I splurged – and it was nice

24. July 2012 · 5 comments · Categories: Cleaning, Impulse Shopping · Tags: , , ,

And only a bit guilt inducing. :) Here is my tale of splurging. Note to guys – they were fairly girly splurges, so this may not interest you. :)

The first splurge was a pedicure. Now, I went for the basic pedicure instead of the spa one, but it still ran me 35.00 dollars.  I know there are plenty of Wagjag, Groupon, etc options for these, but I ended up booking it on rather short notice. A friend of mine who lives far away was only in town for a few days, and she really wanted to get a pedicure and catch up. So, I just booked it at the spa by me, and didn’t worry too much about trying to hunt around to get a deal. It was more important to me to go somewhere I liked and knew we could chat (they have 2 pedicure chairs, side by side), than save some money.  And now my toe nails are lovely purply pink, with just a touch of sparkle to them.

The second splurge was a dress. I did try several second hand shops while looking for dresses, but I only managed to find one. So I hit Winners last week and found this awesome blue dress.  It wasn’t crazy expensive, but it wasn’t bargain bin either. And I’ll have to pay to have it tailored because it doesn’t fit right across the shoulders.  However – it makes me feel like I stepped out of Mad Men.  :)   And that makes it *so* worth it.

I don’t spend a lot on clothes, but I’m still trying to justify the cost to myself.  However, I’ve already taken it in to get it tailored, so it’s not like I can take it back now.

What do you splurge on? Do you feel guilty when you splurge? Even if you actually needed the item?

 

Does what you buy define you?

11. July 2012 · 15 comments · Categories: Extra costs, Impulse Shopping · Tags: , , ,

I’ve been reading several Oprah magazines lately – don’t worry, I took them out of the library. I didn’t spend my hard earned bucks on them (Okay – I bought one. That’s it).  It’s hard to find any kind of “Women’s magazine” that isn’t all about clothes and makeup (which I’m not really into) or children (I don’t have any, and I love my cat, but I’m not gonna get “Cat Fancier”).  So, Oprah is not a bad compromise.

After reading several issues, though, I’ve noticed something.  The magazine is supposed to be all about finding your true self, and empowering yourself, and in one case – de-cluttering your life!  But each magazine seems to be full of pages and pages of things you can buy, in order to help you find your true self or empower yourself – or clutter up your life! And even worse than that – some of them are ridiculously expensive and a total waste. Your average reader for these magazines should not be buying 30 dollar olive oil, 5 dollar chocolate bars, and 200 hundred dollar plates.

I think what got me the most was the conflicting messages – the articles are often about people who gave everything up and made sacrifices to live their “true” life. As well, Suze Orman writes a column each month, advising people on how they can handle their money better. But then there are pages and pages of things you can buy, most of which your average person probably can’t afford and doesn’t need. There are certainly things listed in the lower price range, but still – I’m boggled by the sheer amount of stuff being promoted in these pages.

I guess you can just take the messages that you want out of the magazine and try to ignore all the consumerism that is promoted in it.  I seem to be managing okay – I haven’t given in to the urge to try and purchase any crazy expensive stuff I don’t need.

Do you think it’s possible to read these kinds of magazines without getting sucked into wanting to buy things? Do you think what you buy should define you?

How spring cleaning can inspire you to save money

11. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Cleaning, Impulse Shopping · Tags: , ,

I took some of Good Friday to do a “semi” Spring Clean.  That means I was too lazy to do a really thorough clean on everything, but did take the time to try and do some extras, such as dusting the baseboards, top of doors, bookshelves, etc. I’ll freely confess that I don’t really like cleaning, but I can’t justify paying someone to do it for me, nor do I have any health issues that prevent me from doing it.

I realized something when I was cleaning.  I own a lot of stuff! I always think of myself as not really owning that much stuff – but I think I’ve been in denial.  Now, it’s not a ridiculous amount of stuff, but still – Mr. Canuck Buck and I do own a lot of DVDs, books, video games, and so on.  And I don’t think I’d truly realized this until I had to clean in and around them!

