Suburban Wife’s Daily Dollar Diary » Day 122: Oops, I Fell Off The Wagon

Jan 01 2008

Day 122: Oops, I Fell Off The Wagon

Published by Suburban Wife at 10:42 pm under clothing, food, Daily $$'s

Well, I guess when in the company of a shop-a-holic mother, a woman can be expected to resist temptation only so long

It wasn’t a big fall, but a fall nonetheless.

My mom and I picked up The Daughter and then hit the mall. How was I to know that there were tons of New Year sales happening today? I don’t keep up with that kind of info. My mom went nuts at Dillards, and I do have to admit it was an amazing sale. But I was a good girl and kept my credit card in my wallet.

My first expense of the day was at lunchtime when I bought salads and for The Daughter and my mom and a Odwalla juice for myself — $15.92.

Then we stopped at Marshalls. I found another one of those iPod FM transmitter thingies — $39.99. It works so great in my car and it turns out that it will work with The Daughter’s 1st generation iPod mini. I told The Daughter that she absolutely could not have mine but if I found another one I’d buy it for her. I also found a Quicksilver long-sleeve t-shirt that my nephew will love — $9.99. Since I still have his birthday present wrapped but still unsent in my living room I figured I’d add another shirt to sweeten the pot. And, last but not least, The Daughter found an American Eagle sweater she wanted — $14.99.

So far she’s spent all of her clothing budget each month. She’s in for a rude awakening when summer comes and she needs to replenish the better part of her whole wardrobe. Or when school starts again in the fall and she needs clothes and sports equipment or a new pair of cross-trainers. She gets a set amount every month and I do will not advance her a single penny. I think this is a lesson she has to learn first-hand. Hopefully it will be a positive learning experience for her and a lesson well-learned at 16 instead of 26.

I’m hoping to get her to keep the tags on until after her grandmother is gone and have her take a good long look at her existing wardrobe. If it still seems like a “must-have” a week from now, I won’t say another word about it — I’ll just take it out of her clothing allowance and let the chips fall where they may.

All of this shopping was done in my mom’s car so this afternoon I filled up her tank at Safeway — $35.42.

The final purchase of the day was made at Wild Oats — $45.24.