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Hi all. I JUST discovered this thread this morning. May I join in?
My DH lost his job last March. I had already started to cut back on my spending, but that was the death-blow to buying ANYTHING but necessities. After 6 months of being out of work, Dan found a temp contract job. It is not even close to ideal (NO bennies, MILES away from home, less pay, and no time off, etc), but it IS work. He has been there 5 months now & we have no idea if it will ever become something we can count on. So, I have gotten REALLY thrifty. Craft items are at the very BOTTOM of the purchase pile. I have tons from when I went insane with scrapping and stamping shopping. I can now "shop" my studio, and most of the time, I really do not ever NEED anything. I just recently had a birthday and got a couple checks (from in-laws and my parents). I decided that for once in my life, that $$$ is going to truly be mine, and I will actually spend it on a toy. I put it aside and am now debating on what I want to get.
This has all been difficult, but it has really opened my eyes to just how much money I was spending to collect stuff. Yikes!!!
Anyway, that's a bit about me.
I'm looking forward to reading your posts and catching up on this thread!
Cheers,
Stacy
Welcome Aznewmom! glad you joined us, all are welcome;)
I went to a seminar for supposed new products and it was about paper toll sheets. Nothing exciting for me. It meant that I was not as tempted to buy.
I did however end up spending $100 and I believe I got good value for my money. I bought cardstock, versamark, versafine, distress inks (which I need to learn how to use properly), 5 rolls of double sided tape, 2 lots of mini alphabet stamps, A border stamp, some chipboard frames and papers.
I was shocked at how quickly it adds up but I did get a lot of stuff needed from my shopping list.
If you decide to buy some pearl ex I reccomend Micr Pearl color, it is very fine and sprays well, plus it has nor definable color, it is pearlish.
You might try crushing up some shimmery powder eyeshadow and trying thay with a little reinker if you do not want to buy. pearl ex is mica powder after all. I picked up irridecent temepra paint and watercolors at the Dollar tree before, that can be used as well. The cool thing about micro pear color of pearl ex is you can make fake pearls too, just squirt a little drop of hot glue on a sillicone pad, let cool and use a soft brush to dust with peal ex-looks like the ones you buy!
I too have enough supplies to last two lifetimes. I'll give serious thought to your "cold-turkey" idea. I do need to shop in my craft room. It just seems that when I find some discontinued CS I want to use, I have no embellishments or DP to match! What's a girl to do??? :rolleyes:
I've been doing really well with my paper crafting supplies...shopping from my stash and so on. But I do have to confess, yesterday I went shopping with the girls for quilty stuff and I splurged! I bought 2 kits plus extra border fabric, linen for cross stitch, a few patterns, a new pair of scissors, and a few miscallenous things. YIKES! Went way over budget but I've decided I'm not going to feel bad about it. I am, however, going to get in and do some sewing!
Well, we are here at the end of the month (can't shop either today or tomorrow, so I consider it the end), and I have spent to date:
January: $0
February: $41 (but $8 doesn't count, as it was to buy adhesives)
March: $16
Even though I didn't go true cold turkey - I am very proud of myself! Shopped my stash a lot, and spent an average of $16 per month on non-essentials. Plus I had a few friends over on the weekend for a scrapping night, and they shopped my donation pile, so it helped them with their spending too!
Hope everyone else is feeling good about their progress too!
__________________ Elizabeth
---------------------------------------
Hand over the chocolate, and no one will get hurt!
Well, we are here at the end of the month (can't shop either today or tomorrow, so I consider it the end), and I have spent to date:
January: $0
February: $41 (but $8 doesn't count, as it was to buy adhesives)
March: $16
Even though I didn't go true cold turkey - I am very proud of myself! Shopped my stash a lot, and spent an average of $16 per month on non-essentials. Plus I had a few friends over on the weekend for a scrapping night, and they shopped my donation pile, so it helped them with their spending too!
Hope everyone else is feeling good about their progress too!
