A post on Frugal Dad this morning about the tax rebate got me thinking about how hard it is to not go out and spend it like a “good little consumer.” Every now and then, I get this nearly uncontrollable urge spend. It’s usually triggered by a large purchase or an unexpected influx of money – both of which have just happened in my life. I start thinking about the nice things that I want or (believe) I need and, before I know it, I’m hitting craigslist, eBay, Amazon, or Newegg depending on which itch needs scratched. There are a few things that have been tempting me lately that I know I don’t have to buy just yet, but know that tax rebate is just around the corner only turns up the heat…
I’ve been thinking about dropping my gym membership since I haven’t been using it. I’m reluctant to do that, though. I signed up when the gym was just opening and offering membership at 1/2 the normal cost. I’m paying less than $30 a month whereas everyone else is paying at least $60. But I know that even if I’m saving money relative to all the other gym members, I’m still spending $30 a month – $360 a year – with no real benefit to me. But if I’m going to drop the gym membership, I need to still get my exercise.
Because my knees aren’t that great, I love working out on an elliptical. I would love to purchase one, but I know that a good one will set me back a great deal of money – way more than 1 year’s worth of gym membership time. But if I had an elliptical in my basement I know I would exercise more since I could just drop whatever and go downstairs. Having to drive 15 minutes just to go work out in a large enough impediment that I just avoid going to the gym altogether. I would love to purchase one, but it just doesn’t make sense right now. Besides that, I need to teach myself to stick to my goals and decisions. I already decided the rebate will go towards paying off the car and I need to make sure that’s what happens with the money.
I’ve also thought about getting an Apple computer for use in my consulting business. I’ve never owned one or even used one since the Apple IIe, but the allure of a shiny new piece of computing equipment stirs up that “funny feeling” inside. It would be very nice to use a Macintosh for doing web design work and being able to test websites on both the PC and Apple platforms, but again I have to make myself wait. I had to remind myself that if the business could use equipment like that, the business will have to buy it. I’m going to earn myself a Mac instead of buying one just because I think I need it.
I know I can’t be alone on this. Have you run into the seemingly-uncontrollable urge to splurge? What do you do or tell yourself that helps reduce the desire to spend?
