Sometimes I like to think I’m “cured” of this whole “spending thing” and then I go and get a dose of reality served up to me. My whole un-cured-ness was proven this weekend when I had to make a VERY conscious effort to stop myself from buying some things.
1. Cat earrings. (above) I don’t have a cat, never have had a cat, and I really only like pictures of kittens- not real-live cats that try to touch me. The only reason I wanted these because I was on Twitter and Grace Bonney (of Design*Sponge fame) tweeted about them. What!? Yes. I was *this close* to buying them. The power of suggestion is crazy thing.
2. Minnetonka Moccasins Even though it’s winter in Colorado I found myself seriously considering these. Snow would get into the low foot opening and I couldn’t wear them to work. Despite all these reasons I still almost bought them because I was imagining all the cute outfits that I could come up with them. Aye yi yi.
3. White Christmas treeI’ve seen so many examples of very cute vintage-y looking white Christmas trees so I found myself thinking about how cute it would look in our little place. “It IS the Holiday season right!?” My mind automatically goes into justification mode.
4. Yarn. Tons and tons of yarn. Since I’m making all of my gifts this year I found myself thinking that I might as well stock up, hibernate and craft away. Which to me means working non-stop until ALL THE GIFTS ARE MADE. Have I ever told you that moderation has never been my thing?
5. Pizza It sounded good and I didn’t want to eat the stuff I have in my cabinets.
Instinctively, I want to NEED all these things. It gets easier to deal with temptation but it doesn’t go away. So, I have to ask:
How do you deal with temptation?
10 Comments
i look at my bank balance, and stare at it for a while thinking about all the bigger/better things i'm saving for in the future!
except pizza….
i almost always give in to pizza. but at least i cut out the coupons on the box and eventually get free pizza! that makes it better, right?
yeah, justification mode is my default, too.
my, this might as well been my temptation list. I have eyeing this adorable cat ring and think about purchasing it every single day. & not to pull you into the hole again but I have minnetonkas (flat mocs) and I love it and wear it a lot so at least it's being used, right? & with yarn, I've gone through so many splurges that I have so much yarn in my yarn basket. :)
whenever I get that tempted feeling I usually fake myself into pretending I am giving in. I will spend like 40 minutes on a site and add the items to my cart then at the last minute, just close the site and never think about it again. I DO THIS A LOT. I sound nutty, but it really helps!
We probably all know the feeling of guilt after we buy something that we really want. Even if I pay cash, I'm paying interest because that money could have gone to debt. I really don't want to have that feeling of guilt again, ever!
I'm really looking forward to that day a year from now when I can buy something and go home and really enjoy it guilt free!!!
I tell myself that if I still have money at the end of the month, I can buy the thing I really, really want right now. Usually, by the end of the month, I don't even want it anymore so it doesn't matter if I have the money or not.
As for pizza, I really wanted some this weekend, but instead of spending $15 or so to order one, I went to Fresh and Easy and bought their pre-made dought ($1.49), pre-made pizza sauce ($2.29) and mozzarella cheese ($2.50). Total for my homemade pizza=$6.28, plus I didn't have to suffer for days with an unfilled food craving.
Hey Naomi, yeah pizza still sounds good tonight. Hoping the craving passes…
Caroline, that's a sneaky idea!
You can do it Meghan!
That's a good idea Karen. I'm thinking a slice might be in order if I'm still in the mood for it tomorrow. Really like your idea though because then you could have leftovers and really stretch the purchase that much further.
Because my main goal right now is to be able to travel, I like to think of money in terms of plane tickets and other travel expenses. Like, if I spend $45 on a new dress, that's a one-way ticket back home to Virginia, or somewhere else really cool if JetBlue is having a sale! Or, $20 on a pizza is the equivalent of a night in a European hostel. If I acknowledge that spending money on something frivolous is taking me one step further from my goal, I'm more likely to forgo it.
Love your blog, Anna! :)
That's such a cool way of thinking about it Emily!