Balance & Breaking The Rules

A party-filled narrative that explores teachings of finance and philosophy from the reckless month of May 2023.

Dec 01, 2023

Summer Kickoff

As the sun dips below the horizon, the St. Lawrence River transforms into a canvas of yellows, oranges, and pinks. May 24 weekend has arrived, bringing with it the promise of summer. The warmth of the day lingers in the air, a gentle prelude to the evening's cool embrace. As darkness sets, we hear the neighbours have already begun the night’s shenanigans. We’re ready to join them for a Summer ’23 kickoff.

I’m prepared for the weekend with my array of Cottage Spring Vodka Waters, Budweisers, and the new summer favourite, Seth and Riley’s Garage Hard Lemonade, crammed into the overflowing cottage fridge. Being seasoned professionals, my friends and I keep a large overstock of booze on ice just in case.

Drinks chilled, now it’s time for the joints. I am often teased about my meticulousness in this craft. It's not just about the high – it's the ritual, the precision, the perfect balance of structure and grace that elevates a simple joint into something extraordinary. As I roll, I am reminded of the joys of saving money and choosing my own flower. Soon, some of my finest doobies are ready and tucked away for later.

May Broke My Bank Account

The expenses are quickly racking up, yet the enthusiasm in my voice as I reconnect with friends unmistakably signals what’s underway - I’m in total summer mode now.

As May winds down, I turn to the familiar ritual of updating my financial tracker. This month's tally shows the costs of celebration - $193.58 over my booze budget, totalling $343.58. A quick calculation reveals a staggering 129% overshoot.

Fuck it. No regrets, right?

As I continue, listing transactions, categorizing, and recording account balances, insight into the successes and failures of my budgeting accuracy becomes apparent. This month I’m in the red, big time. My discretionary spending is over budget by $1,356.65, with booze only fourth on the list of overspending, trailing behind car expenses, a trip to Omaha, and upcoming travel to Uruguay (overspent by $292.74, $688.79, and $1198.60, respectively).

I ask myself, “What the hell happened?”.

Funny enough, the answer lies in the financial tracker - right down to the cent! As I sift though the ledger for any glimmer of hope or reason, the story of May unfolds before my eyes.

As April turned into May, I was coming fresh out of my final exam season (hallelujah!). It was a leap off the slow-moving student life into the fast currents of “adulting”. Instead of immediately starting my big-boy-job building decks as an Apprentice Carpenter, I decided to seize the opportunity to see Warren and Charlie at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders meeting. Instead of depositing some hard earned cash, I converted what I had into American dollars in my Wise account and hit the road. (You can read about the journey here.)

Shortly after my return, my partner Fernanda suggested that we soar south to her native Uruguay in January 2024. I checked my debt balance of $44,464.16, then I double-checked because holy shit, that’s a lot of dough!

Sure enough, it was correct, but then I fixated on Uruguayan “asados” (barbeque-like festivities), vast beaches, and escaping the bone-chilling Ontario winter for the sweltering Uruguayan summer. How dare I let my partner do that alone? To demonstrate my “politeness” and “commitment to her well-being”, I agree to go.

I gave my credit card and passport details to her aunt, a travel agent in Uruguay, and she found me round-trip flights for $1,198.60. Sold.

At this point, it seems like the hole I’m in is so deep that I might as well travel to China - I’ve almost dug myself there anyway. Since I’m fresh out of school with nothing more than a couple of bucks and a 2004 Toyota Corolla to my name, I ask to borrow $2,292 from Fernanda.

My first month of adulting just chewed me up and spit me out.

“How did any of this seem like a good idea?”

Finance and Philosophy

This month is an exemplary lesson on the interrelatedness of finance and living. The Personal Finance Project embraces this mutual inclusivity and strives to build financial mindsets that understand the forces acting upon our financial wellbeing, whether internal or external.

From The Financial Standpoint

From a purely financial standpoint, here’s my sitch.

Expected stable income of roughly $4,000/mo for the foreseeable future.
Only $13k out of $44.5k in debt subject to interest, at a rate of approx. 9%.
Minimum payments on debt don’t start until end of November 2023.
Low non-discretionary budget of only $700/mo due to lifestyle choices (i.e. living with my girlfriend’s family rent free).

Yes, spending tons of money on booze and travelling may have been a little premature, but the incoming stability of my financial setup gave me the confidence to overspend on discretionaries and undertake further debt (borrowing at 0% from Fernanda) while knowing that I would have ample future free cash flow to achieve my financial goals, and some.

That being said, my decisions to not take the most financially responsible course of action can be a reason for concern. Surely, decision making of this kind isn’t a sustainable financial strategy. It raises the question, where is the line drawn?

IRL

As I stretch far and wide for some sort of rational answer, I am reminded of similar moments in my past. Summers in Victoria, exchange studies in Marseille, and a 2-month cross-Canada road trip - the most iconic moments of my life. Was I made of money back then? Absolutely not.

To-date, those experiences were funded by a mix of intense saving and student debt. Sure, the most financially responsible path would’ve been to minimize expenses and only take on absolutely crucial debt, but then I’d have to pass up on beach camping in the Pacific Northwest and sipping rosé in Southern France.

To me, these expenses are well-meaning because of the personal development (thus potential higher earnings) derived from them. Without Marseille, where would I have learned about overcoming vulnerability, or the essence of friendship? Even writing about it fills my heart with a warm rush.

Life, as I'm learning, is about striking the right balance between diligence and spontaneity, caution and abandon. It’s about recognizing when to say “fuck it, let’s buy those plane tickets” and when to say, simply, “I cant afford it”. As I continue through the course of life, I am discovering that self-fulfilment lies in finding a balance between responsibility and joy.

As I experiment with different writing styles, I really hope you found some enjoyment in this piece. I take pride in all my pieces, but this one was a complete joy to write and share with you.

Please, drop a comment to let me know what you think. Do you like the longer form piece? Or the narrative style? How do you handle deviations from your budget?