This is impressive!! I can't go cold turkey because I am still in need of basics, but I did not order anything from SU for 3 months and have only been to Michael's 3 or 4 times since January. I did use coupons and bought ink.
I walked into the store, bought the ink I came for and left. No walking around to see if there were other things to tempt me to buy.
I also ordered a few more copic colors
I threw out numerous unused coupons for Michael's , HL and Joanns .
If we aren't careful we will all become responsible shoppers LOL
Location: A quiet woodsy retirement place in Northern Georgia
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Going Cold Turkey
It's so interesting to read your posts, and I'm sort of tracking it to see how everyone is doing, also.
I, too, have unsubscribed from catalog mailings, haven't opened eBay at all, and have stayed away from craft stores (that's not hard, since most are 40 miles away, and gas prices are prohibitive for me). I haven't purchased anything except adhesives since before Christmas.
BUT....and there's always a "but", a friend invited me to go to a town with a Michael's last week. I made up my mind before leaving home that I would take $20 cash, to spend or not to spend, as I chose.
I felt that rush as soon as I walked in the store, even in the parking lot!!! LOL I put so many things IN my basket, took them back OUT again, over and over, and finally made my final selections (wasn't a lot, as you can imagine). Grand total=$19.90 with tax. Am I good or what???? I felt so proud of myself, and got a couple wood mounted stamps that I really, really, really loved and some ep I never had before. (all on sale, too)
We can do it!!!
I was in Michael's the other day with a coupon for adhesive. They were out of my brand so I stood there with my coupon, looking around, and realized there was nothing I wanted, not one thing. When I got home I had an email from one of my favorite stores that they were having a big clearance sale this Friday, stamps for $1 and $2. Well, that suits me perfectly. I really enjoy buying stamps and it's my collection same as anyone might collect stamps or postcards. But now I know where I'm wasting my money, and am making much better choices on everything else.
Good job everyone who hasn't bought a single item since January 1st and has been shopping their stash. I have been better but not great. I am trying really hard to TRADE with some scs sisters here and not buy (but it's not easy).
I really want the Tim Holtz medallion die and I feel like I HAVE to go ahead and buy it incase I can't find one later.
I had a really hard time with those Tim Holtz items. I would hold them in my hand, put them back, grab them again the next time, put them back. Always a 50% off coupon, never actually bought them. Eventually I wound up being really sorry and couldn't find them anymore. When you can get something at one of the big chain stores with a coupon, then I say that's the time you should give in and buy it. A lot of these items will just be gone.
Well, I cannot say that I have not bought anything since Jan 1st, but I am doing sooooo much better!!! I just have to keep telling myself that "NO", I do not need it, and remind myself what I already have. It has helped so much, and I don't feel like I am wasting my money or overwhelming myself with more "stuff". My purchases have been very few, and that makes me happy. With the exception of adhesives and 'must haves', I shouldn't HAVE to buy anything for a long, long time! Thank you for the continued motivation! :p
I have had such a good time reading everyone's responses. I think this thread has made many of us into more responsible shoppers. As the massive pay cuts my husband and I will take as teachers in Wisconsin loom closer I am becoming much more selective about my purchases. I thank all of you for letting me know I am not the only one who is being choosier and not as quick to jump on different band wagons. Good for us, is what I say!
I hear where you're coming from Jen. My husband is/was a correctional officer in WI up until April 7th. After 30 years of service, he decided with all that was happening, it was time to retire to try to safeguard what he's earned. We're so lucky that with working protective services, that retiring at 52 with 30 years of service is an option. So, even though I've already been watching my spending, I will have to cut back more. I can "shop" my stash, and make pretty cards. I don't have to have everything new that comes out. Good luck to you and your hubby. We appreciate our WI teachers!
