One of the issues have with some of the frugality blogs out there–and don’t get me wrong, I love reading them–is the excitement? Pride? Exhortation? to take advantage of free things. It especially bothers me when I know that the author is no longer struggling financially.
I should point out that as I write this, I have just taken advantage of free admission to a museum while staying (for free) at a relative’s home in another city. So I get the appeal of the cheap/free treat.
And truly, there’s no need to pay all the time for entertainment. Spending time with friends and relatives is priceless, and healthy snacks and entertaining games for entertainment can be very, very inexpensive.
You can argue that some “free” things are things you pay for anyway (with your tax dollars): public parks, public libraries, with all their attendant programming. Public events, like street festivals–those, too, I’m fine with. You can raise attendance and just enjoy looking around; you don’t have to buy anything you don’t need.
What I’m thinking about are Free Entrance Days, or paying nothing when asked to Pay-What-You-Like. Hitting up a store for the free food and drink. Yes, these may be sponsored by large groups, or written off as the price of advertising, but at some point (maybe as I grew into my attending income), these started to sound….cheap. Chintzy. Maybe greedy.
Though why it is OK for struggling med students, or just people without lots of money, to take advantage–but not people with well-paying jobs–is an interesting question. My answers to this question change periodically.
When I first had more disposable income, I thought in terms of return-on-investment: if admission is $20, and an annual membership costs $100, will I go at least 5 times to “make my money back?”
Then one day I was discussing this with a friend, who shared her philosophy: support the programs you don’t want to see fade away. It doesn’t matter if you use them one year, because you still want them to be around the next year.
Today, I’m thinking more about being a good citizen. Go to the free museum or festival, enjoy the free refreshments. But maybe–when you are able to afford it–support that program with a membership.