March 1, 2008
I meant to go entirely with Option 2 because the water bill was a whopping $84 this month. Unfortunately, I had to run some errands today, and ended up compromising with mostly #2, with a smidgen of #3.
I’ve been long overdue in replacing my car’s windshield wiper inserts, and with iffy weather headed our way yet again, I simply had to prioritize them today. The terms on my Citi Driver’s Edge Options card states that the rebates are good for “repairs, service, and maintenance” but I wasn’t sure if replacement windshield wiper inserts qualified. Since I wanted to be sure NOT to pay anything out of pocket, they went on the Premier Pass. Luckily, the dealership had them for a good price: $7.71 for both driver and passenger sides! And, the Parts guy was nice enough to offer to replace them for me on the spot. I planned to do it myself, but I’m not turning down free service. I’m wondering if I should get another set to have on hand when these need to be replaced: the price is good now and I know that when I need new wipers again, I’m going to wait way too long to purchase a new set.
Next, I got sucked into the quicksand of Target exchanging a couple items, and found a purple tank top on sale for $7.99 to replace the one I haven’t let go of, but doesn’t fit well and can’t be worn to work. Total: $8.64.
That left 63.65 for a utility bill, which I’ve paid in full. I’ll concede that the tank top wasn’t critical, and I might be convinced to return it since I did just buy a new dress for myself almost two weeks ago.
It’s amazing how quickly $100 runs through my fingers. *tsk* I’d better stay inside the rest of the week, unless I take myself to see a movie with my prepaid movie tickets.
February 22, 2008
Ladies, gentlemen, have you ever been into a store where a salesperson took a look at you, sized you up, and starting excitedly pulling various articles of clothing from racks and the back room for your perusal? And then have him or her create completely unexpected outfits from a variety of shapes and colors to make you look more professional, chic, and I’m-not-really-trying than you’ve ever looked in your life?
Neither had I.
Yesterday, I wandered into a Theory shop just to look at the mannequin outfits more closely and meant to walk right back out. Instead, Bosses both followed me in, chatting about business, and started looking at things too. The salesman must have thought “Score! She’s got two sugar daddies!” and jumped right into chatting us up about sizes. It was the total opposite of a Pretty Woman-esque scene, except more humiliating because that place is v-e-r-y expensive and I had no intention of buying.
Instead of making my escape, I experienced the slightly mortifying transformation from my “twenty something in jeans, nice-ish $25 top, nice-ish on sale for $35 blazer, trying to look pulled together for actual professional job” outfit to a “chic, sophisticated, costs more than I make in two weeks but it’s so sharp!” ensemble. That’s right. We moved right out of the realm of outfits thrown together by a less than discerning eye into ensembles.
I know it’s his job, and all he had to choose from were high-end, high priced pieces to create the ensembles so the odds were stacked in his favor, but it was still disconcerting how quickly he managed to fill a sizable dressing room with pieces that individually cost more than the entire contents of my duffel bag for this trip.
I tried on this lovely beige jumper type dress with a series of buttons down the front and cute little kangaroo pouch pocket. He accessorized it with a pair of flats and a few belts, teaching me the four-square knot because “since Casablanca, no one actually buckles their belts anymore.” I’ve already forgotten how to tie the knot. *sheepish*
Then, there was this knock-’em-over-you’re-so-swank get-up. The trench coat alone cost $495. The tank top underneath that button down shirt cost $90. I can only speculate that the other pieces, the shirt, the pants, and the shoes, in between those two layers were also priced in between their prices because I didn’t dare look. Lightheadedness might have been induced by wearing my net worth in clothes 😉
While I was thoroughly impressed at the salesman’s ability to actually make me look put together, I was equally embarrassed that he was going to all that trouble when I couldn’t afford a single thing I was wearing. Oy! Admittedly, I wouldn’t go broke buying the tank top, or even an entire outfit, but there is no way on this green earth I was going to trash my budget to assuage window shopper’s guilt. I definitely felt bad for wasting his time, but I was still not forking over my rent.
