By now you may have recognized that perhaps I do not always exercise the most common sense when it comes to spending less. Take it from me, here are five tips about what to avoid, all gleaned from some of my recent posts:
1. Do not stop by Barnes and Noble because it's "on your way home" and then proceed to wander the aisles for half an hour. You will be tempted by a thousand wonderful books. You will spend money.
2. Do not watch infomercials at 1:00 a.m. because "there is nothing else on." Of course there is something else on. Watch National Geographic or CSPAN. Then you will not be tempted by celebrity testimonials for overpriced and yet fabulous beauty products promising miracles. And you will avoid any extraneous "member of the month club" subscriptions that you will forget to cancel later, thus resulting in an unexpected charge to your credit card.
3. Do not--I repeat--Do not review any catalogs mailed to you by your favorite retailers. They will suck you in and you might be tempted to drop whatever it is that you are doing to rush out to the store and purchase the latest and greatest mass-produced discount item. Just throw those cleverly designed printed delights away and never look back.
4. Do not eat Snickers and string cheese for lunch. (I know...it's not a financial pitfall. But still--take it from me: don't do it.)
5. Do not log onto Mint.com and discover that you are in fact spending just a little less than the average person living in your state and thereby decide that it wouldn't be so bad after all to buy those new shoes you've been thinking of, and then proceed to use that reasoning with your husband. He will not appreciate your logic, and will start paying close attention to your footwear.
Consider yourself warned.
Send me your "take it from me" tips to avoiding impulsive spending by emailing me at shillberry@comcast.net!
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