It's no secret that we are on a tight budget (especially since I've blabbed on and on about it on the www and even dedicated an entire blog to it...). So it has become routine for family members to fill me in when this or that store is having a sale. A big one came up recently, when my SIL called to say that Sears was putting a lot of their Land's End stuff on clearance. (thanks for thinking of me Michelle!) I love Land's End! I started doing calculations in my head. Some of our clothing needs are critical... Jordan didn't get a new wardrobe last fall because everything still fit... now he has had a growth spurt and we are in trouble. Same with Rylan. The shirts still fit for the most part, but her pants are an issue. And she has no winter coat. And Jordan only has two pair of shoes: crocs and hiking boots. That is a problem. Thank goodness that Owen and Colin are just swimming in clothes - many, many thanks to some wonderful friends (Amanda and Dalliss) who have been frequently passing on clothing, coats and hiking boots to me - you are a godsend!!)
So I am doing the calculations: our needs are great. But the money... hmm. We sat down a month ago and planned out the next three paychecks. We are really getting the swing of working the cashflow down to the penny. Unplanned Halloween expenses (mainly food) threw a nasty twist into the budget, so I know there is no wiggle room. We had set aside $100 from that cash flow to tackle the three biggest clothing concerns: a winter coat for Rylan, tennis shoes for Jordan and a pair of pants for Jordan. When we plan out this month's two paychecks tonight at our budget meeting, we can see when we can put some more money aside for clothing.
In the past, when I got wind of a big sale, I would just yank out the credit card in a flash and reap the rewards. The savings! The big haul! LOOK at how much stuff we got for just $XX!! Yes, I have taken advantage of many deals in the past. And now the credit card company is taking advantage of my inability to show restraint. To the tune of $460 a month in interest.
We went to our last Financial Peace University class last week. We jumped in on the third class, so it has been ten weeks of some pretty intense learning. I am sad the class is done. It felt like a support group... like an AA meeting or something. We could all commiserate about having to live on a budget. I feel a little worried about not having the weekly support anymore, and that it might be easy to slip into some old habits. The class is thirteen weeks for a reason: it takes that long to establish a habit. We have gotten into the habit of not even considering the credit cards as an option. If it is not on the budget sheet, we don't buy it. I didn't budget extra money for clothes, therefore I did not go down to Sears to check out the sale. I felt bad, but I didn't go because if I had spent that money, it would have meant that something else couldn't be purchased. When the cash is gone, it's gone. It is amazing though, how deeply entrenched that habit of using the credit card is. That neural pathway of using the card as a way to acquire goods has been trodden down. Much like the Oregon Trail. You can still see the wagon wheel ruts. The credit card ruts will remain for a long, long time. Probably as long as it will take to pay off the stupid things.
