Member-only story
I can’t afford to have fun
Now that I’m finally taking responsibility for my finances like an adult I have had a realisation. I can’t afford to have much fun. Fun is a luxury, it’s not a requirement, and fun is different for everyone. So I can have fun but not to the degree that I’d like, and that’s my punishment for my financial behaviour.
I don’t need to spend money to have fun but it helps me do more things that involve other people more than anything else. Being broke is lonely as you have to stay in more and you have to miss out on events and days out. It’s hard emotionally as well as you have to say no to people, but saying no is a major part of being an adult.
I do set money aside for fun
To get one thing clear I do set money aside for leisure, it’s just not much as it’s not a priority and I don’t have much to dedicate to leisure. Out of my remaining money after all my priority debts are cleared I dedicate 30% of my money to my current account.
This is supposed to be by leisure but it’s also because of the things that life throws up. I have to pay £60 to park outside of my flat every year, and I’m not even guaranteed a space. I’m probably not going to be here for another year as it’s too expensive but I’ll still have to pay for the short term.
This is the type of BS that this money is for. When you look into it, there is more BS like this in your life than you think, and you have to end up spending money on a necessity when you really don’t want to, all the time. For bigger things, you have to dip into your rainy day fund. Thankfully 2 months into the year I haven’t had to do that yet.
I have free hobbies
I do actually have a lot of free hobbies. I like to read, write, I’m learning to dance, I like to go hiking, and there is personal finance too. That’s all well and good but they’re not social hobbies. I’m sure there are free social hobbies, and I can go out and hang out with friends casually, but without money, I can’t do what I really want to do.
