Long Time Coming

Hello! I haven't written in a while and I apologize!  I have some very exciting news, I have yet to buy anything "new!"  About two weeks ago my girlfriend and I went to the mall, I need to buy make-up, which is on my list of approved purchases.  Anyways, the first thing we did was go straight to the store where I could buy the primer I use.  After that we walked through the entire mall, stopping at a few stores but specifically looking for a store that sold CD's so Lauren could buy one that she wanted.  We couldn't find it so we drove back home and hit the mall right down the street from us and walked through the entire mall.  We still didn't find the CD, so we went over to Best Buy across the street and they didn't have it either.  But I have to say that walking through both malls and Best Buy is extremely tempting.  I had this urge to just spend money, even though there wasn't anything I needed, or really even wanted.  The atmosphere of the mall was all it took to make me want to find something to buy!  It's good to know that I can go in and get what I need and get out. 

My sister came to Rochester for the weekend to go skiing.  I paid for our lift tickets which is money spent however, I decided that money spent on something like this is ok.  I never get to see my little sister because she lives 4 hours away and we had an awesome weekend together!  I don't think there is anything wrong with spending money (that you have) on a day skiing or a day at the museum.  Those are activities and skiing especially is a workout so its a good thing!  I may even get a seasons pass for next year, I'm still thinking about it though.

On the way to meet my parents in Rome, NY to drop my sister off, my tire blew out on the thruway while I was going about 68 mph.  My truck went into the median and the front driver side was damaged and thankfully my sister and I were both just fine.  I will end up having to spend a $500 deductible to have it fixed.  I was always told to make sure you save money in case of something like this and I am very glad that I listened to that advice.  Even if its $1000 or a couple thousand dollars, the more you have saved the less of an impact something unexpected will have on your finances.  It's very unfortunate that this happened, but fortunately I am able to absorb the cost and move on.  If I was living paycheck to paycheck like I was in college this would have been a major setback.  Well, this leads me into my other topic, my 401K. 

Yes, I have a 401K and I've had one for about 3 years now.  I hear a lot of people saying, "I'll starting contributing money to that when I'm old."  I hope they do, but most of them probably won't.  At first I was worried about contributing 12% to mine, however I don't even notice anymore.  I mean if you don't see the money, how can you miss it? The same goes for my car loan, every week I have a little taken out (about $41) and its put into a checking account with the bank I have my auto loan through.  Every month they automatically deduct my payment through my checking account.  By doing this I save 0.25% on my loan and I don't have to worry about paying on time.  And like I mentioned before, I don't even see that money in my regular checking account so I never miss it.  It really does work great and I'm thinking of doing something like this for my student loans.  I just haven't figured it out yet.

I only have 5 days left of my 1 month of nothing new!  I haven't decided yet how I will be continuing this.  I know that I will not go out and start buying little things like I did before.  However, there is something that I do want to buy.  There is a series of trail races that began at the end of April.  One Wednesday a month for 5 months there is a 4 to 6 mile trail race in one of the parks around Rochester.  I have a pair of running sneakers that I wear to the gym and have been wearing on the road, but last Thursday while I was doing hills it was raining and they got really muddy.  I want to buy a pair of trail running sneakers.  The sole treas are designed to move mud/water out from the center of your foot, much like a tire tread does in the snow and rain.  The sole of these sneakers are meant for running off road and they would provide the proper support for running on rought terrain (unbalanced surfaces).  Other than these trail sneakers, there isn't anything else I am interested in buying. 

I've realized that it doesn't take long to break an old habit.  I constantly bought little things that I didn't really need to spend money on.  On the same note I also bought clothes that I didn't always need but wanted because it was something new.  I didn't think about my purchases and it led me into a habit of reckless spending.  After a few short weeks of not buying anything new, I have this sense of awareness, everything I pick up, including food items, I think, "Do I really need this?"  Even though I said all food was ok to buy, I have cut out some snacks that are not of any nutritional value what so ever and therefore, I do not need to be eating that.  I am going to shop around for my trail sneaks and see if I can get a good deal on a pair.  I would even argue that the purchase is necessary.  Running sneakers should be replaced every 6 months or 400 to 500 miles, so I've heard and read.  Running in shoes that do not offer the correct support can lead to serious injuries over time and I've had hip, ankles and achilles tendon problems, which makes it even more important that I have good shoes to run in.  Maybe I'm just trying to rationalize my purchase but, it make sense to me!

I want to try something else next month ... any ideas?  Maybe I'll just stick to "Wanting what I need!"