It’s My Money And I’ll Decide How I Spend It

From September to December this year I’m taking my mini-retirement. Meaning that I’m taking off four months at work and I’m doing what I want to do. 

I’ve decided that I wanted to travel with my partner. We are discovering Central America together at this moment (this post is being written from Costa Rica). 

Over the past weeks, I’ve noticed that many people have an opinion about how I spend my money. I don’t know why, but it seems like a common theme and I wanted to write about it. 

Personally, I don’t care what others spend their money on, it’s their responsibility. That’s also what I want, that others don’t care about the ways I spend my money. 

As long as you can pay for whatever it is you’re buying without going into huge amounts of debt, of course. That is a side note that I feel like I should add!

Most people are quick to judge others. I have to admit that I’ve done that as well in the past, and I’ve regretted it many times. 

One thing I see people often judging each other is what others spend their money on. 

My perspective on that is: as long as it doesn’t affect you, why would you care? 

Everyone is different. In their spending habits, in what they value, and in what they want to get out of life. 

Some have frugal hobbies such as reading or doing board games, whereas others don’t see the value in that. Some prefer to spend their money on holidays, like me. Others think that spending money on holidays is a complete waste of time and money. 

The point is, everyone in this world is unique. No one is like the other. So why would you care if someone else enjoys different things than you do?

Here are things that I enjoy spending my money on:

I Love To Spend My Money On Travel  

I am the kind of person who loves to travel. I’ve had my first mini-retirement where I went to South America (Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru). At this moment, I’m traveling in Central America. 

I am not someone who drops the big bucks when traveling, but I do enjoy long-term travel. 

I’m convinced that you can live a frugal life and enjoy it. I purposefully live a frugal life and but I splurge on items that are important to me. 

To me, traveling is a great way to slow myself down and totally relax from the hustle and bustle that is going on in my everyday life. I love being outside, trying new things, and hiking in the mountains. 

So yes, I spend more than average on traveling I’m sure. 

My family is always commenting on that. You’re going on holiday again? Where are you going this time? Can we come with you? You earn enough money to pay for us too right?

I Love To Spend My Money On Rent

I don’t own a house and I’m not planning on buying a house anytime soon. 

The financial commitment that comes with buying a house is not something that is appealing to me. Flexibility is what I love. I enjoy living with roommates or renting my own apartment. 

I enjoy having a life that is as carefree as possible, renting a house fits that image. 

It’s just that it’s so easy to make a budget – and most importantly stick to it – when you only have to pay one bill per month. 

I Love To Spend My Money On Sports

Now is the time to admit, I’m that person. I spend a lot of money on fitness gear and my different sports throughout the years.

I have done so many different sports: judo, volleyball, gymnastics, rowing, running, fitness, and I’ve tried many more for the short term. 

The problem with doing many different sports is that you need all the gear. When you’re working out 3/4x per week, you can go through your clothes rather quickly. 

Besides that, I have to admit that I was buying new workout clothes rather often. I got some comments about how many different workout clothes I own.

Nowadays I’m going more towards minimalism, meaning that I am not buying as many workout clothes as I used to. Plus I’m only doing fitness at this moment in time, which is also a huge cost saver.

You can imagine when you’re doing two or three different types of sport at the same time, you need a lot of different things. 

When I get settled I’ll probably start doing different types of team sports again, since I love team sports. 

Does that ever happen to you? How do you respond?