The last thing I hid was probably money. Not in the I conducted a secret heist kind of way though. It was, because Hubs & I set aside money for savings. We didn’t have a joint account at the time, and had the money cold hard cash instead of in electronic form. I know hiding cash is kind of an old school thing to do, but I’ve always done it. I mean to myself. Continue reading
Lately, I’ve totally fallen victim to be convinced to buy things. I don’t know if it was being pregnant that had my guard down, but I was way more gullible when I was. I think it was due to the fact that I didn’t do any shopping for nearly a year. It wasn’t until I was 9 months pregnant that I actually started shopping. I figured whatever our child turned out to be he or she would need something to wear. And this is where it started…
Both Old Navy and JC Penney’s has gotten me the most lately. Bath & Body Works and Victoria Secret’s are close seconds when it comes to making my wallet skinny. Being someone who worked in Retail for many years, and managed two stores, I never let anyone convince me to buy anything. I guess I’m loosing my touch. I’ve gone soft, so to say. I’ve broken my #1 rule of Retail: never get a store credit card! Not only did I break my rule once, but I did it twice.
The first time, at Old Navy, I actually decided to get the card on my own before I even got to the register. However, the second time, at JC Penney’s was not planned at all. The main reason I got the card was because I know I’ll be doing a lot of clothes shopping for my son there. That doesn’t dismiss the fact that the sales associate totally capitalized off of that…silly me!
Going forward,I will not, repeat will not be falling victim to anymore retail swindling. I know way better. The good thing is that I always pay my balances off in full, so that I don’t incur any interest charges. I leave you with a tip, if you do have credit cards, whether they be major or store: PAY THEM OFF IN FULl! Treat them like cash. You may have many lines of credit open, but at least you won’t owe on all them. Plus, retail store cards have the highest interest rates ever. We’re talking 20%+ people. I’ve done a few posts on how to save money shopping, if you want more tips on how to do so. You can find them here and here.
Have you ever gotten swindled by the retail monster? Convinced to buy something you did anticipate on? – How’d you feel, did you have buyers remorse?
xxoo,
I came across a great article in either March or May’s Cosmopolitan on finances. My subscription is sent to my mother’s address and I was in town visiting, so this is why I don’t remember which edition it was in. I’m sure you can find the actual article on their website or Google it and find it as well. I’ve always been pretty good with money, never huge on frivolous spending, like to save, and always pay my bills before I spend on anything else. However, I am not above finding even better ways of budgeting money, especially with a new baby on the way. I have just about four and a half months to ensure that hubs and my financial affairs are in tip top shape. For the longest it’s just been me…then us, now a baby is coming into the picture and that will significantly change our approach to money and how its spent. I really liked this breakdown that Cosmo gave, so I thought to share it. Don’t be alarmed it’s for anyone, not just someone starting a family.
50 percent on essentials, which include:
20 percent on your future:
30 percent on fun stuff:
Overall, I think the breakdown is pretty comprehensive, of course it needs to be tailored to a family budget and lifestyle in many of our cases. For the most, however, anyone could use this as a guide for how to effectively budget their income and finances on a monthly basis. The one thing I did see that the list left off was Savings. I would probably take ten percent away from the “fun stuff” and put towards Savings on a monthly basis. I also don’t necessarily considered cell phone and ATM/cash “fun stuff”, because in this day and age a cell phone is pretty much a necessity. And as far as ATM/cash, I think it’s always a good idea to have a little bit of cash on hand, even if it’s just for backup or pocket change. So again, it could use some tweaking, but is a good guide, especially for a beginner.
xxoo,