Today’s horoscope – Libra

“Make a valiant effort to be more disciplined in your spending.”

What could be more perfect for me?

I ended up taking back some of my J Crew purchases Thursday night and managed to get out of the store (and the mall) without buying anything more. Phew!

Confession time

Well, I don’t think I’m going to make my May goal of getting my balances under $20K (although I should be pretty close). I have a confession to make… I fell off the wagon. As you can see from my Current Status page, I have paid off most of my department store credit cards. And well, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to make a couple of purchases on some of those cards as long as I pay them off again when they come due. So I charged about $40 to my Macy’s card and about $40 to my Kohl’s charge (my sister’s bad influence). I charged a few things to my JCrew card too and was astounded when I received my bill a few days ago–$412!! And another confession–I charged a few things to my Banana card too. It will be interesting to see where I end up for May. Anyway, I am recommitting myself to this project. I MUST GET MY CREDIT CARDS PAID OFF!! Zero balances equal freedom. I have to keep the big picture in mind and not let my little wants get in the way. OK, I feel better.

A look back at April

Still making good progress–one more card (Macy’s) paid off! That means I’m down to the big five. I’m still paying hefty interest-$238.71 in April, but that’s down from $255.26 in March. The big payment to Sears made a little bit of difference! Overall, I paid my debt down by $735.73 in April. Baby steps! My goal for May is to get my total under $20K. The prospect of shopping for spring clothes is so alluring though–I am trying to resist. And I just got back from my rescheduled Florida vacation (the one we tried to go on in February). I was a little stretched for cash and I was afraid that I would overdraw my checking account, so I ended up using my Keybank card to pay for two meals. Not horrible, but I don’t want to slip any further.

The end of the shopping spree

While reading my current issue of Newsweek, I came across this article, “The End of the Shopping Spree, RIP.” Predictably, with the downturn in the economy, I’m not the only one cutting back on expenses. In fact, several chain retailers have announced that they will be closing stores across the country—the effect is that far-reaching.

 

So how did we as a nation go from rampant consumerism to where we are today? The rise of consumerism in the ‘80s can be attributed to easy credit, rising home values, the ubiquitousness of credit cards (how many do you have?), and the false sense of security the thriving economy brought to us all. I think, too, that my generation (Gen X) is addicted to instant gratification—when I want something, I want it now! (My parents taught me right, though–doled out a weekly allowance, taught the value of a dollar, worked hard, saved and retired in their mid-50s. I’m not sure what happened to me!) You can see what that attitude did to my personal debt load. Ugh.

 

And look where we are now–in the midst of war, record-breaking gas prices, downward spiraling home values, jobs outsourced to other countries and foreclosures. It’s a scary time. And a wake up call for all of us.

 

Maybe this downturn in the economy is a good lesson for us. Maybe it’ll take us back to the values of our grandparents—those who lived through the Depression and learned to make do, recycle, and save on a regular basis, no matter how small the amount. You think?

Adding up expenses

Out of curiosity, I just added up some of my expenses for the month of March (these are taken from my debit card statement–I hardly spend hard cash anymore). I spent:

$154.51 on eating out
$129.87 on gasoline
$209.31 on clothes

Now the commentary:

Eating out: I don’t think this total is too bad. After all, I said I wasn’t going to deprive myself. If you divide the total by 4, the weekly average for eating out is $38.63. I usually treat myself to Subway at least once a week, and I dined out with friends a few times. Eating out is a form of entertainment for us, and I’m not going to give up hanging out with my friends!

Gasoline: I’m lucky that I live very close to my workplace; otherwise, this total would be much greater! When the weather gets warmer, I’m going to try to ride my bike to work–it will be great exercise and good for the planet (and the pocketbook)!

Clothes: OK, I did say that I was going to buy a few things for spring. Last weekend I went to the mall and bought a sweater, a tank top and a blouse from the Gap, and a pair of trousers and a necklace from Banana. Knowing that I was spending money that would come out of my checking account, I was much more deliberative than I usually am when I purchase clothes. Of course, I could have spent a lot more (like on $88 cardigans at JCrew), but I refrained.

A breakthrough?

