Redefining the Meaning of Wealth

David on the hiking trail in Topanga Canyon

“For you wake one day, look around and say, somebody wonderful married me”.

~ Fred Ebb

David and I celebrated our wedding anniversary this past weekend. I am lucky enough to be married to one of the world’s best guys and each year with him just gets better and better. So when David asked me what I wanted to do for this year’s anniversary, he willingly agreed to my vision of celebrating our special day without breaking the bank. Finding creative ways to live a rich life without spending tons of money has become a sort of game for me. I don’t agree that money buys happiness and I’m always looking for ways to enjoy life that don’t depend on my financial situation.

Associating frugal with a wedding anniversary may sound sacrilege to some. After all we have been conditioned by the media to believe that such landmark occasions must include money and lots of it. Dictionary.com defines frugal: as economical in use or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful. As I work to become less wasteful in all areas of my life, the wedding anniversary celebration is no exception.

Last year we were in Costa Rica on our anniversary and celebrated at an amazing restaurant. (The Chilean Sea Bass was to die for and I still salivate when I think about it.) Fast forward to this year. I’m still unemployed so we decided it best to forfeit our previously hoped for trip abroad this summer. Instead I started to look into all the great things our local area has to offer. After all, we do live in a vacation destination and too often we take the sights around us for granted.

So what did we end up doing you might ask? We spent a day hiking in Topanga Canyon, CA. For those unfamiliar with Topanga Canyon, it is a mountain community in Western Los Angeles known for its bohemian culture. It’s the perfect place for hiking, biking, and horseback riding. It’s one of our favorite places. If it wasn’t for the long drive down the canyon to get to work we would love to live up there. Oh well! Maybe one day!

The drive up the canyon to Topanga State Park was beautiful. We could have parked on the back streets and walked to the trails but David insisted we pay the $10 parking fee because he wanted to support the parks. I agree it’s important to give back to our parks so I agree the $10 was well spent. We hiked down the Santa Ynez Trail which was supposed to take us to a waterfall. Going down was very pleasant and beautiful. Of course the waterfall was dry but the last time I hiked this trail it was dry as well. We got a good laugh out of that. Going back up was not so pleasant because you guessed it – it was all uphill! Even though we were hot and out of breath we had lots of laughs and David jokingly warned me I had better not pass out because he would not be carrying me back up the trail.

We finally collapsed in the car and turned the air conditioner on full blast. We had tentatively planned to eat at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in Topanga, but we were a hot and sweaty mess. Topanga is one of the world’s most tolerant places but I didn’t want to push the envelope by patronizing a restaurant drenched in sweat. We went home instead and did something we rarely ever do. We had pizza delivered! The rest of the evening we viewed free shows from Hulu.com.

Earlier in the week David asked me what I wanted for a gift. I told him I wanted a jewelry box. He immediately said we would go out and shop for one. No, no, no I said! Not being much of a jewelry girl, I don’t have that much jewelry anyway. All I wanted was some kind of box to organize what I did have because I was tired of it all being a loose mess in my bathroom drawer. I told him there was no need to go out and spend money when I was sure he had some sort of box he wasn’t using that would be perfect for organizing my jewelry. He ended up finding a gray looking cash box that he once used to store his check receipts. Since he no longer needed it, he offered it to me.

Now I know most women might find this kind of gift downright insulting but it was perfect for me. First of all, he honored my request. Second, he “shopped” in his own home and found something perfectly good that was no longer getting any use. Third, we spent no unnecessary money, and fourth and most important, it was environmentally friendly. We didn’t contribute to more demand in the world for useless objects that use up the world’s precious resources. Most of us have so much junk anyway and if we get creative there’s often no need to always be buying something new.

I doubt any of the mainstream women’s magazines would glamorize our anniversary celebration but for me it was just perfect! We spent time with each other and laughed and played. After all, it’s all about the experience and enjoying each other. You don’t need money to enjoy each other’s company. You either do or you don’t. Thinking that spending money is the only way celebrate special occasions is the ultimate in status quo thinking. David and I have never been very status-quo so why should any of our celebrations be so?