Don’t Save The Good Stuff For A Special Occasion
We often tuck away our finest things, reserving them for some elusive “special occasion” that never seems to arrive. But life is too short to wait—every day is an opportunity to enjoy the best we have. Instead of saving the good stuff, let’s embrace the present and celebrate the beauty in our everyday moments.
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Don’t Save Your Good Stuff For A Special Occasion
How often have you found yourself stashing away your best china, favorite dress, or that luxurious bottle of wine, waiting for the perfect moment to indulge? We all do it—saving the “good stuff” for a special occasion that seems so far in the future.
But here’s the truth: life is happening right now, and every day deserves to be cherished.
Embracing Everyday: Why You Should Use Your Best Items Instead of Saving Them for Special Occasions
We all have items we consider too special to use on an ordinary day—a beautiful dress, an expensive perfume, the fine china handed down through generations. We tuck these items away, waiting for a momentous occasion that feels worthy of their use.
However, this mindset can prevent us from fully enjoying life and appreciating what we already have. By reserving our best things for the “perfect moment,” we miss out on opportunities to enhance our everyday experiences. This post explores why you should embrace using your best items now, rather than saving them for a special occasion.
In the 2022 movie Ticket to Paradise the character David (played by George Clooney) says he could see he and Georgia (played by Julia Roberts) spending some time in Bali “someday”. In one of the best quotes of the movie Georgia then asks in reply, “Why save the good stuff for later?”
Unfortunately all three of us sisters here at WeThreeShanes have lost loved ones, some at very young ages. We know too well that tomorrow doesn’t always come. So we don’t want you wasting even a minute of your life waiting for someday.
But how do we get past the feeling that we need to be saving goals, aspirations, or the good stuff for someday? Let’s explore why we humans do that, and how we can make changes so that we live our lives for today!
The Illusion of Special Occasions
At the heart of the habit of saving our best things is the idea that some moments are more valuable than others. We reserve our finest possessions for these moments, hoping to heighten their significance. But in doing so, we often fall into the trap of undervaluing our daily lives.
The truth is, life doesn’t always provide grand events that clearly signal the right time to use our most treasured items. More often than not, special occasions come and go without fanfare, and the items we were saving remain unused.
This mindset can also lead to disappointment. When the anticipated “perfect moment” arrives, it may not live up to our expectations, and the joy we thought would come from finally using that special item might be fleeting.
Instead of enhancing the occasion, the pressure we place on it can diminish our enjoyment. The value we place on things should not be contingent on the rarity of the occasion but on the joy they bring us.
The Psychology of Saving for Special Occasions
Our tendency to save the best for last is deeply rooted in psychological patterns. We are conditioned to delay gratification. While delaying gratification can be beneficial in some aspects of life, such as financial planning, it can also lead to unnecessary deprivation when it comes to enjoying the things we already own.
Another psychological factor at play is the concept of “loss aversion,” where the fear of using and possibly damaging our prized things outweighs the potential joy of using them. We worry that if we use our best items, they might lose their pristine condition, and we won’t be able to enjoy them in the future. However, this fear often leads to a paradox: by not using these items, we fail to enjoy them at all.
By saving our best items for later, we might never experience the full joy they can bring. Instead, we should aim to maximize the enjoyment of our possessions while the novelty and excitement are still fresh.
The Emotional Cost of Waiting
When we constantly save our best items for later, we send ourselves the message that the present moment is not worthy of enjoyment. This can lead to a feeling of dissatisfaction with our daily lives, as we wait for some future event to bring us happiness. Over time, this mindset can erode our ability to find joy in the present and can contribute to feelings of emptiness or longing.
Plus, saving items for a special occasion can create a sense of scarcity in our lives. We may feel that we don’t have enough special moments to justify using our finest possessions, leading us to believe that our lives are lacking.
This scarcity mindset can, in turn, lead to the accumulation of more possessions, or the over use of credit cards and debt as we seek to fill the perceived void with new items. This cycle can be difficult to break, leaving us with more things but less fulfillment.
On the other hand, using our best items can enhance our emotional well-being by reinforcing the idea that our everyday lives are valuable and worthy of celebration. By treating ourselves to the things we love, we affirm our own worth and the worth of our daily experiences. This can lead to a greater sense of contentment and a deeper appreciation for the present moment.
The Financial Implications of Saving the Best
From a financial perspective, saving our best items for later can actually lead to waste. When we purchase high-quality items with the intention of using them for special occasions, we are investing in their potential to bring us joy.
If these items remain unused, that investment is essentially lost. The money we spent sits in the form of unused possessions, offering no return on the emotional or experiential value we had hoped to gain.
Additionally, the habit of saving items for later can fuel a cycle of consumerism. When we don’t use the things we already own, we may feel a compulsion to buy more in search of something that feels “worthy” of immediate use.
This can lead to unnecessary spending and the accumulation of more possessions that end up being saved for another undefined occasion. In contrast, using what we already have allows us to fully appreciate the value of our purchases and reduces the urge to constantly seek out new things.
There is also the practical consideration of depreciation. Many items, such as clothing, electronics, or even certain food and beverages, can lose their value over time. Fabrics may deteriorate, technology becomes outdated, and even perfume can smell off if not stored properly. By waiting too long to use these items, we risk them losing their quality or becoming obsolete before we ever get the chance to enjoy them.
