So, at the last minute I decided I wanted to to go with K to his family's for Thanksgiving. Not that I had the money for a plane ticket or anything.
We're flying on Thanksgiving, so we actually got a pretty good deal on the ticket: $224 apiece. (Flying on Thanksgiving also means that I can hang out at my parents' Wednesday night, bake a couple of apple pies for their dinner, and get to take part in the pre-Thanksgiving prep, which is actually, I think, my favorite part.) Nevertheless, not an insignificant chunk of money to come up with at a moment's notice.
My dad had offered to buy me this plane ticket too, if I decided to go, but come on, I can't let my dad buy me everything. (That sounds flippant, but I actually do feel pretty strongly about the need to set a few financial boundaries with my parents, because it's easy to accept that kind of help and start counting on it and/or let it set up a not-so-appetizing relationship dynamic.)
I can actually scrape up all the necessary cash from what's currently in my checking account--I'm just going to have to spend a little less in France, and I won't be able to save my clothing allocations from my next couple of paychecks (I need a dress for Christmas parties!). But I think that $400 (about 270 Euro) should cover food & spending money for six days in France, if I'm careful. Any gift shopping I want to do can come out of my gift fund (i.e., go on my credit card to be paid out of my gift fund when I get back). Besides, I get paid the Thursday I'm there, so it's not the end of the world if I need another $50 or something. The only think I think I might really have to give up is a taxi home on the return trip--which isn't the end of the world, just irritating.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Another Plane Ticket
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4 comments:
I am proud of people like you! People nowadays, sometimes regardless of how old they are, simply love to rely on their parents for financial support. People need to learn how to be more mature and responsible. Being financially independent is part of growing up. I think learning to say no to generous offers is very mature.
I'm glad that you have an independent spirit - that's good. Make sure you accept help when you need it, though. Otherwise, being conscious of your own self-sufficiency is a great thing!
good for you!
you should be fine in paris with that amt of $. i'm sure you have your trip all planned, but i borrowed the time out paris book from the brooklyn library and had a blast.
Kudos for what you are doing!
I grew up with my parents always bailing out their siblings and their siblings' children. So I feel very strongly about being independent.
It's ok to accept help and gifts, but depending on it or expecting it everytime is different.
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