I had a really hard time with those Tim Holtz items. I would hold them in my hand, put them back, grab them again the next time, put them back. Always a 50% off coupon, never actually bought them. Eventually I wound up being really sorry and couldn't find them anymore. When you can get something at one of the big chain stores with a coupon, then I say that's the time you should give in and buy it. A lot of these items will just be gone.
oh,i guess it's actually called a rosette not a medallion. how do i know this, i guess you already guessed.... yes i bought one because it is something i can use again and again. i know i will get my money out of it. plus i searched all over the net and they were selling for 19.99 everywhere. i found one on ebay and with shipping it is just shy of 19.99. :!:
That is recycling! That is good for every one. I found that this thread has made me a responsible thinker. I find it also helps me to think when i look at something say a nesties set which is around $40 to $50 here in Australia, which of course is way overpriced compared to America. When you look at what you are actually buying i think wow they really overcharge for craft items. If this wasn't a "craft item" no one would pay for it. It would be interesting to know what most craft items really cost to make!
I hear where you're coming from Jen. My husband is/was a correctional officer in WI up until April 7th. After 30 years of service, he decided with all that was happening, it was time to retire to try to safeguard what he's earned. We're so lucky that with working protective services, that retiring at 52 with 30 years of service is an option. So, even though I've already been watching my spending, I will have to cut back more. I can "shop" my stash, and make pretty cards. I don't have to have everything new that comes out. Good luck to you and your hubby. We appreciate our WI teachers!
Thanks, Val! And congratulations to your husband. That's a tough job and I think he has earned his retirement after 30 years!!
Wow....I haven't checked in on this thread in a long time! I'm glad that many have found this conversation of being more conscious / mindful of their spending helpful! Little did I know, when I started this journey myself, where it would lead and why it would be so incredibly important for me and many others as well. You see I too am one of those WI Teachers soon to have her pay drastically cut. My husband does not have a full-time job,so it has become even more crucial that we economize and reduce spending across all areas of our budget. Actually, once our governor finally gets his way, all of my discretionary spending will pretty much be gone anyway.
I have pretty much been in an emotional slump since Feb. and haven't even felt like making any cards. My daughter, bless her heart, sent me a gift card and told me to go out buy some things I really wanted. This was quite the treat as I don't buy any craft items anymore. Wow, I used part of it on some Copics (ordered through Oozak) and rest went on a shopping spree in Archiver's. You know what I found? Given that I no longer spend anything on crafts, this was REALLY a SPECIAL TREAT! I've also seen though, that since I have gotten out of the crazy spending habits of the past, I just don't miss all it all that much. At least, NOT like I thought I would. Plus, I have a TON of stuff I am ashamed to say has yet to be used! And, when I do get around to using it, it will be NEW...at least to me!
I would just like to recover some of my creative mojo. It seems to have left me. Hopefully, more creative days are ahead soon!
Sorry to hear that Bonnie. By the way, in their quest to cut spending, did any of the politicians decrease their salaries? How about eliminating their expense accounts, their "company" cars, their free health insurance? Did any of them even consider that before screwing the voters? I really love it when they tell US WE have to sacrifice. Yeah? Like what food, mortage payments, clothes for the kids? Can you tell how much I love politicians? Not ONE I trust. They're a bunch of self serving, bull throwing liars who pretend to give a sh## about the public.
Ditto to what Lorraine said! I couldn't have said it better.
Well, today I bought a little, but it was the one exception I gave myself, as I was buying from a friend, and I kept it within reason. Bought some stamp ink; something I will really use a lot.
It makes me ill now to talk about politics. So many of those in office working for the people, do not care about the people. I cannot believe how out-of-touch so many of them are. I just don't believe this economy can fully recover, unless the USA starts making things again. We cannot make it as a "service" nation. Greed has been the undoing of our country; the same companies that got us into the Wall Street and bank crisis are already doing the same things again. Companies that got money from the government (even if they paid it back) have given their company executives obscenely large amounts in bonuses. How does figure into making a company sustainable and solvent? It sounds like they've figured out that if things go bad again for their company, at least they've already gotten plenty to live on in the future, and who cares about the regular, working person who actually does the real work! Ugh!!!! I'll get off my soapbox now.
