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For me, latter August-September means I have both parent’s birthdays to save for, a neice and a nephew as well, the local State Fair, and the Renaissance Festival to eat my money. It’s just a busy sort of time and I’m feeling pinched! I’m also very broke in January after spending like crazy on gifts for folks. May is tight too, since that’s when I plant my garden, and since I live in an apartment, it’s all new annuals and new dirt every single year. So there’s a definite ‘cycle’ of tighter periods throughout the year.
Oh. I dont really buy anything else. A new outfit now and then, and clothes for Justin. As for non-necessities, I only buy Windstones or go to movies/dinner.
I also think it has alot to do with how much has been listed lately. Since the Gold Emps, I have really been struggling to keep up. I have not mamaged to get alot of special peices in quite some time. 😕 Some days there are as many as 14 things listed at once.
Vacation takes it out of me, too. I just went on one and cant afford a POAD! It takes me a little while to recover, but I will be back to buying in a month or so. I hope.
Barrdwing wrote:It often depends on whether the item I want is something that will be available later, and whether I’ve just bought something recently (the “You’ve indulged yourself enough, dear” kind of thing). There’s also the “is it a reasonable price to me” question. I get into trouble when I’m pursuing retired Windstones because it’s hard to predict what will come up again and what it will cost.
Pretty much me too. 🙂 Or sometimes after a really hard test I’ve done well on or something like that, sort of patting myself on the back. Or when I’m depressed. Shopping makes me happy 😆
Ususally when I see a good deal then I try to get it even if I have to go with out on something else (this goes for everything).
I wait and wait and wait, until I say, that’s it, I have to have this! Then I ask my minister of finance Can I get this now, or do I wait until next month?
I buy books and Windstones, basically. I wait less time between buying books, ’cause they tend to be less expensive.
So no, I don’t have a pattern. It’s kind of a mood thing.
But when I get freelance stuff, I splurge!
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http://www.sarahjestin.com/feedbacklists.htmI have a “whatever maks me happy” jar. When I clean out my wallet, all my change goes in there and when I get paid for something, I drop a little piece of paper in that says how much I was allowed for ‘happy stuff’ from that paycheck. Periodically I add up everything and then can get something. I’m back to saving up again since I bought the Lab Griffin Family 😛
I’ve heard others in the arts have trouble trying to track spending patterns (I work in the arts and can’t figure it out either).
For me spending money on fun stuff is related to my son’s school tuition. I had to start paying it again at the end of last month, hence a lot less money to spend on fun things. I have to pick and choose what I buy right now very carefully. 🙂
Other than bills, saving a little away, and college loans (which suck up a lot of my income – should have gone to college overseas :x) I generally spend my free money on windstones. I throw in a cd/dvd/anime stuff in here and there, or just stuff that strikes my fancy. Occassionally I get another swarovski, fenton, or breyer piece, but they go in random shots. Summer I tend to have the Ren Faires, but this year, I’m only going to one (Labor Day Sunday), and won’t have a lot of money to spend this year (paid off my sword last year), but I have a vacation at the end of Sept. and I really need to make sure I have enough on hand for it, since I will be road tripping alone in Canada. I generally have more money around the end of January (income tax – save some, spend the rest on practical stuff and on something fun).
My actually money trends seem go around when I plan to take big trips/major events (ie. conventions/ren faires) or, the end of last year and early this year, being unemployed. I was laid off for 5 1/2 months (including the entire holiday season), so I had to recover after depleting my savings (still working that back up). Unless I have to (like hotel reservations), I don’t use my credit cards, so I can pay them off (should be done in early 2008 without short changing myself). All my ebay and windstones are done out of pocket. If I use my credit card, I try to put the same amount on it when I get paid. Knocking out the college loans one at a time. US higher education is seriously overpriced.
I definitely have spending sprees but nothing routine. I do drywall and get my weekly check and not alot of money can go for extras but when I can find cash side jobs I go crazy. Oh yeah and at tax time and Christmas bonus time. Over the last year most of my extra spending money has gone for Windstone dragons. 😀
Windstones are the only thing I splerge on. Normally every penny goes to bills, and cat food. Then my groceries. The problem is I forget (conveniently) how much I’ve spent on my visa and hbc card until I get the bill. Now that I’ve buried myself in debt, I can’t afford really anything.
I can justify $50 to $100 for a curlie or poad, but, anything above that is too much. (And soon even $50 will be too high.) My goal is to pay off my cards by the end of the year. At this rate I won’t do it. But, my vacation depends on me paying off my debt! I need a vacation, so I really need to pay the cards off.
Oh, I also tend to just give things away. I like giving gifts. (And yes this includes Windstones. Just my family dosen’t like them so I have to give them to other people.) I love giving gifts, and most of my family is upset with me right now because I have overspent on their gifts and they know I can’t afford it. (Except for one sister who looked at her gifts and said “Is that it?” Wow ingratful brat!)
But, honestly the sales aren’t there right now. Even for where I work. And we are close to two major universities. We’re busy, just not selling much. And it seems to be the story everywhere.
Nambroth wrote:Do you try and buy something you like as soon as you see it? Do you plan and save for something, and purchase only that one special item?