Ironically, I go to a mall for my weekly Weight Watchers meeting. I’ve been doing this (with a few breaks) for almost a year now. I find it amusing that while finding help for one obsession (food) I am totally setting myself up for failure with my other obsession (shopping). This setup, I’m sure, is one of the reasons by Banana card exploded this past year. Before 2007, it had never been over $1,000. It is just too easy to stop into Banana and pick up a few things after my WW meeting.

Today, after my WW meeting, knowing that Banana had just marked down a bunch of its early spring clothes, I stopped in. Just to look. It’s funny how you have a different mindset when you know you can spend only cash. Before, I would have probably grabbed a bunch of stuff and quickly checked out with my Banana card before heading back to work. But today, I browsed a bit, thinking maybe I would buy a top to supplement my existing spring wardrobe… and I ended up buying nothing. As I looked at the price tags, I found myself hesitating. It wasn’t because the merchandise wasn’t cute. I just didn’t want to spend the cash. Wow.

Swedish Style

I found out last week that the Swedish purveyor of cheap home chic, IKEA, has opened a new store in Cincinnati. That’s a quick, easy 1.5 hour drive for me. Oh, I want to go!! I went to the one in Chicago probably about six years ago–I was broke then, too, so I held my purchases to just $50. Not easy when you’re surrounded by a warehouse full of cute, stylish stuff! Maybe I’ll allocate a small amount of my tax refund to an IKEA run.

Shoe lust

I broke my resolve yesterday and bought a pair of shoes. That goes against my rule of not buying clothes, but Macy’s has all of their clearance shoes an extra 50% off, so I couldn’t resist. The pair I bought–trendy high-heel oxfords (see pic)–were originally $99 and I got them for $25. I’ve been sooooo good these past two months, I felt I deserved a treat. So there you go.

Extreme Self-Control at Target

One of my favorite places in the whole wide world is Target. I buy so much stuff there–it’s really hard for me to get out of there without spending at least $100. I have several pieces from Isaac Mizrahi’s line (which I get many compliments on!), I love the Thomas O’Brien towels and linens, and right now as I type this, I’m wearing the Nick and Nora flannel pajamas (cloud pattern) that I bought there two seasons ago. I mean, it’s good stuff, and it’s all so cheap, it’s hard to resist throwing in a paperback or a cute t-shirt or some kitchen gadget into your shopping cart along with the toilet paper, laundry detergent and kitty litter.

Well, dear readers, I did not think that I would be able to resist the land of temptation that is Target. I thought maybe I would avoid it altogether and buy my staples from Meijer or some other downscale big box retailer. But last night after dinner with some friends I found myself close to a Target, so I decided to put the blinders on and get some necessities from my fav store.

And what temptations there were! Fresh spring clothes, paperbacks with tantalizing covers, exercise DVDs, adorable garden stuff from Smith & Hawkin and a huge display of World Bazaar home decor. Heaven! I walked around for about 20 minutes, touching all the goodies I knew I could not have. I was so close to buying a faux vintage bar sign for my kitchen that would be so perfect, but I reminded myself of my meager checking account and stuck to the essentials:

A bag of Meow Mix
4 cans of Fancy Feast (got to treat the kitties sometimes!)
Pantene hairspray (I usually buy Aveda, but Pantene is about $11 dollars cheaper)
2 Lean Cuisines (on sale 2/$4)
1 box of Lean Pockets
Tide (on sale for $5, plus I had a 35c coupon. Also, I bought Cold Water Tide–should help with the heating bill)
A pack of gum

And that’s it! I am so proud of myself. I spent less than $22, which is a record for me!

The mall is my downfall

I know going forward that not buying any new clothes is going to be one of my biggest challenges. I LOVE new clothes. There’s nothing like a natty new outfit to boost your self-confidence. But I have plenty of clothes for now, so I’m swearing off any clothes buying until at least April, when I might refresh my wardrobe for spring with a few pieces. (Yes, maybe a few! I promise, just a few.) Anyway, I ventured to the mall today to return a sweater to J Crew that I bought last month and decided against. (A $42 credit to my J Crew account–sweet!) And of course, J Crew has all of their cute spring stuff out. At the front of the store I spied an adorable purse that would be perfect for my upcoming trip to Florida, but I walked right by it, got in line, made my return and walked out. Victory!  

I then spent an enjoyable afternoon at the movies watching Atonement. (Recommend! James McAvoy is beautiful!) And I saved a few bucks by seeing the matinee!

Me: 1. Mall: 0