Want, Not Need
I’ve been lamenting the fact that I don’t have a proper winter coat. My first attempt to solve this was a trip to the thrift store without success. Saturday, I won a $50 department store gift card at the partner’s holiday party. The partner, noting my lack of winning enthusiasm, reminded me of the winter coat I’ve been wanting and I perked up.
Sunday morning we headed over to the mall so he could complete some holiday shopping (which came home in an oh-so-obvious pink bag) and I could find a coat. I wasn’t impressed with the coats and was overwhelmed by the prices. The only coat I thought I could tolerate had a price tag of $500. $500 for a coat! The other coats of possibility were closer to the $200 range. $50 off $200 is not a good deal to me.
I browsed some other stores, found similar price tags on the wool coats I liked and decided that the new coat was more of a want than a need. Upon leaving the mall coat-less, my partner began his insistence that if I needed a coat I should get a coat regardless of my price concerns. He said he would be happy to give me a coat for Christmas and we should go pick one out.
However, I held firm that a purchase of that scale just didn’t fit in our financial goals at the moment and he eventually gave up. I said I’d try the thrift store again because even a tolerable coat for $20 is a better choice than an acceptable coat for $2000-500. Of course, I didn’t tell them that I’d also decide that the wool coat I’ve owned for 10 years is going to have to be good enough for another year, despite all its shortcoming.