to get by. It seems like I've lived my whole life in that mode but, although I'm still living like that, there is one small difference. Instead of getting depressed and running up my credit card accounts, I pull up my debt repayment plan on the computer and look at the totals due and all the interest I pay each month. Talk about your wet blankets on a spending spree! That inevitably douses any desire to head to the mall with plastic in hand. I realized I had really arrived when I was flipping through the shop-at-home-til-you-drop catalogs and found that I was just flipping the pages absentmindedly. There was not ONE thing that I just HAD to have or thought would make a great present for someone. Although I only have 42.00 to get me through until next Friday, I'm optimistic that I can do it or at least make it until I get my 40.00 gas expense check. Plus, I have sold 16 CDs on Half.com and have 28 listed for sale. I sooooo wish I had not sold over 100 CDs to Half Price books. Such a waste! I think I might have received 50.00 max for all of them when I could easily have made four times that amount if not more. Oh well. Lesson learned and committed to memory. Now all I do is look at things and think "Can I sell it for more than what I paid for it"? And if I can't and don't absolutely need it then I pass it by. My new motto in life is to buy low and sell high whenever I can. Oh, to be sure, that won't happen every time I need or just plain WANT something but it will definitely hold my wants in check so that I don't go hogwild on a half-crazed shopping spree. At least not THIS week since 42.00 will not buy even a quarter-crazed spree let alone a half-crazed one. 
Ciao, my frugal friends!
Scraping, scraping, scraping....
July 25th, 2007 at 09:10 pm
July 25th, 2007 at 09:25 pm 1185398730
July 25th, 2007 at 09:29 pm 1185398957
July 25th, 2007 at 10:26 pm 1185402375
July 25th, 2007 at 11:16 pm 1185405398
July 26th, 2007 at 11:50 am 1185450638
I don't redecorate very often. I normally keep my stuff for a long time and I had spent quite a bit on my main bathroom when we moved here. When I had the garage sale and saw what I sold everything for, I couldn't believe it. I still have not redecorated that bathroom yet. I had other things from the rest of the house that look fine for now. I'm thinking twice about how much I'm going to invest in that room.
July 26th, 2007 at 01:35 pm 1185456911
I'm the same way you are about redecorating. Once I redecorate it's usually with me for years. It is an eye-opening experience when you see how much you actually get in comparison to what you actually spent. Garage sales are great places to find good deals but not the best place to make good money. I have learned that the hard way.
July 26th, 2007 at 02:08 pm 1185458916
Then, when it's gone, you don't really miss it. You have more space. I took a picture of some of my stuff and that's good enough.
July 26th, 2007 at 03:58 pm 1185465523
Regarding the $42 to get you through until next Friday, has your semi-monthly payment from Half.com hit your bank account yet, and did you include that in the funds you have available? My payment from Half.com was deposited in my checking account on the 24th (just 2 days ago).
July 26th, 2007 at 05:20 pm 1185470421