Like most people I have this inner devil that comes out to play whenever I am shopping, real or online.
It starts with a throaty whisper "Wow" then I'll look everything over, then comes "I need
it" "It's unique" "They're amazing". In the space of 5 minutes I can go from Miss Frugal Fashionista to swiping my card at the register and walking out with that new shopping bag swinging from my arm.
I get a rush for about 30seconds, my heart beats faster but 30 seconds later the devil is gone and common sense kicks in.
Do I really need another pair of black high heeled ankle boots? Don't you have enough quirky necklaces that break after two wears?
Last week when I started to lay out my saving goals and end plan I created a spreadsheet for 3 months of expenses in London. There are headings for rent, food, entertainment etc with the amounts broken down in smaller amounts for example for the rent column there are 10 columns of $199 and every time I save $199 I will highlight this in the spreadsheet. So I have a visual goal of where my savings is heading.
Tonight I had my credit card out, ready to purchase a gorgeous pair of shoes then I had a flash of the spreadsheet and realised those shoes are equal to one weeks rent in London. I put my credit card back in my wallet.
Yes I'm very proud of myself.
And so you should be proud, obviously the Angel on your other shoulder won that round.
ReplyDeleteGreat spreadsheet; I think I'm going to do that with my New York fund, break it down into separate costs. Great idea!
ReplyDeleteThanks Maureen! Hopefully I have a lifetime of the Angel winning!
ReplyDeleteNo more spending, the spreadsheet is good for visualising where you savings are going. I got the amounts by googling average prices for transport, rent, food etc for London. It also helped me build a more realistic understanding on how prices are going to be different.