The Joy of Everyday Luxury
One of the most compelling reasons to use your best items now is the joy and pleasure they can bring to your everyday life. By incorporating luxury into your daily routine, you can elevate your ordinary experiences and make them feel special. Whether it’s sipping your morning coffee from a fine china cup, wearing your favorite perfume just because, or setting the dinner table with your best silverware, these small acts can transform mundane moments into cherished memories.
Living with a sense of everyday luxury doesn’t mean being wasteful. It’s about recognizing the value of the present moment and making the most of what you have. When you use your best items regularly, you not only enjoy them more, but you also create a sense of abundance in your life. This abundance mindset can bring positive changes that can lead to greater happiness and a deeper appreciation for the things you own.
Also, using your best items can be a form of self-care. It’s a way of treating yourself with kindness and respect, acknowledging that you deserve to enjoy the good things in life every day, not just on special occasions. This practice is a great way to boost your self-esteem and contribute to a more positive outlook on life.
The Cultural Shift Toward Minimalism and Mindful Living
In recent years, there has been a growing cultural shift toward minimalism and mindful living, where the focus is on quality over quantity and living with intention. This movement encourages us to declutter our lives and make thoughtful choices about how we use our time, energy, and possessions.
One of the principles of minimalism is to surround ourselves with things that bring us joy and to use them fully.By using our best items, we align ourselves with these values. Instead of hoarding possessions for a future that may never come, we set goals to embrace the present and make the most of what we have.
This approach not only leads to a more fulfilling life but also helps us cultivate a more sustainable relationship with our stuff. We learn to appreciate what we own, reduce waste, and resist the urge to accumulate more things we don’t need. And this puts us in a much better place to feel like we have enough money and to reach out savings goals.
Mindful living also encourages us to be present and fully engaged in our daily experiences. Using our best items is one of the simple ways to savor the moment and appreciate the beauty and craftsmanship of the things we own. This mindfulness can lead to a deeper sense of satisfaction and contentment.
Creating Your Own Special Occasions
One of the most empowering aspects of using your best items is that it allows you to create your own special occasions. You don’t have to wait for a holiday, anniversary, or other significant event to enjoy the things you love.
By taking control of when and how you use your best possessions, you can infuse your life with moments of joy and celebration whenever you choose.For example, you might decide to wear your favorite outfit on a random Tuesday, just because it makes you feel confident and happy.
Or perhaps you’ll use your favorite table settings on a casual weekend evening as a way of making a dinner with your spouse special. These moments may not be marked by any traditional significance, but they become special simply because you chose to make them so.
Creating your own special occasions also allows you to share your best items with others. By using your fine china for a family dinner or lighting a candle during a quiet night at home, you invite those around you to partake in the joy these items bring. This can lead to deeper connections and more meaningful experiences, as you create memories that will last for a long time after the occasion has passed.
Not Living in a Scarcity Mindset
Saving your best items for special occasions can create a false sense of scarcity, leading to an endless cycle of wanting and accumulating more. When we stash away our finest things, we subconsciously tell ourselves that our current possessions aren’t good enough for everyday use.
This mindset can fuel a desire for newer, better items that we believe will finally be “worth using.” As a result, we might find ourselves constantly purchasing new things in search of that elusive perfect moment, while the items we already own remain untouched.
Moreover, when we keep saving our best items for later, we never truly experience their value. This can lead to dissatisfaction, as we feel like we’re missing out on the enjoyment these items could bring.
To compensate, we might be tempted to spend too much money buying more things instead of sticking to our savings plan or adding to our retirement savings. We are hoping that the next purchase will be the one we actually use and enjoy. However, this only adds to the clutter in our lives and deepens the cycle of consumerism, leaving us with more possessions, and causing us to expend a lot of work to take care of them.
The first step we can make in rejecting this scarcity mindset is choosing to use and appreciate what we already have. When we fully enjoy our best items now, it is the best way to realize that we don’t need to keep buying more to feel fulfilled. This shift in mindset helps us focus on the quality of our experiences rather than the quantity of our possessions, ultimately leading to greater contentment and less of a desire to accumulate unnecessary stuff.
The Legacy of Using Your Best Items
Finally, using your best items can create a legacy of enjoyment and appreciation that extends beyond your own life. When you regularly use and care for your finest possessions, you create a long term history of their use that can be passed down to future generations. These items become more than just objects—they become symbols of the joy and love that were part of your everyday life.
For example, a well-loved piece of jewelry or a beautifully worn set of silverware can carry with it the memories of countless meals, celebrations, and moments of personal significance. When these items are passed down, they bring with them the stories of how they were used and cherished, creating a connection between generations.
In contrast, items that are saved for later and rarely used may not carry the same emotional weight. They remain in pristine condition, but without the marks of use that tell a story.
By using your best items now, you not only enrich your own life but also create a meaningful legacy for those you love. It can be one of the ways you show them that they were always the best thing in your life, you were willing to share your best things with them. They themselves were the big deal, the most important thing, the special occasion.
Don’t Save Your Good Stuff
Let’s no longer tuck away our finest things for some “special occasion”. Life is here now, and it’s too short to wait. Every day we are alive is an opportunity to celebrate and enjoy the best we have. Instead of saving the good stuff, let’s remember to celebrate all of our everyday moments.
Do you have items that you have been saving for a special occasion? How can you use these items in your everyday life to make your days, and those you love feel special? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, we love to hear from you!
