My Daily Dollars

I don’t know about you, but this month, I’ve found it awfully easy to resist spending money. We’re at the end of Week Three of my budget, and I haven’t spent my $90 Target allowance, and I am on track to have an extra $50 in my gas budget.  As for cash, I could come away from the month with an extra $60. When you add in a little extra I’ve earned taking surveys, I might be able to snowflake $200 to my emergency fund. Why is it so much easier to save money this month?

1. The news makes my head spin. Watching the stock market take my 401(k) on a wild roller coaster ride and hearing each day’s dismal economic reports does not make me want to run out and blow some fun money.

2. I’ve stopped stockpiling. I decided that we could live for a month on all the CVS deals we’ve been racking up. Like anything, finding a bargain can become addictive and expensive! While I got great deals at CVS, I also spent $45-$60 a month there. I decided to take a break from clipping coupons, scanning circulars, and plotting the best deals. We’ve got enough in our stockpile to last for the month, and all those bargains will be there next month.

3. My new-clothing itch seems to have passed. I had to spend half of my “fun” money on the dentist and will probably spend the rest on an upcoming trip to DC for a conference. Without extra money, buying clothes doesn’t seem so much fun. What a long way I’ve come from treating my credit card limit as my clothing allowance!

It seems that we really are heading into more frugal times. Clicking around on the New York Times yesterday, I came across The Moment Blog’s recap of “Issac Mizrahi’s Luxury Guide to Recession Style.” I love Mizrahi for kicking off the whole down-market design trend at Target. His shoes there are always stylish and fun. So what did he have to say in these new economic times?  Clearly his “advice” was tongue-in-cheek: “never buy anything on sale,” “shop constantly,” “splurge on shoes,” “spoiling yourself is worth it.”

Of course, his tips ran counter to all the principles frugal bloggers espouse, but, hey, he makes his money off fashion; he’s not going to tell fashionistas to tighten their budgets with last year’s belts.  What struck me were the comments.  Here are some samples:

“Shop. Splurge. Spoil yourself. Isn’t that how we got into the economic mess we’re in?”
“Obviously he is not affected by the recession. I dont think we can spend our way out of this one.”
“Great advice - buy full price and buy what you can’t afford — what an idiot.”

Poor Issac.  His Holly Golightly persona seems suddenly out of step with the times.  While I love to shop as much as the next girl, I have to agree that I wasn’t tempted to follow one of his tips.  Instead, I feel like staying out of stores and socking away as much money as I can.  Perhaps, after the election and all this uncertainty has passed, I’ll get the shopping bug again.

How about you?  Are you finding it easier to resist temptation these days?