Music Monday 28 - Budget Music

I’ve got a lot of music and most of it I procured legally. Though it would be interesting to figure out how much I’ve spent on music over the course of my life, it would also be a little scary; I’m sure I’ve spent thousands of dollars on music since I bought my first CD, a Weird Al Yanovic album, when I was 13. In the past few years, with the advent of iTunes, my desire to buy new music has been gratified immediately; now with the iPhone the gratification is even more immediate as I have the power to buy almost any album in the palm of my hand. Our married budget, however, has changed all of that.

As Alycia and I start our life together we’re on a pretty tight budget. We’re not poor and one step from destitution’s door but we are living within a budget thanks to Dave Ramsey and the steps he outlines in Financial Peace. As far as that budget goes, there isn’t any money reserved for new music; it’s just not there. And while I’m more than happy to live on our budget, I’ve had to change my practices when it comes to buying new music. Gone are the days of flippantly buying whatever album I wanted; now I have to be a little more strategic in my music purchases.

Part of that strategy is hoping for iTunes gift cards for my birthday, asking friends what is really worth my money and saving up my “blow” money so I can buy the new Linkin Park album or an old Nat King Cole compilation. Maybe someday we’ll be a position where $10 on iTunes isn’t such a big deal but at this point it is, and I’m all right with that. And maybe being more strategic and more careful in my music purchases will lead me to find something truly special instead of an album I purchase, listen to once and completely forget about.

If I was going to buy one new album, what should it be?