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My Biggest Frugality Buster

August 6th, 2006 at 10:56 pm

Is my own mind.

I recently bought a dear friend a beautiful teacup and saucer for her birthday this month. I found them at a garage sale for $8, much less than the 25+ that I normally spend.

The garage sale set is every bit as lovely as I would have bought in any store and i am excited to give it to her.

So, yesterday--my mom and I were garage selling and I found another pretty tea cup set, this one was $7..."oh, wouldnt my friend love it...and I would still spend less than normal by buying it..at $15 for both Im still within budget....." my budget busting mind was hard at work--spend more, spend more...

ummm...Do any of you suffer from this mentality? ...if I find a good sale on a Christmas gift, it just means I can buy more gifts 'cause I still have money left in the budget...not so frugal when you think about it..

But back to the second tea cup....I picked it up and thought...ok, if I dont want to give two for the sake of spending all the money in the budget this year, I could always save it for my friends birthday next year...(but what about all the other teacups Im sure to stumble across between now and then?)
Or I could find another friend to give it to....(most likely some poor friend who didnt want to start a gift exchange to begin with)...
and on and on...and i finally set the teacup and saucer back down...and walked away.

I am going to start rethinking my good finds and gifts. Perhaps considering the gift rather than the budget...sounds like a no-brainer...but when youre used to a budget and SPENDING up to the budget...coming in under is just not a natural behavior.

Does anyone else struggle with this?

Posted in general thoughts | 6 Comments »

6 Responses to “My Biggest Frugality Buster”

  1. boomeyers Says:
    August 6th, 2006 at 11:16 pm 1154906213
    1154906213

    Of course! Its a "when to say when" thing.
    You find tank tops on clearance for $2. Do I need one in EVERY color, or would black and white do? Then again, I tend to ruin shirts by my sloppy tendancys and ruin them, so maybe 5 would do for me?
    I guess as long as you are not running out of room in your house and overwhelming yourself with things, stocking up for a good price is not a bad thing.

  2. ima saver Says:
    August 6th, 2006 at 11:48 pm 1154908098
    1154908098

    I do it too, find something you like at a price you like and stock up. I think if we all had to move every two or three years, we would not buy so much "stuff" We would think, I will have to pack this and move it!

  3. contrary1 Says:
    August 7th, 2006 at 01:15 am 1154913342
    1154913342

    Perhaps the extra Friendship cup/saucer could go in the Gift Box?? ( I use a shelf in a linen type closet..that way I can see the items easier) It's a nice generic gift, and when filled with sample tea bags and a little container of dried orange peel with clove studs, it would make an excellant gift.

    I try to have a gift or two for each age/sex that I usually need gifts for. This takes about a year to get it really up to speed. If you are making it really well rounded, you won't end up with a dozen tea cups......... One will do & then replace it if you use the first one.

    Saves a ton of money and more time than you realize to have gift items on hand. Most of mine are the type that don't need wrapping of any kind, like the tea cup idea........it's perfect as is, or some cellophane & a ribbon really make it professional looking.

  4. Tightwad Kitty Says:
    August 7th, 2006 at 02:40 am 1154918450
    1154918450

    I have a suitcase under one of my beds for gifts etc. Then in October each year I look through it and work out my Xmas gifts using last year tracker for my Xmas gifts and cards, so that I don't give the same gift to the same person every year.

    I buy many gifts when I find them at very good price and hoard them. Thinking that will be a good one for X or Y and the value is there as they like real crystal. I love it when I pay $2 to 10 for item that valued RRP is $60 to 100. I put home cooking on them too! I look for crystal or cut glass dishes & plates as gifts for women and How to Books for men.

  5. lrjohnson Says:
    August 7th, 2006 at 03:00 am 1154919602
    1154919602

    Ah. Well, I don't suffer from "I have more in the budget" syndome; I'm just fine with underspending. But I do find that if I see a 2nd or 3rd deal, I don't necessarily pass them up. I would have done what you did, re: considering could it be next birthday, another friend, etc. And I might have gone either way. I mostly congratulate you on thinking it all out; it's the consciousness that's important, much more so then the $7.

  6. baselle Says:
    August 7th, 2006 at 03:45 am 1154922319
    1154922319

    I worry about this problem a lot, because I think my mother suffered from hoarding, and I'm pretty sure my sister has it too. I use the gift box technique, I buy only what I need at the time, and if I buy something, something similar has to go.

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