bluntmoney.com

I do a lot of writing about things like frugality, debt reduction, savings and investing, and a lot of other bloggers do too. I also write sometimes about spending money. When I write about things like the trip we took to Italy, getting an iPhone, or hiring a wardrobe consultant, sometimes it feels like the antithesis of responsibility.

After all, aren’t you supposed to be responsible with your money? You know, save for retirement and your child’s education? Get out of debt and build an emergency fund? Take care of things like life insurance and health insurance? Learn about investing?

Of course.

But that’s not all that money is for. Money is for a lot of different things, including spending and donating to charity. The key is to find a balance of things that works for you.

If you owe hundreds of thousands of dollars on credit cards, you probably shouldn’t splurge on a trip to Italy next week. But then again, you probably won’t be able to stick to your get-out-of-debt plans if you plan on having nothing but bread and water until your debts are repaid.

The key is to find a workable compromise that will help you achieve all of your goals in a reasonable manner.

And then once you’ve gotten there, it’s just as responsible to save up for and plan out a trip somewhere exotic as it is to add a few more thousand dollars to your investments.

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