I admit it. I actually miss shopping more than I thought I would. Or is it just that I miss buying things without thinking about it? There's a certain freedom in spending without thought; that's probably why people get into financial trouble. They spend without thinking about the consequences of not being able to afford it. I've been there in my lifetime. When I was first married we were dirt poor, piecing together many jobs to make ends meet. We were a team, making a life for ourselves, so we worked together in every sense of the word. Ironically, we got along much better when we were broke. Money gave us lots of things to argue and disagree about, and that broke down our ability to work together and accomplish our goals and dreams....but I digress. (I do that a lot.)
Shortly after we were married, my car died and we needed to buy a 'new' used one, but lacked any kind of credit. It was by the good graces of our car mechanic who managed to get us a car loan, that we were able to drive off his lot with our very dependable Nissan 510. Suddenly we had a credit history, which was excellent, and the credit card offers poured in faster than water in the Titanic. In short order we were sinking in debt, but we were living the materialistic life we wanted. It took us 10 years and my disability check to dig us out of it. Lesson learned.
I have no debt except for my mortgage and car payment. It's manageable, but as I mentioned yesterday, it's tight. There are times when I just want to buy something to have it. Recently, every time I get on my elliptical machine my right knee hurts as I'm pumping up and down. (Here's some twisted logic for you.) I don't want to get on my elliptical machine, nor do I want to go to the doctor. The pain isn't that bad, but I fear that I'm going to blow out my knee. I don't want to go to the doctor because my primary care physician likes to refer me to specialists and I have a higher co-pay to see a specialist. I don't want to pay that higher copay. What happened to the days of primary care physicians being able to handle most of the ills that patients suffer? So I was thinking that I should walk more to exercise but I don't want to walk outside. I admit I'm a wimp; I don't like the cold and I really don't like the ice (this is a sign that I'm getting old -- I think about falling on ice).
I decided that I should get a treadmill and alternate between that and my elliptical machine. I went to a Play It Again Sports store, and a 2nd Wind store to scope out their treadmills. I priced them out, listened to the sales guys, almost bought one at Play It Again Sports, and then used my knees and walked out. Play It Again Sports wanted $599 for a new machine. 2nd Wind wanted $999.00. If I wasn't challenging myself to not spend money, I would've bought the treadmill at Play It Again Sports. It would be easy for me to rationalize this purchase as a necessity because it relates to my health.
Patience is a hard thing to drum up sometimes, but I managed to do that this afternoon. I have 15 days before I can declare success with my no shopping challenge. In these 15 days, I can investigate the best treadmill for the money, read reviews, and -- if I still need a treadmill on January 23rd -- buy the best one for the money I can afford. Smart shopping without immediate gratification. This is a good thing.
Halfway there and still learning,
Karrie
p.s. That Datsun 510 station wagon served us well. After Ellis was born we brought him home in it. Unfortunately, a few months later I drove it into New York City to take Ellis and our dog, the first Atticus, for a walk in Riverside Park while we waited for my husband to get off work so we could drive home together. I went back to where I parked the car and there was a different car in my parking space. My car was gone, never to be heard from again. A casualty of New York City thieves. We still talk fondly about that car because it was the vehicle that drove us into new life experiences.
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