I was ideating this content when I went to the dry cleaners yesterday.
One of my shirts was completely ruined with a piece of gum I left in the pocket.
I’m more upset because I’ll have to deal with replacing it, not because I have to buy a new one.
And that’s a perfect example of my “Can I afford it?” mindset
Buying a new Brooks Brothers button-down (on sale of course) is not going to dent my financial health, so I’m not upset that it got ruined.
In fact, there is nothing in my entire wardrobe that the dry cleaners could ruin that would make my stomach knot up.
I simply don’t buy anything that I can’t afford to break, lose or get stolen.
As such, when I splurge on a big ticket item I’ll keep it under my monthly savings amount.
And that’s why I don’t “save up” for them. The maximum I’ll spend on a big ticket is one month of savings, so I just won’t save that month.
I also use that rule of thumb because if I save 92% (11/12th’s) of my normal savings rate then I’m still in good shape and big tickets are a once every few years thing.
And if I want something that’s bigger than a month’s savings, then I’ll wait until I’m earning more.
