Spending Block

I think I have finally broken through a case of what I call "spender's block". Think of it as "writer's block" but instead of not being able to write, you're not able to spend money.

For months I have been wearing the same UNCOMFORTABLE shoes to work. They are awful. The toes are so narrow that I feel like I am doing permanent damage to my feet by wearing them by disfiguring them into an un-foot like shape. I keep wearing them because I don't want to spend the money to buy new shoes. I know I have to buy them eventually; I've looked at Target for cheap shoes that were comfortable from time to time but never find anything. Finally, yesterday I figured that since I had that $2.00 gift certificate to Mervyn's that I should try to look there.

I looked and looked for shoes that I thought were both stylish (because I am oh so stylish) and comfortable. There were these hideous looking shoes that I tried on that felt so good that I almost bought them despite the fact that I would look like I was 80 years old wearing them. There were also these shoes that were so-so but I couldn't bring myself to buy shoes that were so-so because I knew I would be wanting to buy another pair in a couple of months becauase I hated the so-so shoes.

So I crossed shoes off of my list and thought that perhaps I could spend my $2.00 on something for the new apartment. I looked at towels. I looked at dishes. I looked at appliances. But I just couldn't buy anything. The thing about Mervyn's that bugs me is that all of their prices are jacked up and then they say that everything is 40% off so that you feel like you are getting some fabulous deal. I wasn't going to play that game. In my head I kept thinking, I could probably get that at Target for cheaper. So, before I made any RASH decisions with my $2.00 I decided that I would think about it and shop around first.

So when I got home I went to Target to compare prices on things like dishes, pots and pans, silverware, etc. It got to be so frustrating because almost none of the products had all good/average reviews. It seemed inevitable that each product had a comment like "i put these in the dishwasher and they fell apart" or "this blowdryer burnt my hair and I found clumps of hair on the bathroom floor". Yikes! Sometimes I think that product reviews really help but at the same time makes it soooo much more difficult to choose.

So what do I do? Instead of making a decision, I head on over to Amazon to see what they have. Even more choices! And to make things even more complicated, Amazon is offering $25 off when you spend $125 in their Kitchen & Houseware or Bed & Bath departments. I could easily do that in this whole moving process (not that I want to).

What is a girl to do? Who knew that buying cutlery could be such a process. Why can't I just muster the courage to buy a toaster?

The good news is is that I at least found a cute, comfortable pair of shoes today. Bad news is that they cost $75. I'm o.k. with it though because shoes are the one thing that I would prefer to spend a little bit more on so that I know that they will be comfortable and will last longer (crossing my fingers on that one). Also, when I got home my neighbor had dropped off a nice toaster and some silverware that they no longer need. So maybe spender's block was a good thing!