I feel like no one knows what the future really holds, so it doesn't hurt to tighten my belt some. Thanks again for the continued support on this thread!
I would just like to recover some of my creative mojo. It seems to have left me. Hopefully, more creative days are ahead soon!
Take care,
Bonnie
Bonnie, I don't know you aside from this thread but let me give you a big cyber hug! Our governer is trying to union-bust in Maine too but not many of our teachers are unionized so that will not have too much impact here, I'm not sure about state workers tho, he is a real jerk IMHO.
Anyway, it may sound counter intutive and selfish but take some time and make yourself create. Maybe start by cleaning your craft space, stamp a few images and color them. before you know it you will have your mojo back and feel less stressed
Thanks for the welcome, Lyndsay! {{{hugs}}} to you Bonnie!! So sorry to hear.
As a matter of fact, my heart goes out to everyone in WI going through all of this!!
Lorraine!!!! RIGHT ON!!!
__________________ "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." ~Abraham Lincoln Come visit my family blog! Stampin' blog here.
I wish I could hug every teacher in WI. I am so confused by the nastiness in our country right now, much of it directed at whoever is the easiest target. This thread, and the postings on it, have made a difference in my life. By habit I still collect the M, J, and HL coupons every week, but I only use them if I have an actual need, usually adhesive.I feel so much stronger when I do go to a store or online because I actually know how much stash I have and that I don't need more paper or ink (maybe for the rest of my lifeLOL). I haven't completely gone cold turkey, but I have restored my sanity! Kathy
Wisconsin teachers unite! I wonder what impact it will have on our state when we lose our discretionary spending and start living on very tight budgets. I may not spend tons of money but there are tons of us who won't have any extra money to spend. So there, Gov. Walker! OK, off my soap box. :rolleyes:
On a lighter note, I ran to J's the other night to pick up some yarn for a project I am in the middle of and guess what? I looked around and all I bought was my yarn! Another victory for me! Ladies, this thread has been a HUGE help. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Pardon my Australian ignorance in this situation, but why are teachers having to take a pay cut???
Good question! How long do you have? Ha, ha....Long story short, our governor has decided the best way to balance our state budget here in WI is to: 1. have all state and unionized public workers (which includes public school teachers, university professors,corrections workers, snow plow drivers, nurses,county workers, and many many more) to pay at least 12.6% of health insurance and 5.8% of pension benefits. 2. He also has DRASTICALLY reduced funding to public education to the amount of $834 million dollars in his proposed 2 year budget as well as reduced state funding to municipalities, etc. 3. He is also going after all public sector unions and wants to eliminate their collective bargaining except for wages, but as that will be capped at inflation, we'll get no HELP there really. (This part of his plan is hung up in our court system right now, but that could change at anytime, really.)
So...depending on when this all gets settled and based on existing contracts and their expiration dates, many countless thousands of us here in WI will lose varying amounts of wages. In my school district, it also depends on what health insurance we decide to switch to as to how much additional $$$ we'll have to pay each month.
Bottom line, this is a huge mess and many of us are trying to figure out how to live on a lot less per month. It will mean I will have absolutely NO EXTRA $ for much of anything. Yet, 57 of 120 teachers in my district were given partial to full layoff notices, and may NOT have a job at all next year! I was one of the lucky ones that still has a job, so as miserable as this is, it could
be worse!
Wisconsin teachers unite! I wonder what impact it will have on our state when we lose our discretionary spending and start living on very tight budgets. I may not spend tons of money but there are tons of us who won't have any extra money to spend. So there, Gov. Walker! OK, off my soap box. :rolleyes:
On a lighter note, I ran to J's the other night to pick up some yarn for a project I am in the middle of and guess what? I looked around and all I bought was my yarn! Another victory for me! Ladies, this thread has been a HUGE help. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
I hope it ROYALLY backfires on Walker! I know I have stopped spending much of anything for the most part. Now, I buy the bare bones necessities and that is it! Yet, given the ever rising cost of gas and groceries, it is a constant struggle.
Yes, little did I know how prophetic this thread would be! Scary....
