i'm getting an extra 150 bucks on my next check. what to do with it? edit: decision made

[fizzgig]

Last edited Sun Jul 20, 2014, 02:25 PM - Edit history (1)

i'm torn between two options.

1) be an adult with it. set it aside or get ahead on bills.

2) get tickets to the second day of riot fest in denver and see the cure.

my husband and i saw them at red rocks when we first started dating and it was incredible. they are my favorite band and i would love to see them again.

the husband says we're too old to go to anything called riot fest. i say if robert smith can get on stage at a mile high, we can go see him.

but there's this nagging part of me that says be an adult because that's a lot of money for us.

help!

edit:

i'm going to buy an inexpensive bread machine and put the rest toward the credit card. i work a cash job at a highlands festival the first weekend of september and, if there are still tickets available, i'll treat myself to the show.

thanks for helping me ground myself in reality.

[noamnety]

1. pay the bills.

"get ahead on bills" sounds like you really mean trying to pay for what you've already spent. I wouldn't even think about any other options if it's not really excess money in your budget.

[fizzgig]

2. it would get us a month ahead on electric and internet

or my student loan. or cover registration on both the cars, which is coming up.

it's money that can go to very good use. but i worked hard for that extra money and part of me feels i should spend it on myself.

[noamnety]

5. Paying off the student loan

is spending it on yourself. And it's not really getting ahead if it's paying off a loan - it's just getting less behind.

I would do that, and find something fun but free, or close to free, to do as a reward for yourself. Go for a bike ride, or out to a nice coffee shop, or splurge on a picnic at the park with a small boom box to play your favorite tunes. Smuggle in some alcohol in a mcdonalds coffee cup to make yourselves feel like you are still taking a break from being adults.

[fizzgig]

6. responsibility will likely win out in the end

we'd have enough left over to go to our favorite spot in the mountains and do our favorite cookout.

[Sweet Freedom]

3. If you don't choose the adult option

Will you be strapped next month? If so, pay your bills. If not, go have a good time.

[fizzgig]

7. it will likely go to being an adult

we fly by the seat of our pants too often for my liking. but we'll use a bit of it for a treat.

[Tribalceltic]

4. You only live once

I'd suggest the festival, any festival.

*I have been stuck at home since 2009 from a stroke and can't go to any. I missed so many festivals that I wanted to go to......

Enjoy life. There will be plenty of time to pay the bills

[fizzgig]

8. that is what my heart says

i think i'll find a way to make it.

[orleans]

9. my advice would be to either

1. buy me a present
2. use it for the stupid bills

[fizzgig]

11. i would buy you all of the presents

but here are some kitty pics because kitty pics need no reason to be posted.

[orleans]

15. nice...i appreciate the furry gesture of photos! n/t

[CBGLuthier]

10. It is better to regret something you do than something you did not do.

I once passed up a chance to see the The Who and Keith Moon died the next year. Go to the show and enjoy yourself.

[fizzgig]

13. i always wonder how many more opportunities i'll have to see them

i love seeing them live.

[DebJ]

12. If you have high interest bills you'll have even more money later if you pay them or

pay part of them and have some fun with the rest.

We have a few high interest loans and it's always 'fun' for me to watch the monthly
interest payments shrink. Sad but true. About once a year I do something I feel
wicked about though. Usually to the tune of $50 or less.

[fizzgig]

14. the credit card is the only bill with any real interest

and we had to put a few medical bills on it, so i really should put most of it there.

my student loans are at something like 1.5 percent, but that's the one i usually pay ahead on if i can.

we splurge on a $200 fancy dress up dinner for our anniversary, but that's it. it's a bit absurd, but it makes me so happy.

[noamnety]

17. Ooooh, I didn't realize you had a credit card bill with interest.

Put all your excess there always, not to student loans.

[magical thyme]

16. depends...

when my economic life was on the upswing with my mortgage my only loan and after a decade of severe hardship but now a secure job, I split found money 50/50 between treat and savings.

now that my economic life is so precarious, any found money (which so far is only mostly in couches) goes to stocking up on food, etc. Sometimes I plan bigger special treats, but when push comes to shove I lose interest. But very, very small treats can go a long way.

So from my perspective I'd say split it...a small treat to yourself and the rest to paying down a loan or stocking up on emergency food.

[fizzgig]

23. i do need to stock the spices and staples

and there's always room in the freezer for extra meat.

[magical thyme]

33. another plus is that food prices are mostly going to go up

so it's also hedge against inflation.

I can't speak for your area, but my local supermarkets alway have big sales on "winter survival foods" in September or so, so I stock up on canned soups and dried foods then. It helps my planning to know those sales are coming

[sammytko]

18. If that is a lot of money to you, SAVE it!!

Please!!

[fizzgig]

24. it's going to adult stuff

just not sure exactly how yet.

[malthaussen]

19. Create jobs!

After all, that's what the billionaires do!

-- Mal

[fizzgig]

25. we might take a bit of it for a trip to one of the towns hit by the floods last year

give them a little bit of revenue.

[Phentex]

20. I would save it...

or use it for bills. I don't think that's an adult thing to do. I think it's a smart thing to do.

[fizzgig]

26. i just miss being able to have fun with my money

but i guess it is fun in it's own way to have a cushion.

[Populist_Prole]

21. Another vote for 'Save it'

If it's "a lot of money" then to me that means liquidity isn't easy to come by. I know in my case, if I get lucky enough to get hold of an extra couple of hundred bucks; sure as hell something comes along in the form of a minor crisis or emergency that eats it up. Never fails: A necessary appliance fails, or, I'll have to replace a tire on my car, or an aging parent barely getting by cracks a tooth and doesn't have dental insurance. The list goes on.

Of course, in reality whatever happens would have happened anyway and I'd have been in a tight spot money-wise if not for that windfall.

Sorry to be a wet blanket.

[fizzgig]

27. you're not being a wet blanket

i needed to hear these things. those unexpected things always bite us in the ass.

[DFW]

22. Like others have said--if that's a lot of money for you, pay down the bills

To some, $150 is like 15 cents--wouldn't even notice if it fell out of your pocket. To others, it's, well, like you said a lot of money. If that's the case, then treat it as such!

[lunatica]

28. Splurge!! Pay a bill!

Set yourself free of anxiety for a little while!

[sammytko]

29. Look for a bread machine at a yard sale

I sold my barely used machine for 5 dollars. Its something I wanted, but after I bought it, never used.

When I do make bread, (cold weather) I use my Kitchen Aid for initial kneading.

[fizzgig]

30. i'm going to check out the thrift stores first

i have a kitchen aid but my apartment is lousy for rising bread in the winter.

[sammytko]

31. you can let dough rise in your refrigerator, so cold kitchen shouldn't be a problem

just takes time.

http://www.redstaryeast.com/lessons-yeast-baking/postpone-baking

[riderinthestorm]

32. +1. We commonly keep our house at 60 in the winters

And the kitchen is one of the coldest rooms in my drafty old house yet the bread does still rise. I too use my kitchenaid for all the kneading (although my husband will do it if he's around. He loves doing it).

[Populist_Prole]

34. Sure why not, enjoy some of it

No rule saying you have to either save all of it or spend all of it with no alternatives in between.