Friday, November 12, 2010

When Christmas Shopping Goes Bad

Last night I was invited to a 'purse and jewelry party.'  I typically HATE these types of parties because they do not fall into my 'frugal' mentality.  However, I went to this party because I was looking for a somewhat specific Christmas gift for someone on my list.  I am pleased to say I found a very suitable gift within my budget.  I spent $38.16 (my budget for this person for Christmas was $40).  

This is where things turn bad....

I found a necklace that I really liked.  I seriously considered buying this for myself.  But, with tax and shipping is would have been over $42 and I just could not justify spending that on costume jewelry, especially this time of year when expenses are high anyway.  But boy oh boy did I want that necklace.  

The host, who is a friend of mine, got some 'half off purchases' for throwing the party.  She could not use them all, so she offered to let me use one for the necklace if I wanted.  That meant I was paying half of the retail price plus tax, and no shipping.  I couldn't pass that up.  Can we say "unnecessary spending of money"?  Still, I feel a lot better about spending $19.08 on myself than I do about spending $42+. 

2 comments:

  1. I think it's okay that you bought the necklace. You really wanted it and you'll probably get a lot of use out of it since it sounds like you put some thought into it. Even if you only wear it 4 times, that's less than $5 per wear. A pretty good deal, I think.

    Plus, it's a good thing to treat yourself every once and a while. We all deserve a little treat!

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  2. Elizabeth, thanks for making me feel good about this purchase! To be honest, I really do think I'll get a lot of use from this necklace. I just hate spending money on myself, especially when money is tight. But all in all, I like your attitude towards giving ourselves a little treat!

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