Thanks for the welcome, Lyndsay! {{{hugs}}} to you Bonnie!! So sorry to hear.
As a matter of fact, my heart goes out to everyone in WI going through all of this!!
Lorraine!!!! RIGHT ON!!!
Thank you! I did actually get in my craft room this past weekend and made 2 cards and have a few others in progress as well. This is progress.
It's a start...now I need to get outside and WALK and LOSE the weight this stress has caused me to gain! Yet...one ....day...at ...a time, right?
I wish I could hug every teacher in WI. I am so confused by the nastiness in our country right now, much of it directed at whoever is the easiest target. This thread, and the postings on it, have made a difference in my life. By habit I still collect the M, J, and HL coupons every week, but I only use them if I have an actual need, usually adhesive.I feel so much stronger when I do go to a store or online because I actually know how much stash I have and that I don't need more paper or ink (maybe for the rest of my lifeLOL). I haven't completely gone cold turkey, but I have restored my sanity! Kathy
Kathy,
THANK YOU for CARING! The one positive thing to come of all of this.... is that so very very many people are so concerned and I feel genuinely supported and cared about by folks all OVER the world! I have met so many WONDERFUL CARING PEOPLE since this ordeal began for us here in Wisconsin.
Bonnie, I don't know you aside from this thread but let me give you a big cyber hug! Our governer is trying to union-bust in Maine too but not many of our teachers are unionized so that will not have too much impact here, I'm not sure about state workers tho, he is a real jerk IMHO.
Anyway, it may sound counter intutive and selfish but take some time and make yourself create. Maybe start by cleaning your craft space, stamp a few images and color them. before you know it you will have your mojo back and feel less stressed
Hope it helps
I actually did get in my craft room this weekend. I took your advice, did some cleaning, and then... worked on some cards. It was a GOOD time.
Thank you for the advice! Yes, these mean governors need to go...far far AWAY...from all of US!
Sorry to hear that Bonnie. By the way, in their quest to cut spending, did any of the politicians decrease their salaries? How about eliminating their expense accounts, their "company" cars, their free health insurance? Did any of them even consider that before screwing the voters? I really love it when they tell US WE have to sacrifice. Yeah? Like what food, mortage payments, clothes for the kids? Can you tell how much I love politicians? Not ONE I trust. They're a bunch of self serving, bull throwing liars who pretend to give a sh## about the public.
YES, I hear ya! Well, our governor is quite the heartless and misguided one, in my opinion. Some feel differently, and are certainly entitled to their opinion, as well. I know I agree with you and do NOT have a favorable opinion of most politicians.
Thank you for thoughts. Sorry to all for monopolizing this thread a little with several posts in a row, but I wanted to reply to people. I probably should have done it all in one post....YIKES!
The bottom line is..........
You all here at SCS are the BEST! Thanks for continuing to remind me that there are many many reasons to smile. I am blessed.
I understand the whole GFC (crap IMHO but oh well), but why cant ppl realise that if we dont have teachers and govt workers how can the country continue???
I know we werent hit by GFC as bad but Aust didnt need to make rediculous cut backs and we have a public health system that i honestly cant fault! (well besides waiting times)
Hugs to Bonnie and all of you in WI!!! I have a friend who lives there and she's worried about her son's education...
As for the 'cold turkey', I think having a crafting budget like Joan B. mentioned earlier is a smarter way to go. I'm in the process of reading Dave Ramsey's books and starting his plan as soon as I'm through.
__________________ Anna.
"Fearless is not the absence of fear. Fearless is living in spite of those things that scare you." (Taylor Swift)
Bonnie, you explained the situation perfectly! I can tell you are educated...and probably in our public schools! Anyway, I've said it before and I will say it again, you ladies are my support group for this whole spending thing. Thank you so much. I am comforted to know others are cutting back too no matter what the reason. Let's keep it up. We can make beautiful things with what we already have!
Craft Spending
Should I buy the Tim Holtz Medallion Die??
