So Many Shoes, So Little Money – Blog

Spending

December 22nd, 2008

Spending is often what we do best. However, knowing how to spend, and when to spend, is critical. What must we have? What can we live without? And how do we know which is which? There are not a lot of role models out there for women to follow. What is out there is a ton of external pressure to spend, spend, and spend. Consumer products companies spend billions telling us which products we need and why. Retail stores devote a great deal of time, money and effort to make their store windows stop us in our tracks. Movies, television shows, fashion magazines and the media’s relentless coverage of who wore what all send a message about how much we need to spend, and what we need to spend it on in order to look and feel good. Even the federal government overspends and as an all too predictable result, sends us into an economic crisis.

Can we stop the madness? How do we know what to buy and where to spend? Confused priorities can wreck your budget. Three months’ rent or a Cartier Tank watch? How do you choose? Start by revisiting your budget. If you can afford the watch – go ahead and buy it. If your budget indicates that you can’t, don’t despair. You could make it a dream or a goal to save for, or you could pay your rent and shop a notch or two (or three) down, or not at all.

Priorities are different for everyone. How do you know what yours are? Let’s start with the basics of needs and wants. What’s the difference between the two? A need is something you simply can’t do without. It is something you have to have, to survive in a reasonably comfortable way. Needs are the basic building blocks of life. Wants are desires. A want is something that, no matter how much you may crave it, you can live just fine without. You want the Cartier tank watch; you need to know what time it is. You want the black stilettos beckoning from the window; you have to have your feet covered but you probably don’t need that particular pair of shoes.

By using your budget to review how and where you are spending your money, you will be able to spot and fix potentially problematic trends and fix them before they get out of hand. You might have to make some hard decisions about what it is you need and what you merely want. Only you can sort out which is which, along with what you are willing to give up. And you must stay committed to the rule that only if you have a surplus of funds at the end of every month can you can start to purchase things you want, in addition to the things you need.

Filed under: Budgeting

Tags: Budgeting, Shopping