I fully embrace that there are things or experiences that I want to buy. And I fully allocate my 30% Wants bucket of my spending plan to fund these things I love or passions I want to pursue with my time AND my money. And I firmly believe you should spend money on your wants too. Just a quick refresher that Wants are going to include things like vacations, gifts, entertainment, clothes, eating out, most memberships and subscription services and the money spent towards our hobbies and interests.  Basically the money we allocate and spend on the fun stuff. The items and experiences that bring us happiness. Research has found that engaging in enjoyable activities during down time were associated with lower blood pressure, lower total cortisol levels, slimmer waist circumference, and lower body mass index. Engaging in hobbies also correlated to higher levels of positive psychosocial states and lower levels of depression and negative affect. Hobbies are good for your mind and your body. Hobbies can even promote positive stress. I know that sounds like an oxymoron but it is actually a real thing. It is called Eustress. Eustress is the opposite of chronic stress and is a type of stress that keeps us vital and excited about life. The excitement of a roller-coaster ride, a scary movie, or a fun challenge are all examples of eustress. The anticipation of a first date, the first day at a new job, or other exciting firsts also fall under the umbrella of eustress. Eustress is a type of stress that is actually important for us to have in our lives. Without it, we would become bored or in more serious cases, depressed. We would begin to feel a lack of motivation to accomplish goals and a lack of meaning in life without enough eustress. Not striving for goals, not overcoming challenges, not having a reason to wake up in the morning would be damaging to us, so eustress is considered 'good' stress. It keeps us healthy and happy. And hobbies are great ways to challenge ourselves and create this positive stress in our lives to help us grow and keep going. If you don’t have a hobby, there is a really good New York Times living guide that can help you pick out a hobby and get going. If you just google “how to find a hobby” it will be one of the first articles that pops up. Give it a read and get going! Another benefit of items in the Want spending category in our plan is they can really save you time to re-invest in things like being with family, working on that hobby you just picked out or just having some “me time”.  If I had to go to different stores or shop on many company websites for all of the needs and essentials and a few wants too that come from Amazon, I would lose hours and hours a month shopping. But Amazon isn’t the only time saving service like this. Grocery delivery services like Instacart, meal prep kits like HelloFresh and errand running or handy work apps like Task Rabbit just to name a few free up our schedules and simplify balancing our list of “to-do’s”. These conveniences apparently can also make us happier. There is also power in purchases sometimes. Physical items have the ability to give us the confidence we need to face the world, especially during setbacks or challenging times, but don't let impulse buys distract you from your short and long term financial goals. Being good with money is the ultimate balancing act between needs and wants. Depriving yourself isn't sustainable and rarely leads to success. So have a plan, stick to it and use your money where it makes sense to support your passions, bolster your hobbies, save you time and buy the things you need to be confident and successful in life. Stay safe out there…see you next week. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/calmcash/message