Little Mortons

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single woman in possession of large student loan debt must be in want of a good budgeting plan.  I don't know if I'm necessarily an expert when it comes to saving money; my saving account contains a meager $250 despite the fact that I opened it over a year ago, and all of that is courtesy of Bank of America's "Keep the Change" program rather than diligent self-initiated saving.  What I do know, however, is that I'm reluctant to spend money on things I don't need.  Apartment rent?  Yes.  Utilities?  Yes.  Groceries?  Yes.  Meals out with friends?  Heck yes (that counts as food, and in the words of Rally's, "you've gotta eat.")  But material things, like clothes or books or DVDs and what have you?  Those are rare.

Which is why I want to introduce you to Morton:

Morton is an adorable little stuffed animal horse, with a head that is disproportionate to its body (hence my hand in the photo, keeping Morton from tipping over), and with eyes that are disproportionately large and a mane and tail that are disproportionately short.  In the world of stuffed animals, disproportion is all it takes for me to fall in love.  I found Morton in Wild Bill's Western Wear Store in the Dallas West End, when my friend Brandi visited last week, and seeing a price tag of $6, immediately knew that I had to own it.  And in case you're wondering, yes, I did personally name it Morton.

But let me tell you, and my friend Brandi can attest to this: I was ridiculously excited to own Morton.  Let's face it, more excited than any 23 year old woman needs to be over a stuffed toy.  But the happiness that Morton brought wasn't just in his inherent adorableness...it was in his complete and utter frivolity.

That's right.  Morton is just about the most frivolous purchase that I've made in a good, long time.  And even though I usually think of frivolous purchases as bad because of their apparent "pointlessness", Morton, in all his frivolity and adorableness, makes me smile every time I look at him.  And I think that's worth the six dollars. 

I'm not saying that money can buy happiness, but a good frivolous purchase here and there can certainly up the happiness quotient, especially when your money usually goes away into necessary, but invisible, purchases - like food that is gone as soon as you're finished eating it.  And since I hardly ever make such frivolous purchases, I really, really appreciate them when I do make them, and see them as something special.

I call these frivolous purchases "Little Mortons" - little purchases beyond the realm of necessity that add snippets of joy to my life.  The art of Little Mortons is keeping them cheap...because there's a big difference between Little Mortons and irresponsible and detrimental spending.  

Here are some of the Little Mortons that I've acquired recently:

A copy of Housekeeping in Old Virginia, a collaborative cookbook from 1879, courtesy of Half-Price Books: $5

A teal cardigan from Forever 21, that looks quite similar to this one (I couldn't find a picture of the actual one online, and mine is currently in the laundry).  $17.  And, even though clothes could be labelled necessary purchases, I buy new clothes so infrequently that they take on "Little Morton" status (after all, why buy clothes when you've got a closet full of clothes to wear?).

And, my most recent Little Morton (which for its price might actually be labeled a Medium-Sized Morton)...a pair of handmade Jane Austen-inspired earrings, with snapshots of text from Pride and Prejudice.  $30.25 (which, yes, is a lot for earrings, but 1) they're handmade, 2) they're shipping from England, 3) I'm a sucker for one-of-a-kind earrings, 4) they involve Pride and Prejudice, and 5) there was only one pair available online and I knew that I wanted them enough that I would be sad if someone bought them before I did.  Hello impulse Morton.)

But that Morton won't arrive in my mailbox for another month or so, since it's shipping across the Atlantic Ocean.  But you can bet that it'll brighten up my day when they do arrive!

All in all, I'm happy to have made the discovery of the significance of Little Mortons.  For the past five years my money mantra has been "spend as little as possible"...but I'm learning that it's okay to treat myself with things every now and again.  Even more importantly, I'm learning that, when done responsibly, treating myself isn't going to break the bank, and I don't need to feel guilty for buying things that have no "purpose" besides brightening up my life a little bit :)