I really don’t have a desire to shop right now. Almost a month, and I just really don’t miss it. Not that I did it a lot, but I would make my regular visits to the major retail superstores and hardware stores. An artist girl can never have too many power tools.
I think most of what we buy is impulse stuff. Well, it is for me anyway. I still have times where I think, “Oh, I should go buy a __________.” Now that I can’t (won’t), I either have to just forget about it, or if it’s a need, figure a way around it. The reason I know these are impulse things, is because I know I’ve thought about buying stuff, but I could not for the life of me tell you what the stuff was that I thought of buying. If I really needed it, or for that matter, really wanted it badly, wouldn’t I remember it? I have no idea what it is!
When I shop with my kids and they see something they want, I always tell them, “If you remember that you want that tomorrow, we’ll come back and get it.” A few times they will remember and I will take them back to get it. Sometimes I give them an assignment with the purchase, such as blogging the ridiculousness of cereal straws or pros and cons of buying a fan that clips on your hat. Here’s the fan list from Joe:
I still owe him a hat fan. (I clearly don’t want the boy to have a heat stroke!) I don’t remember it being solar powered, so we might still be debating this purchase. He did find it on sale at Half Price Books.
Okay, so does anyone out there watch the TV show Psych? I am SO the dad on that show, only I teach my kids about being frugal and saving the world. He used all kinds of crazy, unconventional methods to teach his son right from wrong, only wanting what’s best for his son, but parenting him in very odd ways. In the show, all of the skills his dad taught him come in handy in his life. You can watch the show on hulu if you haven’t seen it. My kids love it. And Hulu is free…