Friday, January 12, 2007

Spendy-spendy

Like BostonGal, I've been feeling a bit of a mood shift lately. I find myself wanting to buy things. And actually doing so!
One of the larger items I just purchased was a set of 2 chairs and a table for my terrace. Yes, it's a bit bizarre to buy these in the middle of winter, but they were on sale and exactly what I wanted, so I just went for it. If I waited until closer to the spring season, I'm sure similar items would be full price. The total including shipping was about $170.
I also bought that perfume that had been calling my name for months... technically, I can consider this a Christmas present, since I got some money from my parents and bought it while I was still home for the holidays. That was about $60.
I also ordered a belt that I had seen in a catalog a while back. It was on sale, but with shipping it came to about $50, which made me feel a little crazy-- it was a total online impulse purchase!
Yesterday, I thought I was going to buy these wacky red boots that I'd had my eye on since before the holidays. At the time, I didn't even try them on, hoping they'd be marked down even further after Christmas. When I went back, they were still the same price ($189 marked down from about $250, I think) but they were sold out of my size. Today I might go to another branch of that store to see if they have them! This seems to happen to me with shoes sometimes-- when it turns out that what I want isn't available, I become obsessed with finding it! It's a catch-22 sometimes, I think, about waiting for things to go on sale: you decide you want to wait until the price is lower. But then the item sells out. So then you feel frustrated and want it even more. And when you end up finding the item in another store, it's still at full price, so you end up paying even more!

And there are still lots of things I need for my home. I saw a floor lamp that I liked for almost $400, which just seems like an awful lot to me. I will be trawling eBay and Craigslist to see if I get lucky before I go back to that store, I think. And I still need a bed! But I've been holding back on that until after I get some painting done. My ability to procrastinate is the main thing holding my household spending down.

And here's the biggest item I just bought... but it actually cost me less than $50... though its value was closer to $3,000: plane tickets for my next big vacation! Whoo-hoo! I just used 80,000 frequent flyer miles, many of which were earned by all my credit card purchases. I was going to try to go someplace I'd never been before, but I am actually going back to New Zealand. I'll be able to stay a few nights with a friend who lives there, so it should be a very cheap trip, and I'll be able to see a lot of places I missed the last time I went. See this post for some details about my last trip-- New Zealand can be a relatively inexpensive place to visit, if you don't count the plane ticket.

I could go on about other things I'd like to buy, but I'm going to try to think about something else now! Hopefully I'll soon get this out of my system!


4 comments:

Single Ma said...

I'd love to see some of the shoes you buy. Every time you mention a pair, I find myself wondering what they look like. LOL

When I get the spending itch, I try to satisfy it quickly. If I suppress it too long, it gets dangerous.

Anonymous said...

I'm actually the opposite, I can't find anything I want to buy. I think it's because I have to move soon and I am totally daunted by the amount of crap I already have. I figure if I buy it I'll have to sell it someday, so it's just not worth it =)

fin_indie said...

I found myself in the same position for nearly 8 months after I bought my new place. It's somewhat needed, but it'll wear off. :)

BTW, NZ: great time of year to go there! I'm sure you will have a blast.

Janet said...

i was at Target today and wanted to buy everything in the clearance section from candles to the food processor. it's a weird impulsive feeling. i'm glad im not the only one!