Thank you, Neeramitra. Yes, thoroughly agree about earning interest. That's why I included buying necessary resources. Buying a house, for example, works out better in the long term.

A bit of thought and planning goes a long way: Sam Vines Theory of Boots.

I bought a pair of Scarpa hiking boots last year, when I was training for my Japan trek — postponed a year, and likely to be postponed again. They cost me over four hundred dollars, (a bargain, marked down from over five hundred) and more money than I’ve ever spent on footwear. But unless I become a hiking fiend, they will likely last me twenty years or so, and keep my feet protected and comfortable all that time until I wear the soles down.

I had Sam Vines in mind when I bought them, because I’ve bought cheap boots before that have worn out after a couple of summers of bushwalking, and never been terribly good.

So it’s not all saving money, but saving enough to cover a bad season, and spending what’s left thoughtfully.

Britni