Here’s How You Get a Money-Grubbing Addiction

Somewhere in the midst of apartment-hunting and gift-giving and holiday-merrymaking, I found time to take up an interest in home decorating. Okay, I take that back: more like I found time to develop an obsession with home decorating–an obsession that could be a big problem for my budget.

See, here’s the thing with me and obsessions: I seldom have a knack for whatever the latest craze is–knitting or scrapbooking or home decorating (and yes, I’ve done all three). I dabble, I try, I make one grand, noble stab. Then I see my lack of skill and withdraw.

For months now, I’ve been browsing articles at HGTV, skimming staging photos, reading interior design articles. The result is an inclination towards the aesthetically beautiful, indoors. And I can tell you what I like: rooms like this and this, for example. I can’t, however, tell you how the heck I can make mine look like that.

Lately I’ve gotten into the site “Rate My Space”–do you know it? All kinds of amateurs and professionals post their rooms and remodels, letting the Internet public rate them. Intimidating and inspiring, both.

I wish I were one of those talented people who could look at a design and mimic it on a budget. I fear I’m much more likely to go all shabby chic (emphasis on the shabby) or the other extreme: all brand-new and overpriced.

Sigh.

Co-Worker Christmas Gifts

Tell me: what are you getting your co-workers for Christmas? Anything? Something small?

I manage a department with (5) mainly part-time workers, and I’ve been wanting to get them something for Christmas. One girl doesn’t eat really (another topic in itself; how to respond to that?), so a food gift was out, and that makes things harder. I had decided on Starbucks gift cards, boring but practical; someone recommended $10 would be much more professional than $5. So $50 was my department budget for Christmas gifts, and that was set.

Then Friday night I went to a Crate & Barrel outlet and found these super cool coffee cups in red and green colors. $1.95 each. I bought five–three green and two red. $10.41 total.

Now I’m planning to give each employee a mug with a $5 card, meaning I’ll spend a total of $35 for the department. Not bad at all.

I’m still trying to figure out how to handle everyone else. My boss? Other departments that I interact with? Pretty soon I’ll really just need to get something for everyone, so I’m wondering if I should bake cookies and put them in little packages.

Any thoughts?

Craigslist

Is there anyone who doesn’t love Craigslist? It’s an invaluable resource for me, where I’ve found:

1) My job
2) My employees and freelancers
3) Potential apartments (still in progress)
4) A renter for someone else

Just recently I’ve been touring the free stuff section. Fun! If you’re ever moving, do check it out; I see boxes posted on a weekly basis.

Do you Craigslist? Why?

Christmas Gifts under $5

I thought this recent post at Wise Bread was one of the most practical ones I’ve read about Christmas gifts. It lists 25 different ideas for quality, useful items–each one at under $5. So inspiring!

And really: wouldn’t you rather get a brand-new Pyrex measuring cup than another bottle of Bath & Body Works lotion or another sweater you’ll never wear?

Just another example of how thoughtfulness more than compensates for cost.

A Cure for the Shopaholic within

If you walked into my bedroom, you would see a neatly made bed with a white and red down comforter, complete with matching throw pillows; a glass-paned case with color-coded bookshelves; a dresser with just a lamp and candles on top; a nightstand with another lamp, lotion and an alarm clock; a stand-up mirror; a teeny-tiny desk with my laptop; and a chair.

The point is: you would see no clutter. I have a total paranoia of the cutesy, knick-knacky way that people live. I like things to have a place and stay there.

But. I also have an attic storage space off my closet that is filled with boxes and plastic containers. You wouldn’t believe the things I’ve saved: An entire rectangular box stuffed with years and years of journals. Bridesmaid dresses. Candles. Old clothes. Old bags, purses, slings. A leopard-print pillow, a pillow an old roommate made me that doesn’t match my room’s decor. There are school books and class notes, syllabi, even a poster someone made about Ezra Pound. I want to go through this stuff and get rid of a lot of it. I’m sort of brainstorming about it right now, determining if I want to purchase containers, if I want to just get rid of most of it, if I want to continue hoarding old letters that go back at least 10 years.

I’m pretty sure this is going to be a New Year’s resolution, as strange as it says to predict that for oneself in November. I just know I won’t have the time to get to it before then. I might plan to take out one thing every day–that’s a start.

One very positive side affect of looking at this task ahead of time is how it makes me not want to shop now. I don’t want to go out and buy more stuff to have end up in the storage space, you know? When did I become a person with tons of junk?

Sigh.

Christmas Shopping

For as long as I can remember, I’ve gone shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. Traditionally, we’d go downtown and it was more about the experience than the spending: seeing the holiday lights, checking out the Marshall Field’s (now Macy’s) windows, eating out, feeling festive.

Then three years ago, a friend got married that day at 10 AM. This inspired my brother and me to hit the mall at 7 AM, shop and come home before attending. I still remember going to H & M and buying three or four sweaters (that I still wear) in a luxuriously uncrowded mall. We got Panera, enjoyed the whole spirit of the day and still finished before the wedding.

