Bargain Binging: Saving Money, Not Losing Control

I love bargain hunting. You could even say I've been known to binge on bargains. Before anyone pats me on the back for my fabulous and frugal finds, however, being a bargain binger is not something to be proud of, and here's why: spending small amounts of money on a lot of bargain items is no different than spending large amounts of money on a few expensive items. Either way, I'm still spending.

But I just can't help it. The sight of a dress, formally $100 but flaunting a new, flashy $20 price tag, sends me into a tizzy. I'm a slave to a good sale and often shop by price rather than by preference.

SALES ARE SEXY

If the objection of my affordable affection isn't even that attractive, I still often choose cheap over charming. (I'm sure there's some witty dating analogy I could use here, but being such a die-hard bargain binger, romance and sex don't even enter my brain when I'm thinking about designer discounts. The only thing I find sexy right now is that big, red pen, scrawling reduction after reduction over previously higher prices...meow.) If I see two tops — one top that I love and that I will probably wear often but costs $40 and another top that’s just "meh" and I may get minimal mileage from but costs just $10 — chances are I will probably choose the less pricey piece. It's a stupid rationalization, choosing quantity (I own lots of good, cheap clothes) over quality (I should invest in fewer but more fabulous pieces that cost more).

THE IRONY OF IRONIC TEES

I didn't think my love of low-cost frocks was a problem until I recently switched apartments. While packing, I noticed I own an obscene number of cheap and ironic T-shirts from Urban Outfitters. You see, Urban's always marks things down so I never buy at full price when shopping there. I would rather risk losing out on an item I love than pay the original retail price. I've become an Urban Outfitters stalker, scoping out an items at various shop locations, following the application of those joyful orange sale tags and counting down like the Times Square New Years clock, from $49.99 to $29.99 to $19.99 to $9.99 to sold! Yes, sold to that sucker with the massive number of Urban Outfitters tees that she's worn maybe two to five times each before abandoning them in her bottomless drawers. So, as I was packing up my things, I started to calculate how much I had spent on all these T-shirts, but I gave up when I got to $300. What the fuck do I need with all these cotton shirts? The true irony of ironic T's is that what seemingly made me a money-saving shopper actually made me a money-spending sucker.

RECESSION RESOLUTIONS

After giving away a pile of clothing to friends and Goodwill, I decided that, from now on, I'll only purchase items based on my genuine attraction to the item, not my attraction to the price tag. Of course, I'll continue to feverishly search the 50% off sale racks for a great deal, but I'll only purchase an item if I really need it and will really get use out of it. And, if the 50% off sale rack fails me (it rarely does), then I'll (gulp) check out the more expensive sections of stores, invest in quality items that I really need, and minimize my closet clutter so I only own things worth buying (whether they were $5 or $50).

Or perhaps, instead of distracting myself with meaningless shopping — considering such actions aren't exactly helping me reduce my credit card debt — I could do things like writing that book, volunteering, or picking up a hobby, like painting or baking. Let's just hope I don't buy 20 boxes of coconut cake mix because coconut cake mix is on clearance and, even though I don't like coconut, the vanilla mix is full price...

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