Friday, August 7, 2009

Good news brings shopping envy!

It's been a struggle since my husband lost his job. Talk about motivation not to spend....the thought of losing your house and vehicle will make you stop spending in a heartbeat! I really thought I needed to become a vegetarian or go on beans and rice diet or something. We didn't need to make such a drastic change however.

My mother's spending habits is what saved us. I do not condone these habits, but they sure saved us. How? Well, we had several very successful garage sales from the stuff stockpiled in her garage. I wish I would have kept track of how much we took in. It was thousands of dollars. She graciously offered us all the profits we made. In the three months my husband was unemployed, we never missed paying a bill. I began babysitting, but that was only $170 per week. Thanks MOM!

While I am so glad she had this for us to fall back on, I am highly motivated to stop needless buying. I hope to get her garage cleaned out and convince her to stop buying!

My husband decided to take a job working at Lowe's. The pay is considerably less than we are accustomed to. At first I was disappointed. Now I am looking at it from a new perspective. Maybe he doesn't need to make more, because I can spend less and still be happy.

However, today, when I went to pick him up (living with one car now), I saw loads of women going into and out of the plant department. I was envious, but resisted. I wondered secretly if they were trying to fill a void in their lives with their shopping habit. I know now, that I was using shopping to avoid things in my life. It also just plain made me feel good. I am growing and spending less. I hope to stop the "shop therapy" legacy with me. I do not want to set this bad example for my girls.