So far, I haven’t bought any new clothes, shoes, or handbags in a little over a month. It hasn’t been that hard, really. One thing I notice is that it’s kind of freeing to walk into Ross knowing I am only there to look for a mirror for my bathroom and a new cutting board. It saves me the time of looking through the whole store just in case there’s a really good deal on something I “need”. Usually, if I go to a store that sells things I like, I look at all of the departments I’m interested in, look carefully through my sizes, and then if I find something I really want I start trying to figure out how to pay for it. That behavior has been eliminated, and so far I really don’t feel like I am missing anything.
I’ve also paid more attention to the shopping I should be doing, like for other peoples’ birthdays, mother’s day, and for the hostess when I go a wassailing. Drawing a line in the sand and eliminating buying stuff for myself has freed up some cash flow to buy stuff for other people, and that leaves me with a good feeling. I got my mom a leather case for her passport (newly minted, go mom) and a book about the sweet shops of Paris, since she has always wanted to go to France and loves chocolate and desserty things. For my stepdad’s birthday, I got him a travel wallet that is big enough for a passport but not much bigger than a regular wallet.
When I arrived at my friend’s house last night, I had a bottle of wine in hand for his parents and a 30th birthday gift for him stashed in my duffle bag. He’s about to start a Real Job, which will require him to go to meetings and take notes and so forth. In Africa. So I got him planner and organizer that zips shut and has a little pouch in the front where you can keep pens and hotel keys and passport. Knowing him, there’ll be cigarettes in there at one time or another. I’m hoping that once he gets to the point that he can start making suggestions around the place, one of those suggestions will be me.
To that end, I guess I should start working on my Masters. I’m planning on doing it through USF in International Health or Maternal and Child Health. I need to take the GRE, and now that I don’t look at the $140 fee as a pair of jeans I’m missing out on, maybe I’ll go ahead and register to take it this summer. Fortunately for my bank account, extensive preparation is not required. “Helping” type programs and professions are not usually super picky when it comes to test scores.
“Young lady, if you want to help dig wells in the Congo, you are going to have to study. You’ll be of no use to the starving millions with those test scores!”
Now if I could just get Mr. Obama to send some of those CRAP funds my way, since my car’s in the shop needing timing chain and clutch plates and $1200 to be sprung loose from there. Crisis Recovery Action Plan, or something, wasn’t it?
