Thoughts and Reasonings | Spending
/“Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving.”
The desire to spend. I can’t explain it, can’t explain why I want to spend. When I was in my early twenties and had a bit more expendable income it was because I had the extra money where before when I was in high school and college, the budget was pretty tight. Now that I’m in my thirties I have no explanation, except I like stuff.
I know that I’m not spending to fill an emotional need or because I’m trying to cope, it’s not a temporary fix and I don’t spend indiscriminately or frivolously. Nor is it that I’m swayed by what’s popular or trendy at the moment, though there are things that catch my eye like the Lorac Mega Pro 3, trendy and over hyped but oh so interesting. Especially if you don’t have something like it already.
It’s easier to talk yourself out of a purchase when you have something that is similar to the product you’re considering. Even then there are ways you can overcome that ‘issue’. For example, you might say that it's a different formula or finish, matte vs glossy. Sometimes any reason is enough to validate the desire to purchase the item.
On the whole I just want to try new things, explore brands and products that I haven’t tried before, I find this to be especially true when it comes to skincare. There are so many different and varying brands with products that are innovative and different. Did you ever think that you would have a solid serum or that you would even want to try something like that, but then you see it and you do your research and it looks more and more alluring. This is the spiral of new and shiny. It’s what drives me to spend hours clicking through online pages in search of reviews and swatches.
The product looks interesting to me and I want to try it. Most times the only thing that holds me back is the finances. Not that fact that I might already have four cleansers, this one isn’t like any of the cleansers that I currently have so I want to try it. So it’s usually the overall cost that has me pausing and restraining myself from completing the check out process.
Sometimes it might be the shipping that gets me, $20 for something that costs $10 is a good deterrent to me. Or it might be that I just have so many items in my cart or carts that the total cost might hit triple digits.
While I have some expendable income, I can’t afford to spend it all on things that I want and neglect the cost of things that I need, like food. I don’t want to put myself into debt for stuff, especially stuff that I don’t need.
So the carts that I’ve spent all this time and effort filling and mentally justifying are abandoned, until the desire for new and interesting takes me and I start the process all over again.
Still haven’t figured out the why, but that’s just me over analyzing.
How are you with your spending? Do you always stay on budget?
