Sauce

Knocked back a shot of nostalgia today when I spotted a cereal bar of the sort that I used to occasionally buy as a Student when I was feeling flush or needed a quick (but far from nutritious) meal.

I feel like I don’t have any money now, but there was a time, when purchasing a muesli bar was a major financial consideration.

The old adage that the more you earn the more you spend, has always rung true to me. I remember a day in my life perfectly illustrating this point.

I left New Zealand having earned barely above minimum wage. Seven year later I returned from  overseas a salaried professional. One day not long after returning from the UK I treated myself to a mince pie, a New Zealand delicacy I’d yet to enjoy since returning home. The lady at the counter pointed to a display box of sauce sachets. I instantly dismissed the option of buying the sauce, and pulled one of the two the two $20 notes from my wallet to pay. But suddenly I was hit with an epiphany.

I could afford the sauce. I could afford the sauce!. As a student spending 16% more on a sachet of sauce was a luxury reserved for only the most special of occasions, a birthday, or the end of exams.

But here I was with two $20 bills in my wallet and a salary. Why the hell not?

Unless I win lotto, I will never again experience such a quantum leap in perception of my own fortunes. In a moment I was transformed from a skint student to a man of means. I had money and damn it I was gonna spend it.

Reader, I took two sachets!