This weekend I took a course at a local college. I'm lucky to have a job that pays for courses as a benefit, so I thought it was time I took advantage.
The course was Friday night, all day Saturday, and Sunday morning. Friday evening I took off around 5:15 pm on my bicycle, lights charged up for the way home. This being the North, the sun was still going strong and it was a beautiful 22 degrees - perfect conditions for an evening ride. I rode through a quiet neighbourhood, checking out the local real estate as I passed through. Twelve minutes later, I glided silently up to the college, where I parked my bike on the rack conveniently placed right outside the front door. In the preamble to the course, our instructor showed us all of the places we could park on a college map and for how much (starting at only eight dollars a day - what a steal). I was silently grateful for living so close that I didn't need to drive in. The next morning, I ate a breakfast burrito (food prep!) and coffee at home. It was another beautiful, sunny day, and I arrived at 7:45 am, feeling energized after my ride. I noticed that most of the other students arrived with a to-go coffee in hand. At lunch time, our instructor gave us instructions to the cafeteria where we could purchase lunch. Having brought my lunch from home (leftover wholewheat pasta from Friday night's dinner), I went to the cafeteria, found a microwave and heated up my food, and filled up my water bottle at the water fountain. Beverage and warm meal in hand, I sat down in a sunny spot and had my tasty lunch. As I looked up from reading a library book on my phone (Libby is seriously the best app), I couldn't help but notice that nearly everyone around me had bought lunch from either the Chinese Food place or the Pita Pit, and were drinking either a pop or a coffee from Tim's. I thought about how much this weekend would have cost if I had driven, paid for parking, and purchased my food. Gas - $5 x 3 days = $15 Parking - $8 x 3 days = $24 Lunch + coffee = $20 Total = $59 In contrast, I spent $0 (maybe $2.50 if you want to include the cost of the groceries to make pasta?). And yet, I don't feel like I was missing out on anything. In fact, I would much rather take biking in the sunshine and eating homemade food over fighting traffic and eating shitty cafeteria food any day. Plus, the exercise and healthy food made me more alert and ready to learn. The funny thing is, the spendy version of this weekend is what most people consider normal. And that's what I think people get wrong about living frugally. I'm not missing out on anything. If I want something (hello delicious bakery treats), I'll get it. But I refuse to waste my money on stuff that doesn't make my life better, or even makes it worse.
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