Slate Pay Dirt: Lillian's Money Advice Column

… pretty sure there aren’t wild hedgehogs in the americas

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Haha we received something similar about the peahens. There used to be one, now there are two. People feel very strongly for (or against) the peahens.

They have been named by one of the kids that lives here and most people have adopted those names. But they also destroy plants and poop on patios and someone regularly feeds them blueberries that stain the sidewalks. It’s intense :stuck_out_tongue:

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LOL. We have a peacock/peahen issue here as well. Some dude keeps getting on the neighborhood FB group and ranting about them. And then people flame him loudly and in an entertaining fashion. It’s a whole thing.

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Dear Pay Dirt,

Is my bad spending really a problem? I’m a single person in my mid-to-late-20s making a crazy good income at a little over $100,000/year and renting in a large and expensive city in the U.S. (about 30 percent of my income goes to rent and parking). I don’t want kids and am not planning on buying a house any time soon. Thanks to good advice and generous company matches, I have about $38,000 in my 401(k) and another $12,000 in general investments through a roundup investment app (Acorns). The problem is that I also have about $5,000 in credit card and medical debt, very little savings, and can’t stick to any sort of budget.

I am thoughtless about money and end up spending frivolously and impulsively by diving into bizarre hobbies. To give you an idea, I found myself breeding exotic fish and owning about six separate fish tanks, I amassed a collection of rare gemstones, became a licensed facialist, self-published a novel, and am an avid gardener. Those are just a FEW examples from the last couple of years.

I was recently diagnosed with ADHD, which my therapist thinks is a big factor in my spending habits. I waste a lot of money technically speaking, but I’m able to be generous with my friends in times of need or just for fun, and I don’t worry about money despite my general balance of credit debt. I live my life without thinking about money, which is an extreme privilege I’m aware of, but I know I’m wasting a lot in interest and am squandering money others would give anything to have. I’m probably in the top 5 percent so I feel really bad about how I go about my spending, but I still feel like it’s not too big of a problem. Am I spoiled and irresponsible, or is this OK?

—Reckless But Responsible

Slate Plus answer over here:

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Because Nicole is the greatest.