Have you gotten weird about your money?
I realized last night that since I've gotten involved in personal finance, and reading books about frugality, and setting a budget, I have gotten weirdly selective about money and the way I spend it.
On Saturday, I went to JC Penney with a coupon and bought a purse that was on sale. The total came to $44. This is okay with me, because I love the purse and it's exactly what I've been looking for for several months. Plus, purses are a weakness of mine, I'm embarassed to say.
Last night, R and I went to a movie screening and got home at about ten pm. This is about the time when we usually go to bed, since we get up between 5:30 and 6 each morning. Hayfever allergies were attacking us both, me especially. He takes a Benadryl and offers me one. I refuse, thinking, "I don't want to waste the money spent on that pill because I'm just going to bed in 30 minutes anyway. So I'll be paying XX dollars to be relieved for less than a half hour, since the pill won't kick in immediately anyways. "
So I can now spend $44 for a purse, but will suffer with allergies when it's the most cost effective option rather than spending 25 cents on a pill.
I'm also getting aggravated with the speed that we go through a roll of paper towels. This perturbs me so much that I'm starting a rag bag for our old clothes that I can up and use in the kitchen. How did I never notice how many paper towels we used before?
Has anyone else gone through this when starting your financial turnaround? I feel like I'm getting fixated on the smallest things, even though I can still spend money on some unecessary items.
On Saturday, I went to JC Penney with a coupon and bought a purse that was on sale. The total came to $44. This is okay with me, because I love the purse and it's exactly what I've been looking for for several months. Plus, purses are a weakness of mine, I'm embarassed to say.
Last night, R and I went to a movie screening and got home at about ten pm. This is about the time when we usually go to bed, since we get up between 5:30 and 6 each morning. Hayfever allergies were attacking us both, me especially. He takes a Benadryl and offers me one. I refuse, thinking, "I don't want to waste the money spent on that pill because I'm just going to bed in 30 minutes anyway. So I'll be paying XX dollars to be relieved for less than a half hour, since the pill won't kick in immediately anyways. "
So I can now spend $44 for a purse, but will suffer with allergies when it's the most cost effective option rather than spending 25 cents on a pill.
I'm also getting aggravated with the speed that we go through a roll of paper towels. This perturbs me so much that I'm starting a rag bag for our old clothes that I can up and use in the kitchen. How did I never notice how many paper towels we used before?
Has anyone else gone through this when starting your financial turnaround? I feel like I'm getting fixated on the smallest things, even though I can still spend money on some unecessary items.
posted by The Divine Miss M | 3:06 PM
3 Comments:
I get the same way too - I think it's because there are certain things that I am "allowed" to spend money on (like a purse) but everything else like household stuff that I genuinely need to spend money on should be reduced as much as possible. My rationale is that by cutting back on what I "need" as much as possible, there is still room in the budget for things I want, without spending any more money.
BUt I think in general the frugality bug makes you think much differently about being wasteful.
Go to Costco and get their generic Benadryl. It comes in a huge bottle and averages out to a few pennies for each pill.
I'm a huge allergy sufferer and am also frugal....... :)
Hazzard
Kira - I completely agree! I think it's a sad state of affairs that wastefulness is only noticed when we notice it because of the *money* being wasted instead of the oodles of product being thrown away or the landfill contribution we're making. I've almost totally stopped using Ziploc bags recently - not because of the money, but I read that a plastic baggie can sit in a landfill for 1,000 years. 1,000 years! I feel like my eyes are being opened lately, and it shames me that I went so long with them closed.
Hazzard - Lol! The next time I'm there, I'll stock up. Thanks for the suggestion. Maybe I can convince myself to take one if it's only costing me pennies. :)
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