Saving Money

Plink. Plink. Plink.

That’s the sound of our change as it hits the bottom of the jar. From the moment we stepped into our apartment as a newly married couple we’ve hoarded, scrimped, and saved money. As most young people starting out know… it ain’t easy. It’s even harder since we live in a city that’s home to Broadway, Fashion Avenue, fine restaurants, museums, outrageous rent, and “cheap” six dollar beers.

A few months ago, we found a neatly folded $5 bill on the sidewalk that somebody dropped. Imagine our excitement! It was a sign. A sign that we should splurge and forget about our stresses, worries, and cares. Basically, screw the budget. We high-fived each other, marched straight to McDonalds, and slapped Ole Abe on the counter. We each ordered one cheeseburger from the dollar menu, a dollar French fry to share, and two tap waters. Ben persuaded me to retract my order of a Diet Coke. Apparently, five bucks only goes so far and the Diet Coke was pushing it. It's not like he forced me to change my mind, but rather gave me a choice– a sweet, syrupy Diet Coke all for myself or a chocolate drenched sundae at the end of the meal which we would share together. Of course, I chose the latter. Ah, married life.

Last week, after months of penny pinching, we each purchased one pair of new shoes to reward ourselves. Ben needed new dress shoes since the rubber soles on his old pair split leaving his feet exposed to gravel, dirty water, broken glass, trash, and anything else found on New York City sidewalks. I, um, needed new knee high brown boots to… to keep the lower portion of my legs, my calves, warm in the subzero temperatures that accompany the winter in New York. And, maybe, to satisfy the fashionista craving that yearned to escape from within.

We scrimp. We save. We grab loose change. We pick generic drug store brands. We shop sales. We cut coupons. We buy really, really cheap toilet paper. In some ways, it’s fun. It’s fun to be completely dependent on one another and act like responsible adults. It’s fun to dream and imagine the big house, fancy cars, and white picket fence we’ll one day have. We laugh because we know we’ll really appreciate the good fortunes that come our way in the future. But, for now, I close my eyes when I pass the “Gap”. Ben lowers his hat when we near “Circuit City”. I turn my head when the bright lights of the theater beckon because we know… we know that one day it will all be ours.