{The Temptation of St. Anthony by Salvador Dali - Image Source}
I think one reason that I haven't really felt the pressures of the Spending Fast yet, is that I have been really conscious of not putting myself in the way of temptation. As far as my spending habits go, I never made big purchases. It was too stressful and made me anxious, so a $500 purse was never an issue. But I had no problem making a ton of small purchases that added up to (if not exceeded) the price of that purse! So for the last week, I have made it a point not to go to stores - except for the grocery store.
Yesterday, however, I had to go to Walgreens to pick up a prescription. I wasn't nervous, I thought, "I'll just walk straight back there and leave, without looking at anything." When I got back to the Pharmacy counter they informed me that there was a problem with my prescription, and asked me if I could just "hang out" in the store for between 15-45 minutes while they got the problem worked out.
My palms got sweaty, and my voice cracked as I answered, "sure." Rather than go sit in my car in the 120° F heat, I stayed, in the air conditioning, amidst a myriad of temptations.
After 45 minutes the Pharmacy called my name over the loud speaker, I paid for my prescription... and a $1.29 Chapstick. Yep, I did it! Take that temptation!
PS. I only bought the Chapstick because the medication I was picking up makes my lips/eyes/skin really really dry.
PS. I only bought the Chapstick because the medication I was picking up makes my lips/eyes/skin really really dry.
2 comments:
I am the same way! I don't buy big ticket items, it's always the little stuff that adds up. If you haven't done it, I highly recommend that you download your transactions from your bank to excel or use mint or quicken and give your spending categories. I found out that I was eating and drinking a mortgage payment last year, at least. I'm also trying to be good but it's hard :(
@clutteredmoney
Thanks for the tip! I really appreciate it! I actually downloaded the Mint app to my phone, but I've never used it! So far this month I've just entered everything in to the excell sheet I created on my sidebar, that seems to be working, but only because I don't have a whole lot to track! I'll have to try some of these other things!
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