One Spending Splurge That Might Actually Save You Money

A shocking video!! Dave is actually okay with some aggressive spending in this one area. YOLO!

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To rationalize means to attempt to justify one’s behavior with plausible reasons, even if these reasons are not true nor appropriate. People are so good at rationalizing spending. We all exhibit Olympic-athlete-level skills here. I constantly hear “We deserved it.” “When you think about it, we’ll actually save money with this.”

“Hey Dave, it could have been worse. You should have seen what Clyde bought!” “I’ve been so stressed. What price health?” “We needed to get it now before the tariffs kick in.” “YOLO.” “FOMO.” You get the idea. But here’s the crazy thing. There is one spending rationalization I’ve heard many times that has amazingly often proven to be true.

The spending has, indeed, proven to be justified. And the funny thing is, I don’t even think the people believed it when they said it. So, what am I talking about? You’re going to be surprised. It’s spending on sprucing up a backyard. The argument put forth is this: “Dave, I know you’re gonna say we shouldn’t, but this will save us money in many ways.

It means we won’t ever have to buy a cottage. Plus, we won’t have to take summer vacations away — those are very expensive nowadays. And we won’t eat out as often. And it’s going to provide a lot of great family memories. Yes, it seems like we’re spending on stuff — a fire pit, a hot tub, some outdoor furniture, some nice shrubs, some cornhole boards — but it’s stuff that creates experiences. Stuff that will draw our friends and family together. Also gets us outside more — good for the soul.

I think it’s a wonderful investment,” people say. Shocker here, but after watching friends do this for 40 years, I’ve come to agree the returns often have been excellent. Now, I’m not saying, “Go out there and build a theme park in your backyard and spare no expense.” But I am saying that for many, done within reason, this really has paid dividends.

See, I’m not no fun. I’m not a lot of fun. But I’m not no fun.