The Chronic Consumer

I keep receipts from just about everything I buy, and put them into envelopes that are separated by category (such as food, clothing, entertainment, etc.). This allows me to get a clear idea of how much the family spends on these things.

Anyway, I was looking through my “Health & Beauty” envelope this morning, and decided to tally up how much I’ve spent in the past 12 months in my quest to find the best acne treatment for my skin. Well, the total came to an absolutely staggering $586.24!!! Granted, this included a dermatologist visit and a very expensive prescription for Differin (neither of which were covered by insurance), but still… That’s a lot of money!!

I’m sure some of you out there can’t believe that I would spend that much to try to combat acne, but it got to be pretty bad — to the point where I didn’t even want to leave the house because of it. But now my skin looks 100x better, and though it’ll probably never be perfectly clear, I’m now at a point where I can live with the results. And looking on the bright side, at least now I just have to spend about $10 per year on BP products and I’ll be fine!

I am officially done with my Christmas shopping for this year — and I still have 6 days to spare! That’s pretty good for me. What’s even better is that I think I got some really nice gifts that will be appreciated by the recipients, and I didn’t have to break the bank in order to do so. I can’t stand hearing stories about people who practically bankrupt themselves by using money meant for their mortgage payment or Medicare supplement premium on gifts instead. Surely your family is understanding enough not to pressure you into spending money you don’t have!

Anyway, I will have some credit card bills to pay off next month, but that’s to be expected. At least the bills will be manageable!

Before the Christmas shopping season gets started in earnest on Black Friday next week, I just want to remind you all to spend responsibly. There’s no reason to go into debt at Christmastime. Your kids will still love you even if you can only afford to spend, say, $20 on toys instead of $200. So please don’t go out there and blow your mortgage payment, college fund, or home insurance premium on gifts that the recipient won’t even remember three months from now. It won’t be the end of the world if you don’t buy out Toys R Us for your kids. Trust me, they’ll survive!

I just got word that my mom was laid off today. I guess this shouldn’t be such a big shocker when the economy is as bad as it is. She worked in IT for a major insurer. They laid off more than a third of their IT group today — more than 300 out of 900 people.

As my mom is 60 (will be 61 in a few months), it’s not very likely that she’ll get another job in this field. As a result, she’s going to have to do some major budgeting overhauls to make sure her 401k and pension can stretch even farther than she expected they’d have to.

This layoff comes at a particularly bad time, though. She is in the middle of renovating her bathrooms and basement, and between paying for things like new ceramic tiles and Danze faucets, not to mention all the labor costs, she’s going to be shelling out a lot of money for the project. But it’s more than halfway done at this point, so it would hardly be feasible to back out now.

My mom’s bad fortune will also impact my own finances, as I’ll have to spring for plane tickets to go visit her, instead of having her come visit us as usual. So I better start pinching my pennies too!

That’s not to say that I’m rich now, but I don’t have financial problems like I used to. When I was in my mid-twenties, I was pretty bad off. I hadn’t yet graduated from college, was living in an efficiency apartment at the Westgate complex, and was working the night shift at a metals factory. I remember that I took home about $230 per week after taxes (I was making just $6.50/hr), and would spend almost my entire check over the weekend.

I had no money management skills at all, and just spent whatever I had on whatever I needed. If it was the week that rent happened to be due, I’d pay my share of the rent ($125) and have only $105 left to spend. If there was nothing due, I blew everything on cigarettes, beer, and blackjack.

Everything turned around when I got a better job and forced myself to follow a budget. I spent only what I had to, made sure I saved at least 10 percent every week, and cut up my credit cards until I got out of debt.

I know times are tight right now, so you’re probably tempted to charge more stuff on your cards, but I’m telling you: don’t do it! You’ll regret it in the end, and have a mountain of debt to show for it. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but it requires discipline to get there!

Ok, I’ve been very good about sticking to a strict budget for the past four months, ever since my husband’s overtime got cut. I’ve retooled the cable bill so we have just a few basic channels, I’ve compared insurance quotes until my eyes glazed over in order to lower our premiums, and I’ve been clipping coupons like a madwoman. Moreover, I haven’t bought anything more expensive than a set of DVDs, and now I find that I’m developing a real urge to splurge! I’m talking spending money above and beyond what my tax refund will be — and not feeling guilty about it.

There are so many luxury items that I would absolutely love to get my grubby little hands on. A new Gucci wallet. A pair of Jimmy Choo’s. A Mont Blanc pen. A Caribbean cruise.

Oooh, I have a feeling I’m going to run up a huge credit card bill very soon!

I just got done with my taxes, and it turns out that I owe about $150 this year because I didn’t keep up with my estimated tax payments. This wasn’t a bit surprise, and the number is actually quite manageable — except that my first quarter estimated tax payment for 2009 is due on April 15 as well. So, I actually will end up paying about $400 instead of just the $150.

Because of that, I have to limit myself to window shopping for a while, which obviously stinks. It’s crazy how many things I end up falling in love with when I know that I absolutely cannot buy them. For instance, earlier today I saw some gorgeous area rugs that would look great in my living room, and an awesome pair of light cotton pants from the Gap that would be perfect for summer. But I had to just call upon my willpower and keep right on walking without whipping out my wallet.

I hate that I have to pay the IRS instead of being able to treat myself to a couple of nice things. Oh, well, at least taxes only come around once a year!

If there’s one thing I have great difficulty with, it’s living within my means. I admit that I like to show off a bit and flaunt some name brands every now and again. Sure, I might have jeans from Wal-Mart for daily use around the house, but when I get dressed up, I throw on a Dolce & Gabbana shirt, Cartier watch, and Prada loafers. I sometimes cringe at how much I’ve spent on this stuff and wonder why I even need it. After all, it’s not as though I have one of those Manhattan jobs that attract all the true fashionistas.

Anyway, this year I’m trying to make an effort to curb my spending on name brands. Why pay extra just for a label with someone else’s name on it, right? Actually, this task should be pretty easy because A) I don’t have any extra money for those types of products now; and B) I want to go to grad school, so I have to think about tuition and books instead of shoes and handbags. And that means I have to rework my family budget. What fun… not!