The world may be scared of swine H1N1 flu, but I’ve been struck down by a heady case of want-to-spend-money-itis.
Sounds serious? It is!
Here are my symptoms:
1. Eating out with increasing frequency (lunches, dinners, brunches).
2. Shopping on a weeknight. My haul included a silk blouse and a pair of Cole Haans. In my defense, they were on sale.
3. Paying double rent for a couple of weeks in June due to my upcoming apartment move.
4. Being overly influenced by Apartmenttherapy (planning to buy furniture from Craigslist or flea markets, but that still costs money!)
5. Booking a massage for CB and I for Memorial Day weekend ($$).
6. Planning a vacation to Vegas and the Grand Canyon ($$$).
7. Trying to hold back from purchases I want to make, all in the $100+ range.
My partner in crime enabler(!), Revanche, insists on showing me pictures of cute dresses that should NOT be in my budget right now.
Basically, I’m spending a lot of money. Despite the pf blogsophere’s general insistence to the contrary, spending that money does make me happy. Good food and a gorgeous new apartment and new dresses and vacations make me happy.
The problem is, my wallet just can’t sustain such prolonged periods of happiness!
I blame this illness on the summer.
Well Heeled Blog 
I wonder if it’s the warm weather. I have also been bad this week. I think we went out to eat about four maybe five times this week. And we’re not supposed to be eating out at all! I basically thought, oh well, we already blew the plan so let’s just totally ruin our budget for this month! And misery loves company so I’m glad I’m not alone!
I’m having the same problem. I got my cash back from Amex last month and I decided that I could spend it since it was money I never had anyway! Then, I keep buying things for my new house. It’s terrible!
I’ve had that disease too… They cure for spending money on clothes is to stay away from shopping malls. I don’t know what to say about the other symptoms though!
I am guilty of some of those things: eating out often (sometimes multiple meals in one day) and shopping on weeknights. I’ve also been traveling a lot lately, but it’s sort of out of my control. Three of my friends are getting married this year and my brother’s graduating on Saturday, so 2009 has been very expensive!
Teehee. We both know better, yet the dress ogling continues.
Me too! I am a fellow saver… but I just bought a $1200 macbook, am getting a $90 haircut this weekend, and going to Brew at the Zoo for $45 on sunday.
Oh well– makes life worth living! As long as you aren’t derailing your overall goals, it is good to splurge guiltlessly every once in a while.
Its like a swinging pendulum… it will swing back soon enough, I promise.
I’m ponder the double rent paying. What can you do?
Goodness me too! I am with ya! And I do think it’s the warm weather. I’ve been such a little stingy hermit this winter that at the first sign of the sun I kind of went crazy. The way I think about it, though, is at least you’re conscious of it. Better that than cluelessly spending away.
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I think late spring/early summer has that effect on people. The days are longer, so it’s not so terrible to be roaming around downtown.
Also, I think we’re all just getting vicarious burnout. The media cover so many angles of economic hardship and despair, plus discussing frugality as the new trend, that everyone — even those of us who were already living carefully — are just sick of it. Okay, well, not sick of it. But feeling the need to get something nice. Or to stop eating rice and beans.
Here, between our anniversary, Mother’s Day and overall feel ooky, our dining out/ordering in will definitely be over budget. You’re not alone!
I’m feeling the desire to spend despite the fact that next week I’ll be spending thousands as I buy my first house… But I still look at the Nintendo DSi and have to resist buying one.
oh man, how many times have I filled up my virtual “shopping cart” or walked around a store without buying anything!? It’s addicting!
and once you start spending…you just can’t stop. Scary!
I have the same “itis” from time to time. Once the money’s spent, don’t beat yourself up about it, just enjoy it for what it was worth and move on. As long as you keep track of what you’ve been buying and are conscious about it…. it should be okay. It looks like you save a lot anyways, so enjoy a little sometimes! Like some said earlier, that’s what makes life worth living.
I’ve been buying clothes online…but, to be fair, I haven’t bought new clothes in a LONG time. Still, I’ve been spending too much. 🙂
Oh good lord, I know exactly what you mean. I’ve been seriously concerned about my job security because projects are being cut left and right.
But what did I do, oh I bought a plane ticket to Vegas for my friend’s bachelorette (granted I am the one throwing it and we decided this almost a year ago, but still). And I got fitted for new bras, which apparently are horrifyingly expensive (I did not notice that the last time I went, then again last October things were not *this* bad). And I’ve gone back to eating out – I was doing so well at conserving and making my own food. Clearly that did not last.
*sigh* on the bright side at least we are boosting the economy, if nothing else. I mean someone’s gotta spend money, right?
I agree. We’re spending money like crazy right now too. It’s like once the floodgates open, it’s hard to stop the water! We spent $500 in like 5 days. Not to mention the $1,000 we put down on my husband’s new (and unnecessary) truck! And we’re going to Chicago next weekend so I expect we’ll have a hard time sticking to our budget!
Oh, thank God I’m not the only one! I was laid off and rehired recently (with 6 weeks of slight panic in between) so I’m just so excited to know when my next paycheck’s coming in that I’m spending it all! Of course, the BF and I just planned a trip to DC for our anniversary (from the Boston area) at $450 for the hotel, started working with a financial planner for $500 (for the year, though, so I try to remember that), then had to book plane tickets to fly back home DURING our vacation to go to his brother’s graduation at $300, and I brought my car in for a tuneup for the drive to DC yesterday. I don’t even want to know how much that’s going to cost.
Add that to the fact that I feel like I need all sorts of cute new sundresses and sandals for the summer, and my budget is crying. I don’t know what happened!!