Commenting on the blogger who recently wrote in about his or her friend spending $2,000 on a 2-year-old's birthday party. Of course this amount is absurd...except if you're the parent throwing the party and feel justified in doing it. It seems glutunous and immoral in some way to the majority of us. But what people forget is that money is an emotional thing...it's not based on what's responsible or the most cost effective at times. It's just based on feelings and what we are wanting to do with it at the time we spend it. Of course most of us aren't spending $2,000 on a child's birthday party, but we're buying things we think are important, which others would find absurd. We all do it. We all spend money emotionally, but we don't want to admit it.

The bigger question to ask here is not "why did the parent spend so much money on such a thing?" But instead "can he/she spend that kind of money on such a thing and still take care of basic needs, pay debt, etc., without going into more debt?"

Remember, you can have anything you want, you just can't have everything. That means you can have whatever you heart desires, even if it's something others consider stupid such as a $2,000 birthday party, but it also means that you will have to give up other things you need and want in order to have that party. You can't have both, or in other words, you can't have everything.

You personally may not spend $2,000 on a birthday party, but be honest, you've spent a chunk of money on things you thought were important to you, emotionally, and felt justified. The thing that's more appalling than what money is spent on, is spending it without thinking when you don't really have it to spend.

Be honest, when was the last time you spent money emotionally? The truth is, every time we spend, it's emotional. Every time. Until we deal with our emotions, we will never get in complete control of our money.