The Cost of Joy – Christmas in July

Although it is 90 degrees out here in July as I write this, I am remembering a conversation Katie and I had last Christmas.

I had just finished reading about ways to lower electricity bills and I looked at our Christmas tree.

We were running 4 strings of lights on our tree at 40 watts each and I asked myself, I wonder how much of our bill is in that tree.

One night as we were about to head to dinner, I unplugged the tree. I thought, “If no one is here to admire it, why should we pay to light it?”

Katie asked me to plug the tree back in, and asked, “How much are you really saving by doing that?!”

Know What You Spend

As an engineer I paused…

40 watts / string * 4 strings = 160 watts (0.16 kW)

Running the lights 6 hours each night,

0.16 kW * 6 hrs/night = 0.96 kW h / night

$0.20 / kW h * 0.96 kW h = about 19 cents / night. Consuming a penny each 20 minutes.

So we spent about a dollar per week to light our Christmas tree. It wasn’t that I wanted all the lights out. It just felt really good to actually understand exactly what I was paying for, rather than my electric bill being a mystery number that would surprise us each month.

Pay For Joy

Defending myself, I mentioned that no one would even be there to see it!

That is when she explained her joy of coming back home to our house after a date night and seeing the beautiful tree lit up in the corner of the living room.

Realizing that I also enjoy that feeling of home when our tree is lit up, I agreed. In that moment, we both were able to make the decision, with full knowledge, that the extra 6 cents to light the tree while we were gone was worth paying for the joy of coming back to a warmer home.

Having financial freedom is not just making money and not spending it. Financial freedom is making your money decisions when and how you want to make them.

Be informed, know what is important to you, and don’t spend where it is not important to you.