“Put 20 percent of your paycheck into your savings.”

“Count your pennies.”

“Don’t invest in fidget spinners.”

These are all sound money-saving sayings that have been handed to me over the years. Ever since I was young, I have always tried to save money. I still remember feeling guilty after my dad spent (probably) 20 dollars at a local arcade between the two of us when I was six. Since then, saving money, or just flat out not spending it, has become a part of my life.

Sometimes, however, saving money has turned out to be a negative experience. After all, it’s best to spend the extra dollar for a better experience or product, which I learned throughout my life. They often say “a penny saved is a penny earned,” but maybe that can be changed to “a penny spent on something with quality saves you lots of pennies later.” It’s wordy, but I’m sure Ben Franklin wouldn’t have a huge issue with it. Here are some examples from my past.

Dinner Experience in College

It was a Saturday night, and I was with my then-girlfriend during my freshman year of college. So far, the food at the dining halls had been good, and I was accustomed to eating there every day. I had the 21-meal plan, meaning I could swipe my card 21 times between Monday morning and Sunday evening and eat in the cafeteria. During the week, the cafeteria closed at 1:30 a.m., but on weekends, it closed at 10:00 p.m., meaning you should arrive by 9:30 p.m. at the earliest if you hoped to get a meal.

Unfortunately, we arrived at 9:45, and the staff explained that “There’s really nothing left.” Luckily, however, there was a Subway across the street from campus. This was during the time they were running their 5-dollar footlong special. The logical thing would have been to walk across the street, spend 5 bucks, and eat a real meal. But, because I was frugal, that’s not what I did. Instead, I swiped my card and we ended up eating burned chicken with some lettuce. I was trying to impress my girlfriend by showing her how creative I could be. That didn’t work.

Money saved: $5 plus tax.

Result: Burned chicken taste and hunger throughout the night.

Recommended: No, Subway was a much better option.

Buying Headphones in Madrid

I have bad luck with headphones. They always seem to die on me: a wire will get cut, or I’ll break them somehow. Unfortunately, ever since I switched to Bluetooth headphones, I haven’t had better luck (fingers crossed for my latest pair).

One afternoon, both earpieces died on me, taking away my podcasts and music. I work out regularly and didn’t want to listen to the awful reggaeton music that blasts from the speakers at the gym, so I had an immediate chore on my hands. Anyone else would have gone to the electronics store that was literally the floor above my gym, but I decided to go to the cheap convenience store down the road.

At the store, I found a sick deal on headphones: only one euro! I tried them before buying them, and although the sound quality wasn’t fantastic, they still worked…for another six days. By then, I could barely hear out of either earpiece before they both stopped working entirely. In the end, I found an old pair and held off buying a new set for a few more weeks.

Money saved: Anywhere from 10 to 100 euros.

Result: A worthless experiment.

Recommended: No, only if you’re held at gunpoint to do this, as I still had to buy another pair.

Transatlantic Flight From Nashville to Madrid

Flying from Nashville to anywhere international can be difficult. Nashville isn’t a major airport hub like New York, Chicago, Dallas, or Boston. So, getting from Nashville to any other major city outside the US can be expensive. I was looking at options, and the numbers were getting close to $1000. Nah, I didn’t want to do that. Sure, it would take the least amount of time, but why not go the cheapest way possible instead?

So, I started to look up the cheapest routes from the USA to Madrid. I ended up finding a flight out of Miami. So, now I just had to get to Miami. That wasn’t a problem, as there were plenty of Southwest flights to…Fort Lauderdale. The total price was about $600.

All in all, here’s what my flight plan ended up looking like:

I flew from Nashville to Baltimore, then from Baltimore to Fort Lauderdale. After that, I bussed from the Fort Lauderdale Airport to the Miami Airport. Subsequently, I waited in the Miami Airport for eight hours until my flight left from Miami to Oslo. After a six-hour wait in Oslo, I finally flew to Madrid.

Door to door, the total time was something like 42 hours. I hadn’t slept, and I was carrying about 115 pounds of luggage with me. Fortunately, a friend was there to pick me up and help with the bags.

Money saved: Anywhere from $300-600.

Result: A fatigue like I’ve never experienced before and instant recovery from jet lag.

Recommended: Yes and no, I saved a bunch of money but the experience was hell.

Since these experiences and others, I have decided that sometimes, spending that extra dollar is worth it in the long run. Saving 10 euros on headphones is great, but not having to buy a new pair of headphones every week is much better. When it comes to big purchases, however, I still tend to stray towards the frugal side, even though I probably shouldn’t. Stay (kind of) frugal everyone!