Frugal Luxuries: Excuses, Excuses

Maybe it’s the spring weather, but I’ve been doing a lot of non-essential spending lately. The article Shopping for the Sake of Shopping by Get Rich Slowly really hit close to home, I was so close to falling back into that pattern. As my great-grandma used to say, I could go broke on these sales!

Some of the more acceptable excuses I was using: It’s for Max, so it’s ok. It’s to save money in the long run. It’s food, we have to eat don’t we? I work hard (at work and life) and I’m tired and stressed out and I deserve it.

In reply to my excuses:

Yes, Max needs stuff, but not as much as I’ve been getting him. He’s not even two years old – he doesn't need the latest toy, he’s just as happy (if not more so) with a wooden spoon and Tupperware. For the things he really does need, can I make it? Can I improvise from what we already have?

Spending money to save money – sometimes yes. But most of the time not so much. My latest culprit was the clothes line. I wanted to line dry our clothes which saves money, but I convinced myself that I needed to buy the pulleys and a new rope. Will the pulleys and rope make it easier? Yes. Could I have made do with the eye hooks and rope that I used last year? Yes.

Food doesn’t have to be that expensive – I need to be creative and suck it up and cook more. (Hubby’s version of cooking is asking me how to cook the frozen food when the directions are printed on the bag… though he is finally confident with chicken tenders) Flour, rice and beans are super inexpensive and very adaptable.

I deserve it… I deserve to not have our finances stress me out. I deserve to laugh with my son as he “helps” me cook. I deserve the personal pride that I get when I see him wearing clothing I made – and when people compliment his outfit. I deserve the luxury of putting my feet up and relaxing with some knitting after knowing that I put in a solid day of work. I deserve to make use of the great things that I already own.