Canadian Finance Blog

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 02:00 AM PDT

Boredom can be a budget killer. I often forget how often I do something or purchase things just because I have nothing better to do at the time. When I was working for a summer during my college years I clearly remember walking from mall to mall just looking at what was for sale. Eventually I had amassed quite a collection of DVDs, which Netflix has now rendered completely obsolete. I ended up paying quite a few hundred dollars for a few hours of entertainment, some of which I never even opened.

Instead of embracing a lifestyle where you spend money to keep yourself entertained, or because it is what your friends and family do, save money by eliminating the areas in your life that you don’t enjoy, and focus on the ones that you do. Let’s say, for example, that you absolutely love going snowshoeing. So you invest a bit of time, energy, and money into this hobby, so that you can go snowshoeing every weekend. Great! However, you also go out to the theatre on Friday nights because you always hook up with a couple friend that goes. You also attend pottery classes once a week because you feel like you should be learning a new skill and thought it might be fun. Perhaps you even go out for dinner and drinks with your spouse because you don’t want to cook that one night a week and it is just easier to get through Wednesday evening with a glass of wine or two.

Looking back, you might think to yourself, well, I didn’t really enjoy those things as much as I enjoyed snow-shoeing. So then, I ask, why do you do them? Why not start packing a meal for dinner and going snow-shoeing on weekdays? Why not invite your friends over for dinner instead of going to see a film that you might now even enjoy?

Find the Things You Love

What do you look forward to when you are at work? What do you anticipate coming up on the weekend? Take note of those things that you most enjoy, and focus your time, your energy, and your money there. You can only save money doing the things you love if you know what your priorities are, so take some time to figure them out if you don’t know yet. For me, I have come to terms with the fact that I love playing video games. It may not be the most productive of activities, but I’ve learned a few ways of reducing the cost of computers and games, so I don’t mind spending a bit of money on it. What is life if we can’t enjoy it?

Eliminate the Things You Don’t Love

When you are about to spend money on something, try to pay attention to how you are feeling as you spend that money. I always find that when I am spending money on something that I don’t really enjoy, or aren’t looking forward to, then I always get a small tinge of sadness or regret because of it. Instead of shrugging it aside and thinking to myself, “Oh well, it has to be done”, I should stop, and not do whatever it is that I don’t want to do. It almost sounds selfish to think of it this way, but as long as you are not upsetting your family or friends by cutting out the things you don’t really enjoy that much, then there is no harm in it. You might have thought a gym membership would be good for you, but if you find yourself dreading the trip to the gym and would much rather stay at home, then do so. If it is a fitness thing, then there are plenty of ways to stay active for cheap or free at home or the office.

The trick here is to determine whether or not you really love doing something. If you are only “okay” with it, or even if you just like a little, don’t bother with it. Life is too short to spend it doing things that are mediocre.

Save Money

How does not doing things save you money? Well, if you decide to focus on one sport, for example, then you don’t have to bother with the rentals, or purchase, of additional equipment. You don’t need climbing shoes if you never go climbing. You don’t need hiking boots if you never go hiking. But, if you go biking everyday, then by all means, buy a good, quality bike, because you’re going to use it everyday. If you decide to focus on one hobby, like scrapbooking, then you can invest in the tools and materials needed for that hobby, and you might even find ways to save money further with that hobby, which you might have never found if you split your time between three hobbies.

Do you spend your time, energy, and money doing the things you love? Why not?

Save Money Doing the Things You Love originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on March 30, 2011.