MY 2010 PLEDGE/ CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC

This year I am determined to SAVE! I have attempted this so many times before but I feel that this time will be different. I envy my friend Jo who can walk into a store see something she loves and walks away. Not me, if I love it I MUST have it. I automatically begin thinking about the many ways I can wear it or how cute I'd look in it. I knew things were bad when I would rise at 5:30 every morning to checkout Bluefly's new arrival. By 6 I would have gotten my fashion fix and ready for a day of work. To make matters worse I loved Mondays and Thursdays when I have 2.5 hours free at work. I would use this time to visit Haute and Glit which opens exactly when I start my prep.

I was hooked and my drug was definately shopping. Well maybe my drug was really spending, because it didn't really have to buy clothes. I moved from clothes, to handbags, to jewelry, to houseware (lol...i don't own a house) to random things for others. I became addicted to spending. The more I spent the happier I was. After a long day of work I would stop by Bloomingdales, Saks, and Louis Vuitton which were all on my route home. I decided that this had to stop not when I dipped into my savings to buy random crap I didn't need. My wake up call came at 5:33 one morning when I saw the prettiest Hermes bag on Bluefly. I put it into my cart and was on my way to checkout when I lost my wireless signal. You would think I took this as a sign and backed away from the computer, but nope. I kept trying to check out. I was now late for work and still had to shower and determine an outfit. It was not until I was in the shower that I decided not to make the purchase. I mean who do I think I am getting a Hermes handbag?........Just a mess.

Since that day I have made lots of purchases, however none as dramatic as "my" Hermes. Luckily I don't have credit cards so I have no debt, but just think of the money I could have saved over the years. To help with this I have put together a plan to get through 2010 with fatter pockets.

THE 2010 FATTER POCKETS PLAN

1. Unsubscribe to all shopping sites. You will be amazed how easy you fall into the trap.

2. Use only cash no debit cards. When we don't see the cash we don't think about how we are spending it.

3. Setup a weekly allowance ($100). This covers food laundry and events/activities.

4. Eliminate unnecessary expenses. (Crunch Gym...$100 a month and I don't go).

5. Setup additional savings account for when I want to shop. Left over allowance money can go into this account. Did you know that only 5% of your salary is suppose to be spent on shopping? I was wayyyyyyyy over!!

My pledge for 2010

I PLEGDE TO BE FINANCIALLY SOLVENT. NOT TO HAVE OR HOLD FRIVOLOUS ITEMS FROM THIS DAY FORWARD AS LONG AS I LIVE.

Take the Financially Solvent Poll in the upper left corner of the blog. Commit to the "Fatter Pockets Plan" and track your progress as the year advances.