I Don't Wanna "Grow Up"

When I see the price that you pay
I don't wanna grow up
I don't ever wanna be that way
I don't wanna grow up

12 years ago I was rooming with a friend, and we both made just-above-minimum wage. I always had money.

I worked 5 days a week, but it wasn't a job I took home with me, literally or mentally. I made a fair amount of homemade food and ate simply. When Roomie and I moved into a new apartment, we used cast-off furniture, we decorated the walls of the livingroom with photos from a discounted book, and instead of buying curtains for the kitchen we hung up a line and clipped colourful scarves to it. When our second hand TV broke, we didn't miss it.

We tend to refer to this kind of decorating as "first apartment" decorating. It's not for Adults. Adults buy their furniture new. They don't rent, they buy. And they don't own bus passes, they own cars. And they don't work part-time.

It's funny that we see these things as adult-ish, though, because cutting money and trying to live a healthier life requires (1) a lot of initial work, and then (2) organization. The time I no longer spend in either a stressful management job, or being a student, I spend on researching homemade cleaners, cooking homemade food, and reorganizing my apartment. And while I'm concerned about saving up money for retirement, there are two ways to collect money--you can make more, and you can spend less. I'm re-focusing myself on the latter.

This Childish lifestyle of mine is better for my health, better for my pocket-book, and better for the environment. So in the words of the Great Tom Waits: I don't wanna grow up.