Fashion

[KonaKat]

Good morning, shopping friends. It is another hot day, one to be relieved by thunderstorms in the afternoon.

I did some shopping yesterday. I have a Susan Graver top coming home to me. I like this top so well that each year I add a new color/pattern and have even bought new sizes as I lost weight. I wouldn't do this if I had not found the top to be great for my needs in work, travel or out and about. I also order the IT Cosmetics brow power. Time will tell how that will work out.

Sometimes, I feel it is my duty to remind you to watch the shopping habits. For some people, impulse buying can really make a dent in the financial picture and make it less healthy. If you don't have a budget, perhaps it is something you might consider.

Track your expenditures for a month and see what was justified and what wasn't. Do you have a goal that you would love to accomplish but feel the money will never be there for that goal? It may well be possible if you watch how you spend the money, and tracking it for a month can be eye-opening. Do you really need to stop at a drive thru for coffee on the way to work? Little things like that add up. I quit doing that and now take a mug from home.

When I read the financial report for the Q's second quarter, it made reference to its best customers cutting back some. I don't know that cutting back is restricted only to the Q; people are cutting back on purchases in many stores. The economic times require us to focus upon making wise purchases and not making excessive "want" purchases born out of impulse or emotions and not needs.

I got my wake up call a few years ago when I went to my Q order summary and totalled up what I spent in a year. I live in a rural area far from stores, etc. so ordering online is often cheaper than spending gas money and not finding what I want when I make a shopping trip. Yes, the total was high but what surprised me was the number of small ticket items I had ordered for convenience and had forgotten I had ordered. If I see something like that now, I usually comparison shop and even wait until I make a WalMart trip in the city, etc.

The impulse buying has been nipped in the bud for convenience items or gadgets that perhaps can be found elsewhere. I look at the total cost of getting that item. The Q has a wish list that works very well while I do my comparison shopping. I frequently go to the wish list and weed it. When I do that, I often find items I don't remember adding. That in itself shows how unimportant the item was.

Seven signs you might be a shopaholic (you've seen them but reminding doesn't hurt):

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/14/shopaholic-7-signs-addicted-to-shopping_n_1883751.html

Have a great day. If yoiu shop, shop wisely.

[meallen616]

Hi everyone,

[KonaKat]

meallen--Great graphic! I'm off to get a cup of coffee; the book will come later. This is a great day to relax.

[Snicks1]

Good morning all and thanks @KonaKat for the start. Hope you enjoy your SG top. Thanks for the reminder, never hurts. I think I have my shopping under control, but there are times when I am tempted (usually don't pull the trigger on the purchase however), retirement goes a long way in helping to realize we don't 'need' many things that previously we may have considered an actual need, instead of a want.

@meallen616, thanks for that graphic, it's a good one.

Slept really horrible last night. Finally got up and tried to finish my night out in the recliner.

Our weather this morning is stellar, almost feels like a fall day. I hope this stays all week, but I don't think it will happen.

I think we will be installing the horizontal boards on the deck railings today, then will have to do the top pieces (can't think at the moment what they are called), then the big job of staining it still has to happen.

That's pretty much it in my neck of the woods, hope everyone is having a nice day. Waves...

[sydsgma1]

Jean, great post..I now try to buy needs. Do I want it...yes...do I need it, NO..that works most of the time. My kids are very cautious spenders, which is good.,

our gararge sale sale was a bust...we did not have what people are looking for..or sales are not what they used to be..so we made several trips to goodwill . Sydnie enjoyed it and it was nice to sit outside. It was a reminder of how much stuff we have. Yikes.

i am paying for all of the physical work today. My joints are burning. 😜

Jean, in my schools , which were 6-8, I had my desert meant heads make up some generic lesson plans in their subject areas, that worked on the standards., they could not have word finds or any busywork. When there was a situation with out lesson plans, I would pull this out and the sub had work for the day. I know it must have been difficult on Friday...hope tomorrow goes better.

((((((hugs)))) to all.

[KonaKat]

Snicks--Sorry you had problems with sleeping last night. It is so true about retirement; we don't need as much as we did when working. Also, if we bought quality items in clothing, household items, etc., they last a long time so it makes it easier to cut back. I'm looking at them showing the Kitchen Aid Hand mixer. I have had one of these for several years and it is still working well. If it is working, then why get another to replace it? I don't think the urge for a color change would justify the purchase again.

Barbara--Had I been told a couple of days in advance, I could have had something ready for the kids. I do now, so all I have to do is make it to school early enough to beat others to the copier. I'm sorry the yard sale didn't do well. That is often the norm here, so I quit worrying about it and spending time and energy preparing for one. It just goes to donation.

[spix]

Happy Sunday Everyone, weather here is wonderful, don't think it'll stay but for now it's to enjoy.  "They" are predicting a warm Autumn, whatever that means, maybe instead of turning on the heat, it'll be the a/c.

Was out early this AM for my monthly out of County shopping, Sunday papers read, & almost finished with the crosswords, but I'm now feeling a nap coming on.

Enjoyed all the posts today, wishing all a good afternoon/evening.

