When you're poor but you didn't used to be

For the past 6 months I've been thrust into relative poverty. I say "relative" because I have a roof over my head, food in my fridge, clothes on my back, a functional car and a bed to sleep in, and I don't have to work 60 hours a week (though sometimes I do), and I don't need to apply for food stamps or Section 8 housing. For all that I have, I am grateful. And I'm grateful for the job I have now, despite the radical pay cut, because I'm working for and with people I genuinely like, and I'm doing something I enjoy so much that most of the time it doesn't feel like work -- it's just what I do. If I only had one year to live but I had to have a job, this would be the job I would choose. You can't put a price on that.

But yeah, I miss money. Or not really the money, but the experiences that having expendable income let me have. And in thinking about the difference between reasonably well-off and relatively poor, I started thinking about what on earth I blew all my money on when I had it. Most of it, I don't regret -- I did buy a lot of wankery and do some dumb things, but here's what I spent most of it on. These are things I am glad I did, so you can take this as a list of suggestions on what to do with money if you've got it:

Travel. God, I miss traveling. I never even scraped together enough to leave the country, but I got to visit Florida a couple of times, New York City a handful of times, L.A., Colorado ... my bestie and I made a pilgrimage to Memphis and Clarksdale for my birthday one year, and I visited New Orleans once and fell in love with it so hard I've been back probably a dozen times.
On one of my trips to Florida, to visit family near Fort Lauderdale, I drove down to Miami Beach to hang out with a cousin overnight & had a blast there. And on one of my trips to New York City, I took an Amtrak down to D.C. to meet up with a friend for a whirlwind tour of the city. It was glorious.
I got to see so much, do so much and learn so much ... the people-watching alone when you're in a different city is fascinating. So go travel, even if it's just to a place a few hours away. You'll never look at your home town the same way.

"Aegis" by Lisa McPike Smith

Art. This is something I was overjoyed to be able to spend money on, because not only does art beautify my home, but buying it was a way for me to support local artists. Admiration doesn't pay the bills -- believe me, I know -- and it felt so good to be able to give tangible support to some of the artists in San Marcos. And their work gives me immeasurable joy. I think the last piece I bought was "Aegis" by Lisa McPike Smith and it's still hanging on a wall not far from my bedroom door, and every morning when I walk past it, I smile.
I'm also elated that I got Furly to do a portrait of my two cats, Tom and Prissy, before Tom passed away. He's immortalized forever on the living room wall.
Invest in some art -- it's good for your soul and good for the artist's soul as well.

Food. Eating healthy can be expensive. Eating decadently can be expensive. I like to do both. I'm glad I was able to spend as much money as I did at our local farmers' market and at Gourmage, the cheese/bread/wine/dessert/all-good-things shop in New Braunfels where the owner and chef still know me by name and where I still go when I have a little extra dosh to pick up some goat cheese and a baguette. So go on, treat yo'self sometimes.

Books. Do I even need to say why it's great to have books around the house? If I have to explain it to you, I don't know if I should be talking to you. The last major book binge I went on was about $300 at the Maple Street Book Shops in New Orleans last winter, after word got out that they were going to have to close. I panicked. Apparently a bunch of other people made panicked purchases, too, because last I heard, they're still open. Go buy books! Support bookstores and feed your mind!

Charity. I don't really like to talk about the causes I donate to, but it's wonderful to be able to support people who need help and ideas you believe in strongly. And if you pay attention to politics at all, you know money talks louder than most people. Find good charities and support them.

Experiences. This is a broad category, I know, but as examples, I went up in a two-seater airplane over Guadalupe and Comal counties and took photos; I learned some kickboxing techniques; I learned to belly dance and I learned more belly dance and I learned even more belly dance; I went to a comic-con and met Nathan Fillion, Alice Cooper and other groovy people; I spent 48 hours in Castroville, "the little Alsace of Texas," thereby learning that there's a town called "the little Alsace of Texas"; I spent a long weekend at a spa on Lake Travis getting comfortable with myself again, doing yoga, getting scrubbed and rubbed and detoxed, and spending quiet time out in nature. Go do stuff. The world is full of people and places and things and there's no reason for any of us to ever be bored.