Money

Money is a wonderful thing. Really. There are a couple of things I am really in love with at the moment. Of course to acquire said things, I require money. Most specifically in the form of a Visa or Mastercard. Thankfully, my Mastercard is set to arrive within the week, with enough money for me to happily buy my current fixations. Namely artist books. But there is a problem. (With money there is always a problem.) I don’t really need these books. I’d love them, sure, and they’d probably help me improve my art, give inspiration and solidify the motive for the Quest to Art, but I don’t need them.

Intensifying the problem is that there are a lot of things that I do need right now. Textbooks, most importantly. Biology and Chemistry textbooks will cost around $130 each. Maths I’m not sure, but I’m estimating at least $60. My Ancient History textbook will be around $60+, plus the ‘Odyssey’, which is probably at leat $20 (okay, that one is just a random guess). And on top of that, there’s a Biology lab handbook, probably around $15 (Chem lab book is free. Bio might be too, but I’m not sure) and an Ancient History readings book. I don’t know if or how much that will cost. Then I need a lab coat, at around $30, and safety glasses, which are around $3. Which is around at least $450. Unfortunately there are also ongoing costs, like the train fare ($22 weekly ticket) and if I catch the bus, it’s 90c each way. And however much money my parents and I agree I’ll pay for board. I have decided that University is an extremely expensive venture. Even if you’re on HECS. Oh yeah, and I want to go to Canada. Which I will apparently need $15000 for. By the middle of next year.

I do have a job, but the idea is to be earning money to save not to spend. Plus it’s not really much of a job. $90 max a week. But that’s supposedly Canada money. And board.

What I need, therefore, to justify this spending, is a solid incentive. Bribery is everything. And totally worth it. The fact that two of these books are on special is especially tempting, but, sadly, it’s not enough. Therefore I need a task for which I can be rewarded. Not anything that I’d already be doing. Something good and hard and totally worth it so that the satisfaction I feel when my packages arrive in the mail feels intensified and I feel like the expenditure was totally worth it. Something like committing to an artwork I’ve been dying to start for ages, or writing a certain amount of words for projects I’ve had running around my head for years. Or even just fixing my boat o_O. Either way, I need a task worthy of such excellent rewards. Because otherwise, the guilt may well overpower.

So, to avoid eternal guilt – use bribery! And whatever you do, don’t even think about ordering until you’ve completed your prescribed undertaking. Because the satisfaction of reward is so much sweeter.