Even if economic uncertainty and financial trouble hasn’t hit your household directly, my guess is you’ve thought about it now and then since the start of the new year. Or is it just me?

I don’t think so. I was talking to one woman today who’s been selling unwanted stuff on Craig’s List, not because she had to, but because it makes her feel better. I relate. I’ve only had one garage sale that’s ever felt worth the time and effort. But I look at the amount of stuff I have that I no longer want and want to take a blowtorch to the snow in my yard.

My personal reaction to all of this doom and gloom is to do as little shopping as possible. Even today, I resisted a sale rack shirt for my son, which in the past I would have justified as a need. But c’mon, the kid is two and I have a washing machine.

What he does need is socks, so I used a $10 gift card to get those for free. How satisfying to walk out of a store with what I need and the same amount of money in my pocket.

Are you changing your shopping or spending habits? If so,  are you making changes because you need to? Or are you wanting to fluff up that cash cushion to relax your mind? Maybe you think all of this worrying is silly.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 27th, 2008 at 4:42 pm and is filed under economy, saving, shopping, spending. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.