Keeping up with the Joneses

I am ashamed to admit that I have found myself inflicted with the "Keeping up with the Joneses" syndrome.  The prospect of vacationing with someone whose means are much more abundant than that of my own has caused me to feel inferior.  It is with great disappointment and sadness that I admit this.

In preparing for my vacation, I have found myself purchasing hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise.  I'm not quite sure how much just yet. I am afraid to look and know for sure.  I have found myself putting some of my purchases on my credit card just in case I need the cash in my bank account for my actual vacation.

This is NOT how I operate!

Usually, I give myself an allotted amount of spending money.  And, because I know myself all too well, I will put a little more in a side account for extras.  But I always have the cash to go and I always give myself a budget. ALWAYS!

With this vacation, however, there are so many unknown factors.  I have no idea what we will be doing while we are there. There are a lot of possibilities.  Many activities range from $50-$200.  I have no idea what the weather will be like. Hot during the day, very cool at night is my understanding.  But how do you know for sure how to prepare for that. One person's hot isn't necessarily another person's hot. One person's chilly may not be my chilly.  And though I am sure that the person that I am vacationing with is mindful that my means and the third persons' means are a bit limited, it still causes this bit of angst inside me.  I also have no idea what it will cost to eat while I am there. I don't know if it will be possible for us to purchase any groceries.  I have no idea how much it will cost us to get around.  There are just so many uncertainties and I do not bode well with uncertainty.  I have a tendency to try to be prepared for all of the possibilities and what ifs.

Back to my uncontrollable spending. What the...???  What is my problem!?!?!?!?  I convinced myself that I needed these things.  And a few things would have been ok.  I have outgrown my summer clothes.  Many of which I haven't worn in a year or two because most of my summer is spent working overtime.  But I have practically gone out and bought a new summer wardrobe.  Three and a half new bathing suits (one was a gift), summer dresses (one was also a gift), a cropped cardi, two pair of pajama bottoms, tops, shorts, pants that roll up to capris, a new toiletry bag, two new travel bags that are easy on the shoulders, new sandals, two new hoodies for the chilly evenings, and one of those pillow things for the airplane.  I think I have gone completely bonkers!  I am definitely having buyers remorse. Look at all this:




This is out of control.

So, the best I can do now is tell myself NO MORE!

I still cannot believe that I let this consume me. Thoughts of I can't wear the same two bathing suits while I'm there for seven days because I'm sure the Joneses will have 100+ for sure.  (And she does have 100 or so suits.)  Or, I can't wear the same single pair of pajama pants the whole time I am there. What will they think?  Or, What if we walk around a lot and do a lot of shopping, I will need a comfortable bag and comfortable new shoes because the ones I have just aren't good enough. They'll look at me like I have two heads. 

I can't believe I allowed myself to think this way.  I suppose it can go back to the self-esteem issues that my counselor constantly tried to address.  And the idea that I need to be accepted by everyone.  This just isn't so. I am who I am. I like who I am and I need to remind myself that people like me for who I am too.  Quite a few people do, actually. I know this and need to accept this.  Believe it with all that I am.

No more keeping up with the Joneses.  That's not who I am!

I lied

Photo courtesy Century 21

I said that I was not participating in Black Friday shopping madness.  But...I lied.  I didn't intentionally lie. I had not planned on shopping at all.  I just happened to be online Friday morning making lunch plans with a friend and discovered two items at JCPenney that I just had to get because they were so dang cheap.

One was a cooks Non-stick Electric Griddle for My Friend.  You see, My Friend is a cook in a restaurant so he is used to cooking on a big, flat grill.  When he cooks at my place, using a frying pan is completely foreign to him.  We talked about getting one of these griddles at WalMart when we were out shopping one day, but decided not to spend the money right then.  When I saw the griddle in the Penney's ad for $12.88 (with $10.00 mail-in rebate), I couldn't pass it up.  Even if it's a piece of crap that doesn't work, it's only $12.88 out the window.

I also picked up the cooks 5-in-1 Power Blender w/attachment.  It's a knock off of the Magic Bullet that is all over tv.  I'm not one to buy into infomercial products*, but I've always wanted one of these.  It, too, was only $12.88 (with $10.00 mail-in rebate) and couldn't be passed up.

What can I say?  I'm a sucker.

I didn't spend any time looking around the store, however. I went it, checked the lines to see if they were too long, grabbed what I wanted, hopped in line, and got out of there.  It wasn't bad although there was a little girl who had lost her family (or vice versa) and I felt so bad for her.  She was crying and so sad. It broke my heart.

I have to add that my Friday experience was not nearly as bad as my excursion to Target on Saturday.  Crazy!  I wasn't even there to do holiday shopping. I only went in because I am trying to unpack more boxes (that I've ignored for months) and organize my computer room and I needed some storage bins/organizing thingies.  What a zoo!  I didn't stand in line too long, but the aisle ways were overly crowded and there were crying, tantrum-having children everywhere. Never again.

*Ok, ok. I promise to stop fibbing. I've been wanting one of those GT Express 101 thing-a-majiggers too.

Shopping Black Friday...or not

Black Friday is rapidly approaching and people will be waking up before they would normally, some may not even go to bed, in order to hit the shopping hot spots and claim the best deal on the item they are in search of. Me, on the other hand, I refuse to partake in such an event. I absolutely refuse to:


a) get up that stinking early
b) get up that early just to go shopping (I hate shopping)
c) fight hoards of rude people
d) be tortured by screaming children
e) put a huge amount of effort into tracking down a terrific deal only to find the shelf barren upon arrival
f) stand in horrific lines (and lines for everything)
g) chase my tail in a parking lot
h) get run over by a mob of insane people
i) watch as people hurt other people over THINGS (!!!)
j) participate in ramped spending on things I don’t need.

But really, there are tons of people are there who are braving the crowds. I say, you go for it. Me, I’ll stick with Cyber Monday. I spend less money (fewer “present to me” temptations) and I can maintain my sanity at the same time.

If you are a Black Friday shopper, here are two of the sites I like best for getting the scoop on the ads:
http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/

https://www.thanksgivingblackfridayads.com/


If you prefer Cyber Monday, check this out:
http://www.cybermonday.com/

Happy shopping!