September 2009 Weddings
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
SF: Splurges
As we've mentioned, it's healthy to have one, something reasonable, every now and again, but too many can be poison -- example, my credit card balance.
That being said, let's air it all out, get it out of our system. And then that way we can be done with it and move on. See this as a cathartic purging of bad habits.
So, what are your most recent splurges -- what was it, how much was it, why did you do it, and do you still think you needed it?
Also, what little splurges/rewards can you allow yourself and not go overboard?
Re: SF: Splurges
I dont splurge on myself often but I did allow Mark to buy me some clothes this weekend. I really wanted a cute outfit for our weekend away and it helped me feel much better about myself.
I also consider my trainer a splurge. I pay 160.00 a month and know that if I stopped it would greatly help Mark pay for a car. I am giving myself until March and then going to probably give in.
The biggest splurge I've had lately, without reason, was my Coach bag and matching wallet. Though through the outlet and more than 50% off, I did not need to spend the $200 for either. Yes, I considered it a Christmas present to myself, and I confess I put it on my CC. But they still look awesome, and I don't regret it.
Other than that, I spent $80 on Editor pants at Express -- granted they were on sale, BOGO, and I had a coupon... and I needed them for interviews. But for me, this was a splurge because I never spend that much on clothing, let alone pants.
Currently, the only splurge I am allowing myself (other than the ON clothes yesterday -- though I needed jeans! -- and the BOGO Zoya polish *shuns Ames*) is the Starbucks coffee. As I mentioned, currently $20/every 2 weeks, but I'm going to try the $20/month starting in March...
updated 10.03.12
I splurged when we went out for our vday dinner at Red Lobster - I had a plate that had a lobster tail, a skewer of grilled shrimp, and more importantly shrimp & lobster mac & cheese. It was $23.99 which is way more than any entree I usually choose (I usually try to stay in the $10-$15 range when we go out.)
I did it because we'd set aside the money for the meal and we rarely get to go out to a nice place. (Yes, I'm aware that many people don't consider Red Lobster to be a nice place, but I'm landlocked - I gotta get my seafood where I can get it.)
And hell yes it was worth it, I'm still dreaming about that mac & cheese.
ETA: little splurges I allow myself - I don't really do Sbux because it's out of my way, but I do go to Sonic almost every morning for a Route 44 tea.
Yesterday was a little bit ridiculous and out of the ordinary for me. I got my hair cut Saturday and it was rapidly apparent while blow drying on Sunday that I needed a dryer that would dry faster to keep my waves/ layers in check. I searched for best prices Monday and sought out any promotions, and I pulled the trigger Tuesday.
The Clarisonic was a splurge, but I need to change my skincare routine. My face is getting redder and the texture of my skin is more uneven. Since stopping my shots/bc and starting different medicine, my skin has also broken out like crazy. I've been through about 8 face washes in the last 3 months, so I decided it was time for something more drastic. I bought the model that has been discontinued and was on super clearance for half of what it once cost, plus I searched around for discounts and got 20% off the clearance price.
The only other thing I splurge on is quilting fabric. I will say, quilts are frequently a little more expensive ($10ish) than a gift I would have given otherwise. They're also more personal, and my friends appreciate them more than they would a diaper genie, so it is a trade off.
Stand up for something you believe in.
Keurig - It is probably the most expensive coffee maker I have ever owned. I paid for it mostly with $$ I rec'd from gifts, though, but I could have used that $$ for bills. I'm pretty sure it has already paid for itself with how much it saves me from going to Dunks.
Is it still needed? Hell ya. All moms need their coffee !
Family Y membership- The monthly fee is at least twice that of the local gym but having a babysitting room means that J and I can go together. If I had to go by myself, I woudl probably skip it most days or at least cut short my workout. So far I have been good with going 6 days a week and staying for an hour.
Is it still needed ? Yes ! I still have weight to lose. Also, Gabby's pedi just gave her the ok to go into a pool. We want to get her comfortable with being in the water ASAP.
Workout clothes- Sure, I could have worn something old/faded/worn out but getting some new stuff helped me get excited about going.
Did I really need them? I'll still say yes. I only had 1 pair of yoga pants that fit & 2 tank tops. There was no way I would go on the elliptical w/o a proper sports bra.
Dx: Hashimoto's Hypothyroidism After 2 years TTC & failed IUs,we have our IVF baby born 9/24/11
LO#2 aka 'Miracle Baby' Orig. EDD= 9/28 EDD moved to 10/3/13
"Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all." -- Dale Carnegie
"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time." --Thomas A. Edison
Recent splurges:
V-day meal at home. We could have gone cheaper and really saved some money, but the way we looked at it was that even splurging at home was cheaper than anywhere we would go out to eat. Dinner ingredients and the nice bottles of wine I got was around $60.
Kurig. We bought one shortly after Christmas. It was on sale at Kohls and I had 30% off. And I got $30 in rewards coupons that I used to buy 3 boxes of k-cups. It was definitely a splurge, but I don't drink coffee and Scott's loved having one so he can have a cup of coffee without making a whole pot. And I do like chais and hot chocolate at my beckon call.
More frequent splurges:
My Sangria chocolates I bought yesterday. I'm not much of a sweets eater, but I do like having a piece or two of chocolate when I do want something sweet. These are my favorites and I buy them in bulk a 1/2 lb at a time, because it's cheaper that way. Costs like $15 for a 1/2 lb. And that's like 30 pieces of chocolate. Usually lasts me a few months.
Lunch out on Fridays. I usually spend most of the day running errands on Fridays, I usually stop and get something to eat while I'm out. Usually at Noodles, or Chick-fil-a, usually like $7-8 a week.
My weekly $20 is my big splurge, but I hardly ever use the whole twenty bucks and the rest goes to savings.
Our biggest regular splurge is that we eat out at least once a week. I'm usually exhausted from running around work all day and Jay gets up right around dinner time so it's nice to have at least one dinner a week where neither one of us has to put in any extra effort. It's usually $40, at a max, if we get drinks.
Most recent random splurge: on Monday we bought a one month old kind size pillow top mattress and two twin size box springs for $270! We saw a posting for it at the grocery store and called the number. Turns out the guy is a landlord and his tenant was being chased down by homeland security for being in the country illegally so he fled back to Mexico. Apparently, it is difficult to flee with a king size mattress so the guy just left it there and the landlord wanted to make a few bucks off of it. Winning for us, even if it was splurge!
Stand up for something you believe in.