I’ve written a few other posts on impulse shopping, although my weakness is generally more food than stuff.  I must confess though that I also like to buy video games. I own all of the following:

  • A Nintendo DS
  • A Wii
  • A PS2
  • A Kinect (including XBox)

I don’t even have the excuse of having kids to blame it on. I do have nieces and nephews that use them when they come over), but really, I bought them for me.  And I do like to buy games for these systems.

My goal is to really cut down on the amount of buying. I was interested in the new Star Wars Kinect game, but my brother in law recently picked it up, so I’ll just wait and borrow it from him later on.  Also, since I recently discovered the library stocks video games, I’ll try to borrow from there instead of just out and out buying things.

So, the next time you’re having the urge to go out and buy something, don’t just go and take a look at what you already own.  Try cleaning it and see if this helps inspire you!

Have you ever found that cleaning helps inspire you not to buy things? What about it has done this (e.g. just realizing you own a lot of stuff, finding things you didn’t know you owned?)

 

A “Buy Nothing” day – have you ever tried it?

04. April 2012 · 5 comments · Categories: Extra costs, Food, Impulse Shopping · Tags:

Today one of my co-workers announced she was going to buy absolutely nothing. She’d gotten up early and made a big mug of tea at home (and brought it into work).  She had honey, bread, and yogurt she’d already bought to use for breakfast, and she’d made some dish with quinoa to eat for lunch.  As far as i can tell, she stuck to it.  We went out for a short break in the morning and one in the afternoon and she didn’t spend a cent! She even managed to reign herself when we went to Winners.

I think she’s been noticing a lot of cash coming out of her wallet lately, so she decided to give this a shot.  Whether she can stick with it is another matter. :)   It certainly takes a lot more work and organization to get things prepared in advance then it does to just pick them up.

For me, the key to avoiding spending money I don’t need is to not to bring along my wallet. If I go out for a break at work, I just don’t bring it with me. I’m not going far enough I’d possibly have any emergency that I’d really need it.  I particularly like to go read somewhere quiet at lunch so I just make sure I bring along my trust Kobo, and nothing else.

As I noted in my post yesterday, my problem isn’t so much impulse buying things, it’s buying food.  So, if I bring my wallet with me, I’m far more likely to pick up a treat I don’t really need (or necessarily even really want) just because I can.  And it definitely helps if I pack my lunch and breakfast for work, so then I have no reason to be roaming around the food court, wallet in hand.

Have you ever tried to go a whole day (or longer) without spending anything? Was it hard? How did you get prepared for it? t

How 5 minutes cost me 7 dollars

03. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Extra costs, Impulse Shopping · Tags: , , ,

On Sunday, Mr. Canuck Buck and I went to Shoppers Drug Marts to get a few prints made to send out in Easter cards.  Since we had to wait a few minutes, we decided to browse the grocery aisles to see if Shoppers had any good deals on for food items.

Within 5 minutes we’d picked up 2 Easter bunnies and a bottle of honey.  I don’t feel so badly about the honey – it was on sale for half price, and we did need it.  But I’d fully intended to wait until the Easter candy went on sale before buying any for myself!

Impulse bought easter bunny

It’s funny, but I always think “Oh, I don’t impulse shop”.  Which is generally true – when it comes to things like books, clothes etc.  But food – particularly junk food – has always been a weakness for me. I’ve even made the odd trip to Shoppers on a Saturday night because I have a strong craving for cookies or chips, and everything else is closed.

I’m not sure of the best way to cure myself of this other than just not giving in.  After consuming the entire Easter Bunny in one sitting (not a good idea – my stomach was not impressed!), I can guarantee you I won’t be buying any more candy.  But there’s got to be a better way to cure myself of impulse food buying than making myself sick!

What’s your biggest impulse shopping weakness? Have you managed to cure yourself of it? If so, how?

 

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