I didn’t take pictures of the other dresses I tried on, but they were gorgeous and $300 each. $300!! Oh, a couple were $265. Little Boss had the audacity to say, “ohhh that’s not bad for a dress! If it were $400, that’d be too much.” As if that man doesn’t sign my paychecks! And Big Boss gave me a lecture on how $365 was a steal for the stunning, single-button, white suit jacket I’d found. A lecture! I wanted to shake them both. There I was, feeling rightfully guilty over a nearly $40 dress, and they were lecturing me on how this or that piece is an investment. Obviously I’d wear that trench coat for 20 years, I’d have to! But I can’t amortize the BILL over 20 years as well. Ok, I’m ranting.
Anyway. I swooned over a few of the pieces I tried, but it’s definitely tempered by the embarrassment of having to walk out because that’s just way too far above my pay grade. I could honestly say that I couldn’t decide what I wanted more because it was overwhelming, but it’s just not reasonable to spend that much in the name of looking professional. Not on this salary and with these troubles at home.
It’s customer service like that that makes it hard to resist the pull of lifestyle inflation and remember how much I love to think to myself “it only cost $not much.00” if someone compliments what I’m wearing. Someday, perhaps, I’ll have collected enough Macy’s gift cards to visit the San Francisco Macy’s and buy an “investment” piece made by Theory, but until then, it’s back to the more pedestrian shops (or no shopping at all!) for simple me.
February 20, 2008
Sad people do spend more money. I’ve been in Las Vegas since Sunday working crazy hours.
Meetings run from 7:30 am to 3 p.m. and continue again from 6 p.m. until 11 or later through cocktail hour and dinner. All this professional socializing, while sick, has been taking a major toll on my energy, and I’ve also been stressed by relationship woes.
So, I bought this gorgeous red thing last night because I’d only packed modest, comfortable clothing, and nothing worthy of going out like we decided to do at the last minute. Shops here are RIDICULOUS expensive, and I couldn’t believe that I thought, “Well. $36 for a dress …. uh …. isn’t … that … bad?”
Ack! Thoroughly defeated my own scheme of making sure that I spend nothing while away on this trip to alleviate the crushing weight of bills waiting for me back home. Doh!
December 12, 2007
That’s IT. This sweater is the last sweater whose festooning with bitty bits of detergent crumbs I will tolerate. Every single time I have a load of laundry containing either black clothing or knits, one item comes out of the washer covered in white speckles. And the rotten thing of it is, multiple items go in, and only one random victim of detergent dandruff comes out.
Should I be using liquid detergents instead? I don’t have so much clothing that I can separate lights and darks, AND by material. If so, I’d better start looking for good deals because detergents are rather pricey.
May 7, 2007
Though I spent a goodly amount on a pair of jeans Saturday, ’til death do us part, I did not buy any of the pieces I was trying on from Banana Republic as alternative options for my Nordstrom business suit (in case I can’t creatively fund it.) I found that they DO carry a size that fits me, and a dress that I love for its pockets:
Jacket: 168, regular
Skirt: 68, regular
Dress: 85, sale
I’d say that all these prices are hands-down NOT deals, but it fulfills the other requirements of fitting perfectly, thus negating the need for tailoring (unlike most of my clothing), and being available at a store where creative financing is possible. A call to the Thank You Redemptions center revealed that I have a crapload of points, hostage points notwithstanding, and though they don’t offer the $100 gift card for Banana Republic anymore, I can request larger denominations for that and other stores through Your Wish Fulfilled. The catch is that the special rewards are more than likely at a premium so I still probably won’t get my 1 for 1 ratio of points to dollars like I want, but I have the option of accepting or declining the quote that the representative offers.
I asked for a quote on the $100 and $200 denominations of Banana Republic and Nordstrom. One, I can compare the quotes for the most favorable exchange rate. Two, I prefer to have options with regards to the stores, I don’t want to be limited to having money for one store and wanting to buy from the other, after all.
As I’ve said, I don’t like paying premium prices for clothing but as my options in the business-dress department are so limited, I have to save in other ways like not spending actual cash. And as with most things, that takes time and patience. Keep your fingers crossed!
