Mindful on Mondays: Impulse Buys and How to Avoid

My apologies to those who believe that Monday should actually be on a Monday. My bad....

With that said, I concur with Cathy: I like to spend money on the things I want, like yarn and knitting tools and movies that I must (so I think) own so I can watch. For years it was easier to avoid looking at the bills, than admitting I had to pay them. Fortunately, I have that under control (almost) and have nearly dug myself out of debt that was created when I was "under-employed."

When the economy downturn came and I took a cut in hours I looked at all the "bills" and determined what I could do without. The first thing was morning coffee from 'bucks. Well, that was really a non-issue because I do not go for coffee every morning, I drink mine before I go to work from a pot I brewed myself with generic brand coffee mostly.

I did give up buying movies when they first came out without seeing them first. What I found was most of them were not as good as their trailers so I could just watch them once and say "Okay, I've seen it." I do my renting through Netflix and have the streaming feature as well as a couple through the mail system. It works great and keeps me entertained. Now admit it, I do still buy a movie occasionally that is one that I will watch more than 4 times a year. Usually I make that decision after I have rented the same movie over and over, then I go to Half.com to find it for the best price. (Next on this list is Letters To Juliet - love that movie).

Now, for impulse buys, these used to include knitting magazines, go figure. I have decided that if the magazine does not have at least 5-8 patterns that I must knit, then I will look for them as a one time buy option, try to borrow the magazine or find another pattern that is close to the one I like.

I have found that the library (and our library district - Pikes Peak Library District) is the best when it comes to well-stocked and easy to get stuff. I put stuff on hold and pick it up from the library that is best for me. Then I get what I need without having to spend lots of time looking for it. They have lots of movies, audiobooks and knitting books.

With other impulse items, I employ the ten-second rule that makes me stop and really think about what I really need. That seems to be working for me. For things that I really think I want after ten-seconds, and it is not an must-have-right-now, then I write it down and think on it, research options for thirty days. I have found that by then, I decide I can do without them. That really helps my cashflow.

Next week: I will try to be on time~!