Stuff I bought in October that I really didn’t need to buy …

• Card : $1
• Two Nike Hats : $7
• Hallmark Card Software : -$19
  (made money with rebates on this one)
• Personal Trainer : $320
• Trip to Clearwater : $450
  (hotel, gas, food, etc.)
• Amazon Video Downloads : $21
• Amazon Music Downloads : $5
• Sneakers : $18
• Lenovo Mini-Laptop : $462

Spent: $1,265

Oh well, I’ll try again sometime next year.

How did everyone else make out?

• Hallmark Card Maker 2008 Deluxe : $14.90
     (clearance – regular price $49.99)
• Printshop ProPublisher Deluxe : $14.90 (x2)
      (clearance – regular price $89.99)
• Tax : $2.91
• American Express Staples Cash Back : - $2.38
• Hallmark Card Maker Rebate : - $10.00
• PrintShop ProPublisher Rebate : - $20.00 (x2)
• Sold ProPublisher on eBay :  - $26.03
• eBay Fees : $2.37
• Shipping Cost : $10.03
• American Express FedEx Cash Back : - $0.50

TOTAL SPENT :  -$18.90.

Last week, there were these nice Adidas running shoes that were on clearance at Bealls. They were regularly $55, but were 50% off on clearance. (See, I told you everything there is on some sort of perpetual clearance sale.) Anyway, I knew they’d be 50% off + an additional 40% off starting this week. And to top it off, I got a $5 off coupon in the mail this weekend. So, my $55 shoes would end up costing me just $11.50 – quite the bargain. But alas, they were gone today when I stopped at lunch. Somebody must have bought them.

And to top it all the f*ck off, I dropped my sunglasses while I was in there and they freaking broke. Ugh!

So, what did I end up buying? Two Nike hats, white and blue. They were each $20 – 50% – 40% – $5 coupon = $7.

How I ended up buying two hats when I went in there to buy a pair or shoes is a mystery that may never be solved.

I still can’t believe I broke my sunglasses.

Okay, okay! I confess. I did buy a few things so far this month.

The first unauthorized purchase was a Good Bye & Good Luck card for a guy in my department that has moved on to bigger and better things. That set me back 63¢.

The second purchase was made out of necessity. The freaking door handle on our front door is about to fall off and the handle on the door into the garage is on its last legs. Freaking Kwikset locks – cheapest pieces of sh*t on the planet – why do people even buy them?! They don’t even last a couple of years before they wear out. So, last night we purchased $210 in new door handles and dead bolts for the two doors from Amazon. I bought good ones – Schlage brand locks. These things are solid. I replaced the Kwikset crapo-locks on my townhouse in NJ with Schlage around 2003 and they will last forever.

Still, I haven’t bought any clothes or other junk. Kohl’s is probably wondering what happened to me.

Welcome to our first Don’t Buy Anything Month. Today is Day 1.

For me, the purpose of this month is to curb a slight obsession with impulse buys. So, for the month of October, I’m not going to buy anything except gas and groceries. No clothes, no stuff for the house, no Amazon browsing, no Slickdeals stalking – nothing except gas and groceries and limited dining out (we usually go out to eat on Saturdays with the parental units).

I keep having to remind myself that this isn’t supposed to be an exercise in playing poor. My month of no spending should be a a financial wake-up call, a chance to recalibrate my relationship with money at a time when everyone I know has money on the brain. Seriously, do I really need all the things I buy?

Post a comment and tell me what your plans are for our first Don’t Buy Anything Month.

Our check in points will be every Wednesday. That way, we can keep each other up to date on how we’re doing.

Gooooooooooooooooooo group! (Jackie says we’re not a team because we don’t have enough people.)