'Tis the season
As we inch closer to the Christmas season I am amazed at how much paper must be used at this time of year. The weekly flyers were delivered to our front door and I couldn't believe how big the stack was! I'm still trying to catch the carrier to ask them to stop the flyers from being delivered. The obscenely large pile went from my front door directly into the recycling bin (which happens every week). I don't even open up the flyers to look and I recycle them before anyone else in the house even realizes they have been delivered.
Why not look?
While it is tempting to look at the various sales going on (the Christmas sales and Black Friday extravaganzas), I don't look at the flyers and here are 3 reasons why:
Saves Money
If I truly need something for my family, my home, or myself, we will go buy it (and then – and only then - will we look specifically for any kind of sale). Does that mean we may miss a sale? Of course it does. Does that mean we may pay more compared to if it was on sale? Quite possibly. HOWEVER, we don't waste money on things we don't need. In the end, we are not spending money on useless things to fill our home and things we don't need or use just because they were on sale.
I Don't Need It
I have a very firm belief that a sale is only a ‘good deal’ if you need the item. So many times I will see homes that are filled with ‘good deals’. All those ‘good deals’ take space. When space is either at a premium or the space runs out, you then end up having a problem with clutter. And that is exactly what it ends up being.A true story from my own family: My daughter absolutely loves Bath and Body Works. Right now, they have a great sale on holiday scents.
As much as I love a holiday scent, we don't need 6. We'll never go through 6 holiday scents in a month so instead of buying 6, I might buy 2 or 3 (one for each bathroom in our home). I'm sure the cashier dislikes people like me that say, "No thanks" when asked if I'd like to get 2 more soaps for an extra $10 so I can get the full discount. I know I can feel the 'eye roll' from my daughter when I do say no thanks. While she would love the extra soap to add to her ever growing Bath and Body Works collection, I don't want extra holiday soap sitting in my cabinet for an entire year.
I'm Not Missing Out
What I don't know will not hurt me. So what if I missed the Black Friday event where TVs were on sale for 70% off. We don't need another TV in our home (at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it). So what if I missed the $750 off a new washing machine – we don't need one! In reality, I'm really not missing out. In the end, I'm not spending money on things we don't need.
As the hustle and bustle inches closer, are there specific things you do to refrain from overspending this holiday season?
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