Thursday, May 5, 2011

Planning out purchases...

For the first time in a VERY LONG TIME, I'm actually waiting to purchase things. I know, it sounds revolutionary, doesn't it? I've been creating a mental list of the items I'd "like" to purchase once I have a little money.

-A new pair of black flats for work.

-Replenish my ancient makeup (I've literally worn a hole through the bottom of my 2 year old blush container)

-Buy some night cream as I'm starting to notice wrinkles on my neck :( (Although I fear, it may be too late!)

This is real progress given my previous behavior was to just go out and buy whatever item I needed. Our new budget is set up so that we each get spending money (aka "Mad Money") weekly. This week my Mad Money went to send my Mom a Mother's Day gift, so maybe next week I can get something off of my wish list. If our gift fund was built up a little bit, my Mom's gift would have come from that but we're just starting those funds now.

For anyone out there thinking they can't do it, YOU CAN! You just have to make changes. I'm actually getting excited about the changes we're going through. There are challenges that I look forward to succeeding at -
  • Can we afford groceries on what we've budgeted?
  • What fun things can we come up with to do with our limited weekly date night funds?
  • Where are we going to find more snowflakes along the way to help us move even faster?
Question : Have you gotten to the stage where you plan out your purchases now or are you still just buying things on a whim? If you are pretty diligent about planning out your purchases, when do you find yourself straying?

4 comments:

  1. I have been wanting a new cell phone for a few months now. I am babysiutting on Saturday night so I can finally purchase the damn phone I want! And it will feel so good knowing it didn't affect our budget!

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  2. Good for you! I have a "to buy" list on my phone...some of that stuff has been there for months, and sometimes I end up deleting things that I decide I don't really want.

    The area where I struggle the most is definitely going out to eat/socializing. It's so hard to turn down an invitation to do something fun, even if I've used my eating out budget for the month!

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  3. Are you kidding! I'm already planning ahead for a huge local sidewalk sale our city has. They have tons of really great deals and I'm thinking about where I need to be financially in order to go and what I need to do to have money to go. I'm listing stuff on Amazon.com already! I've never planned ahead like this for purchases. It seems kinda weird but probably something responsible people have done all along....I'm finally catching on! ;)

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  4. Everything is planned....almost! I did have a spree a week ago at a used clothing store (as a gift to myself for Mother's Day and my birthday), yes I know, excuses excuses! But it was cheap and I enjoyed several hours at Talize going up and down the aisles, trying things on, picking out just what I needed (or thought I needed at the time lol!)

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