Money is always a game of juggling your priorities.  I became extra aware of it this weekend when I was talking with my father about my aging and ailing Toyota Prius.  The trunk doesn’t open on my Prius.  The latch broke a couple of months ago and my father asked me why I hadn’t had it fixed yet.  And I blathered something about not having time and money.  But then I realized that fixing the trunk just wasn’t my priority right now.  I find the time and money to go see my favorite bluegrass bands.  I always find the time and money to enjoy dinner out at my favorite brewpub on Friday nights.  I have the time and money to take a class every semester to work toward an academic goal.  It’s just not that important to me to be able to open the trunk on my Prius.  I will get it fixed eventually.  But it’s pretty easy for me to work around for now, so I just haven’t made it a priority.

I guess the tricky part with money is defining your priorities and making sure they’re not out of balance.  Making bluegrass festivals more important than repairing the broken trunk latch on a car that is otherwise fine isn’t a problem.  Making dinner out at the brewpub more important than paying the rent is a HUGE problem.  It’s a matter of making sure your NEEDS are met before you start throwing money at your WANTS.  And then you can decide how you are going to prioritize those wants.

I want to get my trunk repaired.  I just don’t want it more than I want concert tickets.  At least not this week.