Sushi Splurge
My family and I batch cook at home on Sundays, which gives us a full fridge for the week. Another benefit to batch cooking is there is minimal food prep after work during the week, and healthy options readily available at home. Tonight was a special occasion, where I took my little one (YoungFUnd) out to dinner.
“WHAT!?” I dramatically gasped when I looked at the check for my dinner with my little kiddo.
$89.56?
That can’t be right! I already did the mental math. It should have been about $70. And $70 is already expensive!
How is this dinner with my kid ninety bucks!?
Oh… we got a starter. Oh yeah, this is sushi.
…Let’s back up a bit.
I like to take my kid, YoungFUnd, out to dinner about once a month so we can have a one on one meal. In the chaos of sports, school, shared custody, and family events, we try to squeeze in a time where just the two of us have some kind of outing planned.
YoungFUnd voted for Sushi, or Costco Pizza. We decided that Sushi was the better option, so off we drove for our meal. With food in the fridge at home.
It was a great dinner date out- we ordered a few favorites, played tic tac toe on the napkins, and no one spilled water all over the table, nor stabbed themselves in the eye with chopsticks.
These moments with YoungFUnd are precious to me, and I am pretty sure that very soon there will be a time when my kid won’t want to spend as much time with me voluntarily. I am glad we went, and still fondly remember the fun conversations we had when we were together.
We could, however, have eaten Costco pizza slices and spent about $4.00. Instead, we spent $89.56 plus tip.
I reviewed the bill again, while my heart started beating fast, my face felt flushed, and I could actually feel the prick of little tears building up in the corner of my eyes. This was NOT part of my plan for this month! It’s the first day of the month, and I just spent about $90 on food, when it could have been $4!
A few deep breaths later, I got a grip on the situation. The room stopped spinning, and I finished my meal with YoungFUnd in a comfortable manner. I may as well make the most of this, given that it’s too late to make any changes at this point! I slowly developed a “recovery” plan in the back of my mind to ease the financial tension I had already created in my Sushi splurge.
The bill was not catastrophic, but I had a hard time with the expense.
One, because we had a fridge full of food at home after grocery shopping and cooking all Sunday.
Two, because I had planned on being more careful with my “discretionary” spending this month.
I wanted to shovel a little more than my usual amount into my investments, although not for any particular need. I had recently reviewed my progress and Retirement Plan-ish and felt more inspired than ever to pile up the FUnds.
So how can I “feel better” about the expense of this experience?
Be more thoughtful for the rest of the month. If something is worth it, then spend the money. If something can wait, or isn’t necessary, then don’t spend the money. This is a little lesson to remember for the rest of the month. It’s the best you can do at this point.
We wrapped up the meal, grabbed our jackets, and headed home.
For the remainder of the month, as a little reminder of my Sushi Splurge, I have kept the dinner receipt floating around my purse all month. Every time I go into my wallet, this ridiculous crinkled receipt gets in my way, reminding me of my plan for the rest of the month.
This little annoying floating receipt was my cue to ask myself, “Am I just spending money because I can, or is this a meaningful decision?”
Spending time with my kid, while they still want to spend time with me, is precious.
Spending as much as I did on dinner, when it could have been a different activity or a cheaper restaurant, is where I can make smarter choices.
This thing looks like it’s been through a lot this month.
The great news is, by starting off this month with a Smack In the Face lesson, I have spent less than any other month in a year. This lesson, and the following practice that came from it, is a little reminder of just how much control we do have over our expenses, and how planning and prioritizing can make such a big difference.
So now the next lesson I need to learn is-
How long do Sushi leftovers last?
