I know this has nothing to do with books, but I thought this is interesting to share. I recently stumbled across an article in the local magazine which prints "Oh My God, my entertainment cost is through the roof!" on the cover. I was intrigued by this title and immediately picked the magazine up from the common room in my office.
According to that article, 40% of the women surveyed said that they spent 15 - 30% of their monthly salary as entertainment cost and 28% spent 30 - 50%. I fall under the 15 - 30% category. What's classified as entertainment for the purpose of this survey is anything that's not primary needs (food, housing, transport and clothing), which includes the following:
- Salon and Spa - there are actually a large percentage of the women who lives in Jakarta who goes to blow dry their hair at the salon more than once a week. Fortunately, the cost of getting your hair done at professional salon in the city where I live is not that expensive as in other countries, so depending on our salary range, we can actually afford that treatment 3 times a week. And the cost is approximately US$ 100 / month, sometimes even less.
- Eating out - this activity also contributes a major portion of the entertainment cost. Unlike the first item, this is quite an expensive exercise here, especially if you live in the big major city like Jakarta.
- Books - according to this magazine, books fall under the entertainment cost and not under shopping :) Well, for me, books are part of my shopping budget.. together with other items that I buy from a store.. Entertainment is more of a service category for me.
- Movies - Now, this is another activities which are cheap to do in Jakarta. A movie ticket costs you only about US$ 2.50 to US$ 5.50 depending on the theatre, and with certain credit cards, we can get 1 free if we buy 1 ticket, so it costs even less to go to the movies these days.
- Travel - This is the most expensive entertainment cost of them all. This ranges from out of town travel to out of country travel, which can cost between US$ 100 to US$ 1,000 for a short distance travel.
And the respondents are also surveyed on the reason that they splurge their budget on entertainment cost and they fall under one of the following reasons:
- Stress Reliever (27%)
- As a way to pamper yourself after hard at work (48%)
- To socialize (18%)
- Networking (7%)
Well, for me, if I am one of the respondent, my reason would be number 2. I think I deserve to pamper myself after working hard all day or week. And this is acceptable as long as you don't spend more than you can afford, which will bring you into a pile of debt so deep you can't get out of. And you have to have at least 10% of your monthly salary that goes into savings for a rainy day.. If your saving is covered, I believe you can spend the allocated budget for entertainment and shopping, because Girl, You're worth it and You Deserve It!!