Rules To Live By: If You Don't Love It, Don't Buy It

Credit.

So, I've been thinking, and I've decided to start a series about rules to live by (so far the only things I've brainstormed blogging about pertain to shopping, but I doubt it'll stick to that). I'm not pretending to be an expert, and I've by no means mastered these things, so these are just as much for me as for anyone else reading it.

I have problems spending money. I'm getting better, but every time I buy something, I mentally calculate exactly how much of my total spending money it is, which is a pain. Say I'll have sixty dollars, and spend twenty. Then, oh no! I've spent a third of my money. Logically, I know that twenty dollars is not that much money, but something in me makes me hesitant to spend even that much money on one thing.

All things considered, this isn't the worst problem I could have, however it's led to a number of clothes I never wear in my closet. I know, it doesn't make sense. You'd think someone so hesitant to spend money would make sure she absolutely loves something before buying it, but that's usually not the case. Instead, I hold out on buying things I truly love, because they're too much. Then, as I continue shopping, I begin getting frustrated that everything is more than I want to spend, so I end up buying things on sale that I don't really love.

Instead, I need to remember that just because it's cheap, doesn't necessarily mean that it'll help me save money in the long run. I mean, it's a complete waste of money if I never wear it. I need to learn to buy something because I love it, and that should be justification enough for maybe spending a little more money. And really, I am getting better at it, I really am. But I still have a long way to go, I know. So, assuming I ever have some spare change again (college student+saving up for multiple trips=zero spare change), but I need to tell myself sometimes it's okay to actually *gasp* buy something at full-price. Because, if I do truly love it, it'll definitely be worth it.

[In hindsight, this could just have easily been about quality, not quantity-- part of my cheapness is wanting more bang for my buck, which, in my case, referred to as many objects as possible.]