My piece of the pie
EEE! Where did that last week go? I try my darndest to be a bi-weekly blogger, but that hasn’t been the case, has it? My family will tell you I’m a masterful excuse-maker, so I do have one lined up for my longer-than-expected absence.
As mentioned previously, I only write about an outfit if I have something moderately interesting to say. Lately, I haven’t felt all that inspired by anything in my closet, nor have I rushed out to fix that. You see, a few months ago, I arbitrarily assigned myself a monthly thrift-budget. I can’t say I’ve always stayed below my limit, but I have tried to hover close to it. This month, though, I blew it away in one foul swoop with a vintage dress purchase. Since then, when I drive by my favourite thrift shops, I close my eyes, plug my ears, and shout “lalalala!” as I pass, endangering the lives of fellow drivers everywhere (don’t worry, that was sarcastic, please don’t call the po-po). But seriously, even with the summer merchandise continually refreshing thrift store shelves, I’ve resisted. And while that’s meant less blogging, it’s probably good for my marriage.
I married a fella who makes financial spreadsheets for fun. He gets very excited about Mint.com, and gets very sad when I don’t make the appropriate reaction to his latest plan for a tax-free savings account. I appreciate the pretty charts Mint.com generates every month, and it’s fun when he tells me how much money we’re saving, but I like using money much more than counting it. So, I relish in the opportunity to play a part in the overall budgetary success of our marriage. Thrifting gives me that. I may not have known what “RRSP” stood for until very recently, and I take way too long to pay my credit card bill, but I also know that the little piece of the budget chart that shows our spending on clothing and house decor would be much bigger if I weren’t a thrifter.
Take this outfit: This blouse was still tagged at $89.99 when I bought it for $6.99. These Theory shorts were a last-minute, no-change-room buy at Talize for $7.99. Similar shorts retail online for $130.00. That’s cray-cray! I spent $15 on this outfit. Normal people (okay, rich people who use five dollar bills to line their pets’ beds) would have spent $205 dollars.
I can’t always tell you my five-year financial goals, and I have to pause before I explain the advantages of a variable mortgage over a fixed-rate one, but if I keep close to my monthly thrift budget, and save 92% on all my clothing purchases, I’ll feel pretty good about my financial health. That may mean less blogging, but it would get me high fives from Suze Orman and Gail Vaz-Oxlade.
Now if only I could be as similarly disciplined when it came to our food rule. We started aiming for two meals out a month, which was just laughable. I blame Hamilton for that one though, there’s just too much good stuff to eat. Speaking of, sushi calls. Sayonara!