Aug

26

Lead Me Not Into Shopping Temptation

Filed Under Saving Money | Comments Off

shopping frenzyGreetings from New York City, the next (and next to last) stop on our sisters’ road trip.  I spent today wandering the city and was consistently  bombarded with buying messages until my head ached.  Make it stop!  I don’t want to spend money!

It occurred to me that there should be a list of tips, or questions to ask yourself, to nip that urge to buy impulsively right in the bud.  So I asked a bunch of my frugalista friends how they cope with the desire to shop when they really should not.  Here are some of their answers.  Write them down on on an index card and, whenever you’re faced with the urge to splurge, take it out and ask yourself the following:

Why would I want to buy this thing when I am actively trying to save money?

What benefit would I get from buying this particular thing at this particular time?

Is this something that I need, that will go with other things in my home or closet, and that I will actually use?

Is this something that I cannot ever obtain anywhere else?

Is it a good buy?

Why do I want to deplete my cash (or run up my credit card bill) anyway? (This is the insightful, psychological question.)

By the time you get through these few thoughts, two things will happen:

1) You will have determined if you really want and need the item, and

2) You will have passed the crucial impulse-buying moment and you’ll be thinking more clearly.

At this point, you can choose — either you walk away, or you make your purchase, love it, and be clear of all guilt.

Either way, you will walk away happy with your choice.

Tomorrow, we head to upstate New York, the capital of fun, kitschy yard sale finds.  I’ll be armed with cash, and searching for bargains that rival my best one ever, a vintage Louis Vuitton overnight bag I bought up there for $2.50!

Spending update — Having shelled out maybe another $50 for food and drink on Fire Island, (definitely easier if you’re not a drinker), and including a generous (if we do say so ourselves!) gift to our hostess, and gas and tolls to get to the city, we’re now up to about $800 for both of us, after more than two weeks.  It’s good to have friends in high places.

For more how-to tips for drinking on a budget, click here.

Be back in few days from yard sale Heaven!

Aug

17

Island Savings Time!

Filed Under Travel and Entertainment | Comments Off

Fire Island

Greetings from Fire Island, NY, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. (But we only tell our best friends about it, so shhhh.)

When we last checked in, we had reached our first destination, New Jersey, where we stayed with a dear friend and had a delicious dinner.  The next day for lunch, we bought a salad for our hostess and shared a big one between us, total cost $20.  The on to Brooklyn, where $20 bought us (and several of our friends) a few slices of great New York pizza, some soda and a great night with more childhood friends at a free concert featuring Blondie, Pat Benatar and The Donnas.

Next stop, Long Island, where we stayed with family and visited the beach outside their door.  After a stop at a local supermarket, we stocked up on items that would surely be overpriced if we bought them at our next destination, Fire Island, and tiny sandbar of a beach paradise, with nothing but beach, bay, bars and a few little shops.  (Very expensive, but I hear that next week the stores start cutting prices drastically in order to clear out their inventory before the summer ends; will keep you posted).  Supermarket bill, $80.  Savings over Fire Island prices, probably $75.

We parked at a friend’s house, saving over $100 for parking, and another friend drove us to the station, savings of about $5.  The ferry ride over was $34 round trip for the both of us, and we are now ensconced for the next week at the home of another dear friend,  just steps from the beach and a short walk to the town.  So far, we’ve been cooking and BBQing, and our on-island expenditure up to now has been $6 for yummy water ices.  Added to the running total, we’ve now spent, between the two of us, including gas for the car, roughly another $200, bringing us so far to a grand total of about $500 and we’ve been gone a week, and traveled about 1300 miles.  So far, so great!

It’s good to have friends in high places!  (Of course, they’re all always invited to visit us in Florida any time they want.)

Until next time, stay cool!

(BTW, we didn’t win the lottery…yet!)

For more about travel on the cheap, click here.

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