Gone shopping?

Gone shopping?
Or has no new shoes changed our habits?

Monday 5 March 2007

the urge to splurge

Until Friday I thought I was doing pretty well on this project. Not really missing all that rubbish I usually spend my money on - perhaps I wasn't as attached to the shopping habit as I thought...

But Friday was a long day at work, and all I wanted on the way home was a little comfort food - a sugar rush to lift my spirits. Then Saturday came and I awoke with an incredible urge to shop. I just wanted to treat myself - get something shiny or slinky or indulgent. We needed to get some fresh air so we took a stroll down to our local high street (I know, asking for trouble) and wandered through the shops. It was a painful experience for us both. Jim has given up buying music, DVDs, videos and video games - all of which can be found in abundance at bargain prices in Rochester's charity shops. I saw the perfect bargain sofabed for our living room and one of my favourite shops is stocking more Green & Black's chocolate than you can shake a stick at.

In the end, we returned with 6 carrots, a sweet potato, local honey and a bag of grapes. ho hum.
____

Trolleydolly - thanks for the tip about www.pandora.com - what a fab website! Let us know how you get on at Ikea...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

hi Anna.....

I should be wearing sack cloth and ashes right now...I did spend some money at Ikea and really, to be honest, nothing I bought was "essential" although the main purchase will be very useful in the study. Hmmm. Ikea has always been a little bit of a splurge place for me, so I need to confess and ask forgiveness.

However....another thought. Lent is 47 days long and so in the Catholic understanding, every Sunday is a 'day of grace' and you can break the fast. So maybe I just had one 'day of grace'.

I'm not sure if this is helpful or putting temptation in your way...is going 'cold turkey' better? Discuss.....

Anna D said...

Don't worry trolleydolley - it's not a competition or a test. I think it's more about thinking about the way we use money than seeing who can last the longest. Besides, as you said, you're just using a 'Sunday allowance'.

By the way, my obsession with shopping apears to be getting worse, not better - I'm desperate to know what you bought! (I love Ikea).

xxx

Anonymous said...

I think I knew that going to Ikea was always going to be a lost cause!

(Anna, it was only a storage unit for the study and some new plates...but it's always the little things that get you isn't it - it's candles and the art dept for me!) : )

So I'm not feeling too guilty. Usually I get out a certain amount of money for the week, and it's pretty much gone by Thursday, but this week it is Thursday and I have plenty left. Definitely making a difference to my bank balance, anyway. Bye for now