Wait, did I eliminate a favorite past time for myself? :)
Today's tip came from my sister, Carrie. When I read the first line of her e-mail I did the same thing you are doing right now, thinking "yeah right, you must be crazy!" But, as I read further along, I caught her drift. What she said was that we should cut back the amount of trips to the store, and we will spend less. You buy what you need (and occasionally what you "need"), but don't end up with a huge excess of food, clothes, scrapbooking supplies, etc. How many times do you run to the store for one item and come out with a few things that caught your attention, but that you didn't really need?
My Story: As I pondered this, I came to completely agree with my sister. For Example, I try to limit my grocery store shopping to once a week, and do a pretty good job of staying on budget when I do. It's when I go a couple of times a week that I tend to go over on budget. Also, I think that the more errands I run the more money I spend on things I don't need. I justify this spending by saying that they are on sale, or I just think it's a must have.
Go Green: First off you use less gas, which is less polution. Also, you don't buy things you think you need, but don't really, and then end up throwing away later (again keeping things out of our landfills).
Problems: Sometimes you have to go to the store to get an item. It's the way it is and there's nothing you can do about it. However, you can do something about how you act when you are in the store. Don't browse. Go to the item, get it, and go. Make a list and stick to it! If there is something else you see that is a good deal, make sure you ask yourself if you really need and if could you do with out it. If it's something you normally buy, then it might be good to get it then. Go when you are in a hurry so you don't have time to mess around with things you are not there for. Just figure out what strategy works best for you!
Ryan and I have been working on this one lately. It is a hard habit to break. When we first moved into our house, we got into the habit of shopping to amuse ourselves after he got off work. We used the excuse that we needed lots things for our "new" house. Although that was true to a degree, shopping became our main form of entertainment. We have been working hard at breaking the habit of using shopping for entertainment.
ReplyDeleteSome mostly free things we have started doing instead are working on projects around the house, gardening, watching a few select TV shows, and going for walks outside or at an indoor track if the weather is lousy. It is important to find new hobbies besides shopping ;)