Budgets Are Sexy

(As sung by Katie Perry.  The Remix.)

Haha… seriously though, I paid 25 cents to use the bathroom in Santa Monica last week!  How crazy is that?  I thought the only times you had to worry about getting jacked at restrooms were at trucker stops? ;)  And also Europe. (Oh! And Korea too – I once paid $1.00 worth in Won when I least expected it… and from what I remember that was only for the toilet paper?  (ewwwwwwww))

The worst is when it hits you when you least expect it though (having to pay to use the bathroom – not having to go to the bathroom when you least expect it, though that also sucks).  I get that the money helps to maintain the bathrooms, and provides a good service to the general public and all that, but the question that inevitably comes up is – “What if you don’t have a quarter on you? Or any cash? Or even two dimes and a nickle, which of course won’t work either?” It really can be catastrophic. And yet ANOTHER reason to always have cash on you! (You know who you are, cash haters…)

Of course, if you get lucky and there happens to be a lot of people milling about, anyone with a soul would gladly lend you some coin w/out any worries of having to pay it back ;)  Or luckier yet, they might hold the door an extra – but MUCH appreciated – 5 seconds or so until you can slip in w/out waking up the Bathroom Police. Disregarding any these courtesies would just be inhuman.  And you could repay them back tenfold if you *really* wanted to! (Ewwwww again!!)

But the real reason I bring up all this potty talk, is that sometimes these convenience fees are just plain worth it.  I don’t know anyone who’d rather soil themselves than cough up the extra George Washingtons, do you?  The same goes for other tariffs we accept too.  Personally, I pay them all the time to avoid extra stress.  It may not be very smart of me at times, but I still happily do it.

The one example that always comes to mind are my uncanny desires for bananas at the worst possible times. (No, not at orangutan exhibits or the zoo – haha… THAT would be bad).  I always seem to have a craving for them at airports.  When they suddenly go from $0.12 to $1.12.  But honestly, I’m okay with that.  I know that I’m overpaying like a mother, but for me – at that given moment in time – it’s completely worth it! I don’t know why I could care less at the grocery stores?  The same goes for milk when I’m in a rush too.  Or eggs, bread, or really anything else your spouse asks you to pick up when you’re in the middle of something super important (like TV shows?).  Why drive an extra 5 miles, and spend 10 extra minutes, at Safeway when you can be gone and back within 3 mins after hitting 7-Eleven?  Is the 75 cents you save really worth it in this case?

I can go on and on here, but I won’t.  Mainly not to scare you with how un-frugal I can actually be, but also not to bore you to death ;)  I’m pretty sure we’ve talked about this at some point over the years anyways, yes?

What we HAVEN’T talked about though, is what some of YOUR dirty little habits may be? What are some of the costs YOU take in due to lack of motivation or convenience?  Can you think of one big thing that you’re totally cool paying a little extra for?  Maybe cuz it saves you a world of stress, or even better – a butt ton of time?

I’m not advocating that everyone gets all loosey goosey with their money or anything, but I do think it’s okay to give in to shortcuts every now and again if you feel like it’s necessary.  If you try to be Mr/Mrs perfect all the time, you’re likely to just explode one day and go off into the deep end!  And by that point, you’ll be crap outta luck.  Kinda like I would have been if I didn’t have a quarter on me last week ;)

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PS: That’s nasty.  I never go #2 in public, I get stage fright.  #1 all the way!
PPS: I promise never to talk about bowel movements again. (What is wrong with me??)

(Photo by MyLifeStory)

Originally published at budgetsaresexy.com.