Temptations

Lately, every time I get a new catalog or e-mail I start coveting things. I recently posted about the Tory Burch espadrilles that sucked me in. Ultimately, I didn't keep them (and even made a little money off them!) but initially I thought I needed those shoes.

Do you know what I don't need? 4" espadrilles that go with literally nothing in my closet and might get use in sunny San Diego, but not so much up here in summer-is-seven-minutes-long Seattle.

Then I received an e-mail in my inbox from Coach. I immediately started coveting a Kristen satchel for around $400 after tax. After all, my purse is old and the straps are kind of worn. After searching eBay for the bag, I caught myself seriously considering a $350 option. So cheap, right?! I backed away from the computer and reeled myself in.

I've also written before about canceling catalogs to avoid temptation. I've canceled a lot of catalogs, although clearly Nordstrom needs to be added to that list and maybe I need to start unsubscribing from some e-mail lists. These are clearly where temptation gets into my house and under my skin.

The extra money I made on eBay has been fantastic and unexpected, but it is not my intention to replenish my still large closet with that money. I want to set it away. In fact, I've even put it in a separate high interest savings account, and am working on paying the eBay fees out of my own pocket. I'd like to see if I can fit it all into my budget while keeping that chunk of savings wholly intact.

But apparently I want my cake, and I want to eat it too...

The goal this year is to save and then save some more and not touch it! And just because the bank accounts start looking really pretty, does not mean I have to spend that money haphazardly.