What’s the opposite of a no-spend weekend? October 23, 2011

I think you could call this weekend a spendy weekend.  I tend not to go shopping to often, so when I do, things get a little crazy.  I already knew ahead of time that I was going to go shopping.  So, let’s review my weekend travels and see where the I made my wallet cry.

Saturday:

Library:  Always a good, free, way to start the weekend.  Went to pick up the copy of Shortchanged:  Why women have less wealth and what can be done about it I reserved.  I’m planning on participating in Deena Dollar’s PF Blogger Book Club!  I don’t have too much time to read it, but I’ll try to get through it as far as I can.

Kohls:  They know me too well.  Hey Steph, you haven’t shopped here in a while.  Want a 30% coupon on a weekend where we’re also having epic sales?  Here you go.  Come by.  So yep, I spent a few hours there trying on bras (whoops, sorry, TMI?) because I haven’t done that in ages.  Total Damage:  7 bras, $120 (yeah, I dunno, I got carried away, that’s a lot of bras, maybe I’ll return a few?)

Target:  Next up, my other shopping nemesis, Target.  Hey Steph, you need all these random things for your house, don’t you?  And these cute clothes?  But I had a gift card from a friend and we did actually need a few things.  So, I bought a few kitchen gadgets we needed (meat thermometer, turkey baster, etc.) and a few random kitchen things that were on the clearance shelf (Damn You Clearance Shelf!), but also saw a cute sweater on sale for $15 (check it out in red)  Total damage:  An extra $5.62 over the gift card amount.  So $55.62 total spent at Target.

The rest of the day I managed to stay home and avoid any more shopping.  But I had more plans for Sunday:

Church:  A nice place to regain my sanity and then follow it up with coffee and donuts (Dunkin Donuts brought back their pumpkin spice donuts for the fall!) with some friends, including an adorable 2-year old

The Mall!
Apple Store:  I saw a line formed outside the store, which worried me.  But it turns out that was for the new iPhone.  If you were getting anything else, you could walk right in.  Though when I walked in, it mostly looked like chaos in there.  I didn’t know how to buy something.  There are no cash registers!  But I caught the attention of a “Genius” and told him I just want to buy an iPod.  Cool part was, they’d give me a 10% discount if I traded in my old (dead) iPod.  Better discount that I could get through my employer!  Also, did you know that they do the whole transaction on souped-up iPhones?  Hence the lack of cash registers.  It was pretty neat.  Total damage for my pretty new blue iPod nano (with discounts but also tax):  $142.47

H&M:  I always stop in that store.  I know I can find cheap (okay, both in price and in quality) items there.  I was specifically looking for a new belt, since that’s where I bought belts in the past.  But all the belts were ridiculous (what was I expecting), but then I got distracted by some simple elastic headbands.  Total Damage:  5 headbands, $8.39

LOFT:  Last store!  I had gotten a coupon for $15 off any purchase for any time during my birthday month.  Since October was drawing to a close, I figured I might as well take advantage of it (yes, I realize they do this to get you in the store).  I took forever looking for something and I settled on this top (in “Passion Red)  With the coupon and sales going on, I only paid another $5.  Though, I just noticed that there were two price tags on my shirt for some reason, so I was undercharged…(do I go back?  call? your thoughts, please!).  So total cost to me:  $5, though it might actually be $12 if I go back and tell them they undercharged me by $7.

That’s it.  Done with my spending.  I don’t plan on buying stuff for a while.  The key is to stay out of stores!  And ignore sales.  But I’m not good at staying out of stores when they alert me to those sales.

So, a spendy weekend.  With a few free activities thrown in.  And by the way, I’m already loving my new iPod.  So glad I bought it.

So, how did you fare this weekend?  Any big purchases?  Or are you doing well at keeping up with your no-spend goals?  Do you hate when I do these shopping recaps?  Do I ask too many questions?  And would you drive back to the mall to pay $7?

Personal Finance Confessions: I want to buy lots of new gadgets! October 18, 2011

It’s quite possible the electronics I use are cursed.  First our Xbox 360 got the “red ring of death“.  Then my iPod classic (I’ve had it or an Apple-Care replacement since 2005 or so) decided it was tired of playing my podcasts (it may have jumped to its doom…accidentally).  So, now I’m in the market for new electronics.

Here’s the thing.  I just want to buy the new stuff.  And some other new stuff!  We’ve been thinking about getting an HD TV since we moved, and then of course we’d need a Blu-Ray player (or, more likely, a Playstation 3).  This is not really what personal finance savvy people are supposed to do.  I don’t NEED any of these electronics.  I just want them.

But I think I’ve already decided I’m going to get a replacement for my iPod.  I used it pretty much every day:  working in the lab, commuting or traveling when there’s nothing good on the radio, and when I’m cleaning around the house moving from room to room.  At this point, I just have to decide between the different models.  I like the FM tuner and accelerometer/fitness part of the iPod nano.  Then, I’m a bit attached to the good old-fashioned iPod classic, though I don’t think I’ll ever have enough data to put on there!  My old one is/was 30GB…the new one is 160GB!  What?  Then there’s the iPod touch, which is basically like an iPhone but without the phone…and the monthly fee.  And of course, I would only be able to use it when I’m near available Wi-Fi, but it sounds like their maps might be pretty accurate even without constant connectivity. And of course, I’m thinking there’s a lot of apps I’d like to try out!  And I could still do a lot with it even if I’m only connecting to Wi-Fi.

Yes, I’m bad at deciding.  Any recommendations?

As for the Xbox, the one we have may or may not be repairable (we haven’t tried yet).  It’s also 6 years old, which means there’s probably been a lot of upgrades since then.  So we’re thinking we might want to replace it.  Then we have to decide between the 4GB model and the 250GB model (we’re leaning towards the 250GB).  And do we get a Kinect with it?  It’s cheaper to buy it with the console rather than buy it separtely…but do we “need” it?  Each upgrade (more memory, Kinect) is another $100 tacked on to the price.

The other expensive electronics will probably have to wait.  We’ll hold out until we see a really good deal on a new TV, and we probably wouldn’t get a Blu-Ray/Playstation 3 until we had the fancy TV to go with it.

I know I don’t need any of these things.  I could look into repairing the items.  I could continue to save my money until…someday.  But, like I said, I’d use the iPod every day, the cost per use (assuming I don’t break this one…) will be pretty low over time.  I’m also shopping around for the best prices.

Do you ever feel bad buying new gadgets?  Is that your personal finance weakness?  Should I just be a good little personal finance blogger and try to repair (or trade in) the old items?