Money can't buy happiness—but there sure are a lot of things it can buy to get you pretty close. There's no denying that we all feel a bit better when our wallets are a little thicker. But what those crisp bills mean in terms of real life purchases can change drastically with your age. When you're a kid, your weekly $5 allowance may make you feel like King Midas, but ten years later, you realize that you could find that same $5 digging through your couch cushions. As time goes by, our age isn't the only thing that matures, our perception of a dollar does too. Here, we take a whimsical look at how you feel about cash through the years.
In your teens:
$20 = Dinner and a movie, better known as the perfect Friday night (with all your BFF's, of course.)
$50 = A really crazy afternoon "shopping spree" at the mall.
$100 = A weekend worth of baby-sitting earnings.
$1000 = The collective balance of the savings account your parents set up for you 10 years ago, fueled by birthday checks from Grandma.
In your twenties:
$20 = Your estimated budget for a night out.
$50 = Your actual spendings on a night out.
$100 = Too much money to throw down without some serious deliberation before hand.
$1000 = Rent (Although this barely skims the lower half of what you're paying if you live in NYC or SF. Le sigh.)
In your thirties:
$20 = Barely covers a drink at dinner.
$50 = What you've learned is the minimum charge from any worthwhile hair stylist.
$100 = About a month's worth of diapers.
$1000 = A little less than your mortgage payment.
In your forties:
$20 = The amount you hand over to your son or daughter on a (seemingly) daily basis.
$50 = The price of a night's freedom in the form of payment to your baby-sitter.
$100 = The standard amount of cash you're carrying around in your wallet—because you never know when you might need it.
$1000 = Money that will, most likely, be funneled into your child's college fund.
In your fifties:
$20 = What you're willing to throw down for a great lunch. You can't put a price on midday happiness.
$50 = The mani/pedi that is no longer just an indulgence, but is medically necessary.
$100 = A fraction of the up charge your car insurance provider will charge you once you add your kids to the plan.
$1000 = A sum of this size is going towards a well-deserved vacation—without the kids.
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