Money to Burn
There are budgeted purchases (as rare as they may seem), there are emergency purchases, there are necessary purchases (and yes, all those Manolos were necessary!). And then there are those purchases that are joyfully unplanned: the impulse buy. The only thing better than an impulse buy? An impulse buy made with mad money.
I’m not talking about buying yourself something nice with your tax refund or birthday money. The real fun is in spending an unexpected windfall, whether it’s a wad of cash you left in your coat pocket and forgot about or a spot bonus you had no idea was coming (though deep down in your heart felt that you deserved). It goes without saying that this money demands to be spent, and must not be saved under any circumstances. In fact it should rightly be spent on something completely frivolous. That is, don’t go for another pair of black slingbacks that you’ll likely wear to death — go for the metallic pink party shoes!
The major sign of mad money madness is when you consider every paycheck mad money (which is only excusable when you’re 22 and you’ve just gotten your first real paycheck ever) — but that’s another topic for another day. The more insidious problem is that your mad-money purchase more often than not exceeds your mad money. It’s not hard to get caught up in the giddiness of the moment. When you’ve got money burning a hole in your pocket, well, duh, then there’s a hole there. More money is bound to fall out!
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March 29th, 2006 16:09
What size shoes do you wear?! You need to let me raid your closet!
March 30th, 2006 14:57
Shopping is the BEST!!!!!
March 30th, 2006 17:54
What is this “mad money” you speak of?!?! I can’t even imagine what that must be like…
The more I read your blog, the more I realize that you and I live on very different planets and I’m stuck on the one with no money and no fabulous shoes.
Perhaps in another life…
March 31st, 2006 02:47
Sarah-Jean- I wear size 36 (though people say the weird angle of the pix make it seem like my shoes are gigantic!)…
JayKay- Your shoe day will come! here’s another form of mad money: ebay earnings. Say you finally sell all the stuff you bought and never wore. Then you can spend the money you get back on new stuff without feeling bad. It’s like recycling, and everyone wins!
April 3rd, 2006 04:07
As I always say, it’s all about the accessories. You can have a not-so-great outfit, but the it’s the shoes that will make it oh, so great! Oh, and the purse too…gotta have a great purse