order.  For now, though, I’ll have to be happy in my low-rise rental – at least I have in-suite laundry.

(Photo: SqueakyMarmot)

YOU GOTTA LIVE LIFE, RIGHT?

I have to admit, most of these items are WAY out of my price range, but I could probably swing the Audi, I think. I’d have to lease to keep the payments low, though.  So, why don’t I do it?  So many people tell me to go and buy what I want because you have to enjoy yourself – you only live once, right?

Well, here’s the deal – I wouldn’t say I’m always frugal, but I certainly like to watch what I spend my money on.  You see, I want my time back.  I’ve spent too many years being a slave to payments, and I’ve had enough.

I love lots of nice things, and I could probably afford some of them now, but having free time is much more valuable to me.

DO FRUGAL PEOPLE HATE ‘THINGS’?

I think a lot of people who are frugal are probably in the same boat – they wouldn’t mind having a few fancy things, but don’t want to waste their lives paying for it.  Of course, there are some frugal people who simply have no use for material items.

The whole point to being frugal or careful with our money is getting back control of our lives – we don’t want to waste our time doing something we hate to pay bills for stuff that has long outlived its usefulness.

Maybe someday, once I’ve satisfied all my financial goals and I have total time freedom, I may splurge a bit.  But in the meantime, I’ll be holding to my present strategy of watching my money carefully.

I’ll end this post with a question – what would you splurge on?

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With the economy slowing the way it is, I’m sure one of the first things to get cut is charitable giving – it’s human nature to lower these so called ‘variable’ expenses.  I’ve taken a closer look at my budget, though, and have decided to give the same amount this year.  Here are 5 tips you might consider if you’re concerned about giving this year.

1.) Make it automatic – set up automatic contributions on your credit card or through your bank and pretty soon, you won’t even notice.  It’s kind of like paying yourself in reverse.

2.)  Check the financials – I don’t know about you, but I want to make sure my charity is using the money properly and is financially responsible.  With websites like Charity Navigator, you can choose a charity and evaluate it’s effectiveness by looking closely at its financial data.

3.) Choose a subject your passionate about – if you’re interested in sports, why not choose a charity that concentrates on something in sports – like a local baseball team, or something like that?  If you’re going to be donating your money, at least you’ll get something in return, beyond the satisfaction of helping people, of course!

4.) Donate your time – if you’re really broke, you why not donate your time?  Lots of charities need volunteers and are constantly short-staffed.  Check the website, Volunteer.ca for more information on volunteering.

5.) Fundraising – In a way you’re volunteering your time, but you’re also being an advocate for the charity of your choice.  If you find that you’re low on money, then simply go through your list of contacts and get them to donate their money or time.

I think we can all spare at least $10 per month.  If we look at what we spend, I’m sure we easily waste that amount on useless things – why not direct it towards charity?

Plus, charity has a tendency to come back to us in the form of feeling satisfied or better yet, good karma.  If you notice, I have placed this post under the category, ‘Wealth-building’ because giving should be part of a wealth-building strategy.

On a side note, the recent Madoff scandal may negatively affect philanthropy in the next few years.  Many wealthy people and foundations who invested with Mr. Madoff lost everything.  It looks like some of these charities lost millions.

With that in mind, it looks like it’s going to be up to us ‘poor folk’ to pick up the slack.

Photo credit: Mr. Kris

"The Strump Financial Blog - a (sometimes) irreverent and (hopefully) useful take on personal finance and investing. Personal finance is fun."

If you like this post, then subscribe for free updates HERE or click on the bright orange logo on the TOP RIGHT section of my blog. You can also sign up for free EMAIL UPDATES, as well

If you look at most wealthy or successful people, they usually have a full network of people behind them helping out in all aspects of their lives - personal friendships can enrich their social lives and professional contacts can help them get ahead in the business world.