Eyes versus Wallet
Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the things you want. Sometimes, your brain plays tricks and makes you think that getting what you want is a good idea even when it isn’t — especially when it comes down to money. We’ve made and need to make several purchases for our house and garden this month. Thinking about our current purchasing needs, the partner started wondering if he could get a good deal on a few items purchased in bulk – specifically some EMT. We need some for the vertical garden support, but suddenly he was asking me about how many poles we’d need if we finally got a shade structure we’d been considering for a couple years.
The shade structure idea wasn’t an out-of-the-blue thought. We’ve been discussing getting a good structure for several years and somehow manage to talk ourselves out of it each time. We have a big party coming up in a couple weeks where we could certainly use a nice sized structure – but is that reason enough to get one? He almost had me convinced and those lovely little “Buy It Now” buttons on ebay can be awfully tempting sometimes. But, before clicking that button, my mind started to wonder about some of the details.
I’m a bargain hunter – I hate to pay extra for anything I think I can get for less somewhere else. Considering shipping costs, I’ve began wondering if we couldn’t get some of the structure elements cheaper, closer to home. This threw a kink in the whirlwind of activity – not so much because I was questioning the savings, but because I was taking longer look at the situation. What started out as a conversation about getting a bulk discount on EMT had turned into definite plans to buy the kit and the EMT without even knowing if a discount was possible. Having the shade structure for the party would be great, but having the cash to pay for everything would be even better and thats where the problem comes in.
I can justify needed expenses that are necessary. We have to get vertical supports up for the crops (now!) and I don’t mind forking over cash to make that happen. However, we don’t *need* a new shade structure for the party – no matter how nice it’d be to have. Also, we’re currently looking at options for buying another vehicle – one with 4-doors and a/c – and now is not the time for buying frivolous items. Once I started adding up the shelter details, all I could see was that adding up to the 6-month or 12-month increase in auto insurance we’ll be paying for a 4th vehicle.
It’s easy to get pulled along by ideas, but sometimes you still need to hit the breaks and really look at the situation. We may end up with a shade shelter, but it’ll get a lot more consideration than the 2 hours of talk we gave it last night. Also, before we make that decision, we’ll need to finally decide if we’re going to get another older car for the cash we can spare, or it we’re going to add a car payment to our already tight budget. I’m already leaning toward the first option, but am not sure the partner is on board with that idea just yet so we gotta talk it out a bit more first.