Thursday, July 10, 2008

So You’ve Had A Bad Day


Tip Of The Day: Welcome back to your weekly FREE therapy session, courtesy of me and the folks at Cheap But Not Easy. Which would still just be, well, me.
This week’s topic? What do you buy to make yourself feel better after a rough day? Or week? Or YEAR?

Tip For Tomorrow: The things we buy that are total scams. Okay, that sounds a bit inflammatory – like every teaser for Dateline or 60 Minutes. How about this: things we buy, either with cash or with our collective psyches that are really kind of a rip-off.

Further Elucidation Of My Cheap Deal: The doctor is in, my wee Chickadees, and it’s time once again for Group Therapy Thursday. Today we will be discussing retail therapy – something I think we’ve all dabbled in at least once or twice in our lives.

Now, ideally, none of us would ever need to engage in retail therapy. First, our lives would be so happy all the time, that we wouldn’t need to blow off steam by buying stuff. Second, if we can’t live in Happy Happy Joy Joy Land, then we should all have better coping mechanisms than shopping.

Shopping just to make yourself feel better is expensive, and we all know it’s better to shop only when you need stuff, or when there’s a really amazing sale going on. Not shop to fill the void within. Wow. That actually sounded like something a shrink would say. I’m quite proud.

Seeing as how I’m not really a shrink, and have just run out of deep, shrink-y things to say, let’s quit focusing on the ‘why’ we shop to feel better. Instead, let’s look at the ‘what.’ What do you buy to make yourself feel better? As usual, I will go first.

What I Buy When I’ve Had A Bad Day. And No, Daniel Powter CD’s Aren’t One Of Those Things:

Totino’s Party Pizzas, cheese flavored. I get them at Target for 99 cents, tax-free in MN. They are little rounds of happiness, and make all my problems disappear in a haze of special crust and tasty sauce.

Trash magazines, the cheap ones like Life and Style. I know it’s pathetic, and I know I can get most of that info for free online, but I love reading trash magazines when I feel bad. Maybe learning about the rich and famous’s issues make me feel better about my own. Or maybe I have no taste. Six of one…

Books, by one of my favorite writers. Usually I use the library and get books for free. But when the going gets particularly rough, I can’t wait for the exact book I want to read to be in stock. So I venture out and actually buy it – as long as I can get it for less than $20.

Something shiny, whether it be a purse, shoes or jewelry. Nothing brightens my day like a little sparkler. Even if it’s just a pair of simple hoop earrings, knowing that I have a new shiny object to wear makes everything better.

Lipstick, or lip-gloss in the summer. This practice dates back to college, when Zan (my roommate) and I would hit Target for new lippies when our studies (or drinking, or boys) got to be too much to bear.

And that’s about it. Those are the things I buy when the going gets rough and I need to throw my money around to feel better. Naughty and un-frugal of me, I know. But sometimes a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. And for me, that’s shopping. And eating Party Pizza.

Now it’s your turn to share. What do you buy to brighten a lousy day?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

First, let me say that for some reason your blog does not appear in my Google Reader, even though I am subscribed to it. Therefore, since I am a lazy slack-ass, and I now totally depend on my Reader to tell me when someone has updated their blog, it takes me a few days to realize I haven't gotten Cheap for a while. So, that's why my comments go thin. Not because I don't love you, because I do. I really, really love you. I honestly love you.

Now, for the make myself feel better retail purchase? A. Caribou. Coffee. I am that easy. It's my motivator when I go to therapy (there's one across the street from shrink), or on my way to work at 6:30 in the morning before the market.

But, when I really need a pick-me-up? I iron.

Marketing Mama said...

I bought two things today to lift my spirits:

1. a LARGE latte (although it had skim milk and sugar free vanilla syrup) but the large was the spending splurge instead of small. If my day totally sucked it would have been a large mocha with 2% and whip cream.

2. A totally cute new diaper bag. For me. As an accessory when I have the kids with me. Check my blog to see my story and picture... I went in armed with a 20% off coupon but had even better news that it was on clearance. yippee! :)

I try to avoid retail therapy, but sometimes it totally works.

Anonymous said...

Ok, I own Daniel Poster's CD (Lie to Me and Jimmy Gets High are personal favorites, AND he looks like El Jefe Back in the Day) and it is just swell.

I tend to buy fabric when I want something to make me feel better. Or a Dairy Queen Blizzard, M&M style. Which then turns into a downward spiral of days of ice cream eating which eventually just goes to my butt. So for a pick-me-up, it is really rather a temporary thing.

Anonymous said...

Actually, a certain Chick inspired me with what I do to brighten up a lousy day: I go to my Happy Abba Place: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibtOshtX7T0.

Anonymous said...

Man, I love me some party pizza. Mmmm.