Just Broke, Tack Whore, Or Gazillionaire?

This post comes to you thanks to Sarah over at Eventing in Color. The photo below is a screen shot of her original blog post. Please check her blog out; she comes up with all kinds of interesting things to read.

Click to enlarge, or better yet, hop over to her site and read the whole thing!

Sarah's post was so interesting to me because I had the very same epiphany that she experienced, gee, I am no long a starving student, in my early thirties. And once realized, a whole new world was opened to me.

We're not wealthy people, me and hubby, but during my struggling student years, I would have said that people in my current socio-economic range were darn close to it. The apartment we shared in the early 90s was $370 a month, less than I pay for board! I know now that wealth is relative. The Romney's no doubt spend more on "board" than I make all year.

But back to the epiphany of my early 30s. I don't remember an actual date, of course, but little by little I started to realize that I could actually buy the things in the tack catalogs that I had for so long just earmarked for fun. I remember two particular purchases that stand out, and like Sarah's story, one of them involved blankets.

Endurance riders need a lot of different blankets: one for vet checks, a heavy one for cold nights, a mid-weight blanket for daytime standing around, a fleece cooler, something for rain, and so on. And if you compete on two horses at the same time like I did, you need two of everything. One winter, I decided that I wanted to buy both of my horses a really nice lightweight, waterproof, super warm blanket. 

Back then, the most common type of blanket was a wool-lined rug in that canvas duck fabric. They were heavy, awkward to pack, and relatively cheap. I hated the one I had, so I pulled out my Stateline catalog and placed the order for a new comfy, lightweight, winter blanket. For TWO! I knew I had arrived.

When I purchased my SECOND living quarters horse trailer, I knew that I was no longer just making ends meet. After all, which starving, broke student does that? They don't, which made me really recognize that I no longer needed to identify with that person. What a relief!

By admitting that I was no longer living one debt to the next, I officially joined the Tack Whore Club. Although I hate that moniker and wish there was a less consumeristic title that I could assign to this group of non-millionaires (the Dressage Curmudgeon uses the term Tack Nuns). I love that I can buy most anything that I want. The bummer is that I don't. Instead, I carefully and thoughtfully buy what I need.

In my comment to Sarah, I said, I am probably now officially a tack whore as I never purchase or even accept used tack. It's not because I feel too good to do so, rather I want to use what is exactly right: correctly fitting, designed for the function, long lasting, and maybe even good looking! 

I won't lie; not being a starving student who is always broke is a great thing. Having enough money to pay vet bills, show, and take lessons is awesome. Recognizing that I can do so is liberating. 

My version of Sarah's Spectrum of Equestrian Spending:

Are you on the Spectrum? - Click to enlarge.