Essie

[twinny70]

Jean, it is always a good idea to remind people to keep wants & needs under control.  That SG top is well worth the money for you.  Being a good travel item would be a winner for me.  

SNICK's, yes, you are right about not needing as many clothes after we retire.  My life is much more casual now.  Our weather is stellar too, but will be hot again real soon.  It sounds like the deck work is under control.

Sydsgma, sorry to hear about your poor garage sale results.  It is a lot of hard work.  I never mind taking things to a resale store as they are happy to get it.

meallen616, I enjoyed my coffee this morning & I have read a lot this week when it was too hot to go outside.

SPIX, It sounds like your weather is perfect & it was a good day to shop.  I think that our area will be above normal temperature wise through October.

I will post about our outing last night separately.  

[FunkyHulaGirl]

Hi girls, Just checking in - nothing exciting going on. I did take a ride (sans dogs) to BBW to exchange a shower gel & body lotion I didn't like the smell of (I ran in and out because I had a coupon for a free full-sized bottle and fell for the "buy 3 get 3 free sale" but the dogs were in the car so I had to hustle), and since I was in the mall (the smaller one in the area) I browsed a bit.  The JCP store that closed still stands empty after about two years. I asked the cashier in BBW if she knew if they were putting something in the old Penney's, and she had no idea that a Penney's had even been there.  Duh!  I looked around in Burlington, even though I don't need anything, and came across a set of three vanilla-scented flameless candles that come with a remote control that changes the color of the candles to one of about a dozen choices.  At only $12.99 it seemed like a good deal, so I got it for one of the cousin's birthday gifts. I'd have gotten one for the other cousin (both birthdays are in October) but it was the last one. I ended up ordering a mug tree for the other one from Amazon, because in my purging I came across 4 adorable, hand-painted cat mugs that I've never used and probably never will.  Each will also get a couple of other little gifts. 

Sorry about the yard sale, Barbara; I've given up on them after the last one I held about five years ago. I had signs that clearly stated the proceeds were going for care packages for deployed troops, yet all these well-dressed foreigners would drive up in their nice cars and say, "Give you dollah!" regardless of the price of the item - specifically, the larger, more expensive things. (Probably the only English they bothered to learn.)  OTOH, I'd have some poor rednecks drive up in an old beater car, buy something for maybe a quarter, give me a dollar bill and say, "Please keep the change for the troops, ma'am."  I finally had enough!  When two women wanted something for practically free, I was so aggravated by then that I wanted to turn the hose on them!  I yelled at them, and boy, did they run off in their fancy high heels as I reached for the hose!  

Jean, I'm not surprised Q sales are down - their "service" sucks!  I'm still trying to resolve the problem of the missing check for the pillows I ordered; it infuriates me that I should have to spend money to put a stop on a check because of their incompetence!   I'm thinking that given their slowness in shipping, maybe they just haven't gotten to my check yet; the guy I spoke to at customer "service" said they had a lot of those pillows in stock, so if the check turns up they'll ship them.  That was my first order in 4-5 years...as well as my last ever! 

Spix, I sure do hope it's a warm autumn - I hate the cold, especially since I haven't gotten a new heating system yet!  

Bird, are you aware that President Lincoln shared your love of feathered friends and was always doing things for them?  Here's a picture that proves it:

That's a rare photo of him deliverying the Gettys' bird a dress. 

I guess I'll head out to the little pool and read for a while, then I'm making a trip to Walmart - the dogs are out of ice cream, and Walmart has these refrigerated pizza kits that are quite good...except the last time I bought one I found some mold on the crusts, so back it goes.  I had gotten a pizza from Jet's earlier this week as I've always enjoyed them, but they seem to have changed the kind of cheese they use - probably a cheaper, fake cheese.  It didn't reheat well at all, so I guess I'm through with them. 

It's also my day to listen to my Bible prophecy updates, and scrub the litter boxes.  At least I finally found a clumping litter at Tractor Supply (their own brand) that dumps right out - all the others seem to turn into the consistency of cement when wet and scraping off the bottom of the boxes was a PITA.  Classes start two weeks from tomorrow, so I also need to get the cleaning done while I can.

Have a blessed day everyone! 

[twinny70]

Last nights outing was wonderful & we were still full at lunchtime today.  My 2nd cousin from CA was here with his DW, 3 of his 4 sons & their spouses celebrating his 70th class reunion.  He was born & raised in my hometown & left at age 28 to pursue bigger & better adventures.  He has done a lot for our senior center, art center etc.  There were lots of people from all of these organizations, his class mates & all of us cousins.  The food consisted of:  large shrimp with cocktail sauce, cheese curds  BBQ meatballs, salad, rolls. 4 other kinds of large shrimp, turkey, ham, potatoes in the skins, beef in a roll up thing, stuffed mushrooms, cheese & sausage trays, dessert table with large chocolate chip cookies, some kind of chocolate yummy thing & about 10 different kinds of cheesecakes.  Plus champagne, coffee, soda & open bar.  He & his wife are so generous & made us all feel welcome. Dh & I had to stay away from the dessert table.  Great entertainment too.  I slept good last night too.