In all of the craziness of black friday deals, deals, deals, I confess that I wanted to spend, spend, spend.
First there was the Christmas tree. Ours is pretty old and in a very sad state. We thought we might take advantage of the end of the season clearance deals, but by the time the prices got low enough for our budget, the selection was pathetic. So this year, we have been watching the sales and agonizing over the purchase of a shiny new pre-lit Christmas tree.
Rather than rushing out to the store right then and there, my husband and I slept on the idea. In the morning, I looked at him and said that I thought we should probably get at least one more year out of our existing tree. After all, it still technically “worked,” and we were getting good at hiding the holes and picking the fallen needles out of the carpet. (Yes, artificial trees do drop needles if they get into the geriatric stage of life.) He agreed immediately.
We did make one trip out this weekend, to our favorite natural food store, where we purchase organic flour and raw sugar in bulk, plus some flax seed and oats. I also pick up expensive natural shampoo and body soap for our youngest, who has very sensitive skin. I was pleased to see that the prices actually went down on my bulk items since last time. This was budgeted and food, so it still fell into our normal expenses.
Next up was the Goodwill Bargain store, where I spent that extra $7 on a couple of pairs of boys jeans, a pair of jeans for myself, four shirts, a sweater, a Disney 101 Dalmatians sleeping bag and a best selling book. Not bad, huh? I plowed through the store while my husband entertained the kids in the car. I usually do even better, but the store was crowded and the pickings were slim. I am proud of myself for passing up anything we didn’t need, such as a nice boys coat for only 50 cents since my son already had one (none of the charities we support will take used items, and no one we know is currently in need of it.)
The next decision to make was about dinner. The kids were hungry and it was almost dinner time. If we stopped for dinner, we could go back and do more shopping, either at the regular Goodwill or at the retail outlets. This was an easier decision than I thought it would be. We pulled out the snacks we packed to tide the kids over, and headed home. This way, we saved the cost of dinner and extra shopping.
We are trying to be more conscious of incidental spending that adds up at the end of the month to overspending.
You can read more blog posts by Mary Ann Romans here!
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