I almost always plan my purchases and rarely buy on impulse. If the cost of the item is significant and its available from multiple sources, I’ll usually shop around and try to find the best deal. But if its a one of a kind thing that I really like, then I’ll just grab it if the cost isn’t excessive. However, I would never buy a luxury item if I had to borrow money to it (i.e., keep a balance on a credit card).
Nambroth wrote:Do you always splurge your tax refund on fun things?
I always plan my tax deductions so that I owe them money rather than the other way around. 🙂 But if I did get some unplanned income like a tax refund, I would definitely save it.
Nambroth wrote:Do you buy yourself goodies at certain times of the year?
No, not really…I buy if there’s something that I like, regardless of the time of year. But I don’t spend money on nonessentials very much, and I try to save money as much as possible. Occasionally I go out for dinner, see movies, or buy plants or books…and very occasionally I’ll take a trip or buy some non-Windstone artwork. Windstones are the only artwork that I buy regularly. 🙂
pegasi1978 wrote:Nambroth wrote:but right now seems to be a slow spell. Not many people seem to have extra money right now.
I think part of this is because there have been so many special pieces for so long now that no one has had any time to recover their finances. One of the things that LIH tracked in her eBay database was the sale of the special Windstone pieces. Since she started it in October (and then passed it on to me and several others in June) there have been at least 418 pieces auctioned. That’s an average of 40 a month for the last 10 months with no real break to recover finances.
In addition to my son’s school tuition, I think Peg has hit the nail on the head for me. I need some recovery time, especially with Christmas looming in the not too distant future. 🙂
Well I don’t have any sort of set spending but I can tell you I have to be more careful. I usually find something and keep going back to the store and checking out the price until it’s at a price I’m willign to pay. If it sells befroe I get to it it was not ment to be. I was doing GREAT on Windstones until I joined here and joined e-bay. If I never know about the 23KT gold leaf ones I would not know what I had missed. I usually ALWAYS find a way to afford what I really want wheather I “should’ buy it or not. I can no longer do this. I guess since my mom had ALWAYS been there for help I unconsiously KNEW the little bit of money I needed here and there was there, but no longer. I have a few plans for the end of the year like I’m leaving for Alaska on the 30th but that was planned and I will also be in LA and Veges at the end of November if I can still aford LA at that time. I have already paid for my resort in Vegas.At at&t we get discounts on some things and I have NEVER stayed at a resort so I’m treating myself fo rthose dyas. I have put the brakes on alot lately.
I really hope we have a NASTY winter here on the West coast so I can get some money and pay off a few of these bills and get everyting back in order. If it’s nasty enough I may be able to get my Gold and EmPea families but only if I can afford to pay or them in cash and not hurt any other money plansMy husband is in car sales and they have weird months too. Sometimes he is crazy busy and sometimes he is not. There really isn’t a way to predict if he will have a good month or not…summer is usually better, but not always.
From the buying side of things…I am more likely to purchase limited special edition items if I am not sure how long they will be around. I am also more likely to pick up retired pieces that I really want.
Month to month for me is a lot of impulse buying…I buy what I feel I really want. That is probably because I don’t have a set limit. I have a spouse who spends a lot of money restoring cars. So that limits his right to monitor my spending.
I do not think you can ever figure out a trend…because everyone is so different and different factors play into luxury item purchases.
I do tend to buy new cars in the summer time…almost every new vehicle or collectible vehicle we have was purchased during a summer month.
Just my 2 cents
pegasi1978 wrote:Nambroth wrote:but right now seems to be a slow spell. Not many people seem to have extra money right now.
I think part of this is because there have been so many special pieces for so long now that no one has had any time to recover their finances. One of the things that LIH tracked in her eBay database was the sale of the special Windstone pieces. Since she started it in October (and then passed it on to me and several others in June) there have been at least 418 pieces auctioned. That’s an average of 40 a month for the last 10 months with no real break to recover finances.
This is pretty much the reason for me too. Well, that and not having a job for the past few months, though overall that’s been a good thing. I’m an impulse buyer anyway, so I’ve gotten in a bit of a jam. All these LP and LE items are killing me! I’m still feeling the damage from my BVF OW, and that was tax money! And I’m not doing half the buying some others seem to be doing. Luckily, having to sell our house and both of our vehicles for our move to Okinawa in 3 months will clear up our debt :roll:. So here’s hoping
the Limited stuff that comes out in the next 2 months or so isn’t stuff I really want (unlikely). I’m saving money from a house cleaning gig to buy my own Xmas present, so I’m just hoping people don’t make a rush on the store and buy all of the item I want before I can get to it. I really should just take a break from the forum, and all you enablers :wink:, but then I’d get too stressed out having to focus on the move and the fact that I can’t get anything done because we won’t have final orders in hand until the last dang minute. The people who make the rules in the military apparently don’t know what it’s like to not know what your doing, to be disregarded as “just” the spouse (even though I’m the one doing everything but the paperwork), be surrounded by incompetence, and want to rip my hair out because I can’t even get answers to questions let alone accomplish the required tasks because we don’t have a piece of paper that they won’t give us until, oh, 3 weeks from his report by date. /OT rant
Sorry….
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