This year, I’m working. I’ve contemplated my options: taking the day off, shopping before work, shopping after work, neglecting the day altogether. And I’ve decided to opt for the last. I will be leaving a little early to pick up flowers for a co-worker’s birthday (the company reimburses me, believe it or not), but that’ll do.

As far as my holiday spending, I’ve managed to knock out one or two items, have been completely inspired for others and am still toying around with ideas for more. If you have any tricks for saving money on Christmas gifts, I’d love to hear them.

Happy Black Friday!

the rest of the weekend

After I posted yesterday, I did end up getting a ton done. In fact, this was probably the best Saturday I’ve had in months!

My brother and I went to Lincoln Park to try another pizza place: Chicago Pizza & Oven Grinder. This was our first non-Neapolitan experience, and it was crazy-good. Drinks, Mediterranean bread and pizza pot pie (as good as it sounds!): I paid $10.

Then we went to Swirlz, and he treated me to a Grasshopper cupcake. The woman who checked us out (the owner?) said we really should try the cranberry-chocolate, and we were unsure. “Oh, just give them one,” she told the guy bagging them. So I got two free (delicious! designer!) cupcakes on top of an amazing pizza meal: My total cost? free.

Fall is just ending in LP, and the tree-lined streets are lovely shades of deep orange and bright yellow. Maple leaves dot the sidewalks, and a chill was in the air. We walked over to Urban Outfitters just as it was getting dark, and I bought a great necklace I love: $19.62 (including Chicago tax).

Leaving the neighborhood, we headed to a big mall where we knocked out some beginning Christmas shopping: Crabtree and Evelyn for Mom ($19.26), a purse ($18) and a scarf ($18) for our great friend J and some snacky sweets for Dad’s birthday ($4) next week.

My kind of Saturday.

Weekend Plans

My college roommate is visiting for the weekend. Tonight we’re vegging out, watching television (i.e., The Office) and eating monkey bread. Tomorrow I’m taking a half day, and we’re headed downtown to see the musical Wicked. Have you seen it? I’m very excited. We’re also hitting up a delicious Italian restaurant ahead of time.

Saturday is apartment-hunting day: we’re touring three places, which I have no idea if we’ll really go with. Mostly likely, Friend is staying in her hometown, where she was just offered a job. I think it’ll be fun, though. We’re also going to visit a super-cool thrift store.

Total expected costs:

Wicked ticket: $48. Dinner: appx. $15. Various shopping/etc.: $50.

Let’s see how closely I stick to this.

Quality

(or, Why I’ll Pay $80 for a Pair of Boots)

My brother had this friend in college, B.

B was gorgeous, always perfectly dressed, with brand-name clothes and designer everything. She was the kind of person who turned heads and held attention. She told my brother something one time, and he told me. She said, I only buy things I love.

While she (or her money source) could probably afford to buy many more things to love than I can, I have to say I agree, in theory at least. The difference between her philosophy and a clearance-only, bargain-basement, Goodwill-fanatic’s is this: one sees shopping as investing, and one sees it as spending.

Another bonus: when you invest in a brand-name item and keep it in good condition, you can resell it on eBay or some other online site. Can’t say that for Wal-mart or other discount stores.

Off the top of my head, here are 7 quality items I purchased more than a year ago and still use faithfully:

1) Knee-length black skirt, $40. Gap. Summer 2001.

2) Limited black dress, $60. Summer 2001.

3) Leather Coach purse, $160 (gift). Received August 2003.

4) Coach wristlet, $50 (also gift). Received August 2003.

5) Ann Taylor cashmere sweater, $80. September 2004.

6) Limited dress pants—3 pairs, $40-60/each. Fall 2004.

7) Khaki trench coat, $75. Gap. Spring 2005.

Interestingly, the unaccounted for time period—Fall 2001 through Summer 2002—was when I went through my “Goodwill phase.” I can’t remember anything that lasted from that period.

You deserve a personal shopper.

That’s what the headline said, in my e-mail from J. Crew this morning. Deserve—like have earned, are set to receive, have every right to. It made me laugh and then it made me furrow my brow and then I saved it to read later.

Here’s the interior pitch: “we’ll meet you at any J.Crew or crewcuts store. sign up for an appointment today at jcrew.com. (it’s complimentary.)”

I find myself analyzing marketing materials like this lately, asking why the highly paid ad execs would choose such-and-such feature. Why, for example, is the text strictly lowercase? Does this make it seem more approachable? Or is it intended, subtly, to highlight the only-capitalized J.C in the title?

And what kind of demographic am I considered to be a part of here? The kind who wants to be spoiled, treated, complemented? The kind that wants to be told, for example, that she deserves a personal shopper?

More than these questions though, I really wonder what a personal shopper at J.Crew would do for me, other than help convince me I should purchase items I really don’t need. And that’s why I clicked delete after reading.

Has anyone ever used a personal shopper? I’d love to hear about the experience.