Bold Statements

Bronx River Reservoir Tunnel

It's been a little over a month since quarantine measures have kept us inside and my credit card statements are a reflection of that. Both of the bills for my active cards (active referring to the cards that I use for regular purchases as opposed to those with 0% APRs that I used to pay down debt) are north of $100. Curious to see what my expenses have been I logged on to see that they were in three categories: used clothing on Ebay, iTunes music and games, and food delivery. I needed some new-to-me high tops and jean. I am still replacing my lost tapes collection and occasionally enjoy a casual hidden object game and one night I really needed Thai food.

Then I couldn't remember what I was spending so much on before. In many ways I have enjoyed not being the consumer I was before this virus. I have taken the time to unsubscribe from the majority of the fashion email marketing I get and my inbox is a lot lighter. Instead I have a look in my own closet for something newish or something that can be made new with a little effort. There is plenty of consumption to be had in every room of my apartment. There are unread books of all genres on my shelves, unused bath and body products to try out, and the accouterments of abandoned hobbies. I even have a guitar taking up space in the corner. Youtube has a tutorial for everything. I could work on my Spanish with an app. The urge to redecorate (buy stuff on Wayfair...) is kept at bay by cleaning the furniture I already heave and re-arranging the tchotchkes. The rug looks years younger after a shampoo! Instead of buying an armoire I can't afford, maybe I can just pare down what I wanted to put in it or make space for it elsewhere. I do miss getting my nails and hair done, but I don't miss paying for it. And that's what it comes down to.

 I hope that post-pandemic I can maintain this attitude even in the face of "going out". That's where the majority of the money went, to buying food and drink just to have a place to be with my friends because that's what my generation has always done. We've been going out since it was cheap and have (or maybe had) continued to do so even though it no longer is and the service sucks because the servers are demoralized and struggling on below survival wages and don't even have time to do their art or study or enjoy the city at all. But I can't say that I miss anything but the company. New York is the land of mediocre overpriced but well appointed bars and restaurants charging crazy price to cover even crazier rents. But I don't know if I'll want to pay their rents anymore. Maybe I'll be incentivized to save "going out" for when I am in places that I am excited to be in, like on vacation. Maybe I start brown-bagging it and having picnics like a millennial and sit on the ground with friends. Maybe house parties will become more of a thing. Maybe the economy will have to recover without my small discretionary spending until it can offer me something more delightful than a Chase bill for $80. Who knows. Maybe not.