Not only do I love this post because it makes me smile, but also because I know I'm not the only one with a story like this! Ah...the trials of budgeting when there are so many pretty things to buy...
Let me tell you a story about what happened to me late last week. I had been working all day in my office and needed a break and some fresh air. Deciding that a walk to the mailbox would do the trick, I headed out. I returned with a stack of mail, including a seasonal catalog from Target showcasing their newest design arrivals.
Now, I love Target even though they are part of the evil box-store empire, so of course I had to take a peek. Several pages in, my eyes landed on a faux leather bomber jacket that looked oh so cute on the model. Incidentally, I had just watched a movie that previous weekend with a bomber-clad actress that caught my attention (the jacket, not the actress).
Call it the spark of a serendipitous occasion, or my low blood sugar from skipping lunch, but I suddenly felt with the greatest conviction that I needed that jacket from Target immediately. I began to panic. What if they sell out? How many other people have received this ad? Surely they would be having the same reaction I was. I had to go now!
I headed to the hallway for my purse and keys before realizing that I couldn't leave without feeding my dogs. Starving them for faux leather just didn't seem right. So I went out back to coax them into the house. While waiting for one of them to finish grazing the lawn, it occurred to me that maybe I was behaving rather rashly. I mean, this was exactly the kind of impulsive behavior that the Target marketers were hoping for when they sent out that catalog. Did I really want to be duped that easily into making a purchase? Didn't I know better than that?
Yes, I conceded, I did know better. A bit ashamed of myself, I put down my purse and gathered my composure. What an easy target (pun intended) I had become. I am what is wrong with our consumerist culture, I concluded. What does it say about me that I can't even wait for 24 hours before rushing out to buy something I want? Something I certainly don't need?
I bring this up because I'm trying to get my act together financially. And habits like this don't help. Being level headed and intentional about my spending would help. So that is what I'm going to work on this fall.
Incidentally, I did eventually purchase that jacket. And it looks fabulous.
Original published on 18.Sept.2008. Click here to view the original post.
Other related posts:
Tips for Cooling my Spending Impulses
Getting to the Root of my Money Problems
Capitalists Lament! how I discovered I like my hair as it is
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