Shopping Fast – Week Three

Everywhere I turn, there is a great end-of-summer clearance sale! Ugh! This is SO hard because I love getting good deals at end of season sales. Ten more days to go! I think I can make it!

I ran to Kohl’s on my lunch break one day this week to get a gift for my cousin’s baby. Of course, all of the baby stuff is at the back of the store which means I had to trudge past both the women’s summer clearance racks and the new fall clothes. Fortunately, the baby stuff is on the opposite side of the store from the shoe department. I don’t know if I could have gritted my teeth and pressed on past the shoes! Kohl’s has a great shoe department – cute styles and low prices, a little slice of heaven on earth! But I passed the test, and only bought the gift I came for.

What am I doing with the money I’m saving because of my shopping fast? Well, yes, I am saving some of it. I’m also making an extra charity donation this month because I know that I am richly blessed and there are many people in need. I’m also going to pay down some extra on the mortgage. Nick and I hell-bent on becoming debt free and the mortgage has got to go! So far we have paid off 1/3 of the balance in the seven years we’ve been here. That’s pretty good but we’d like to kick it up a notch and knock out the rest in seven years or less. Maybe if I do more of these shopping fasts, we can accomplish that!

I have also spent some time cleaning out my closets. I’ve got some things to take to Goodwill and some to give away to friends. If I haven’t worn something in the past year (including shoes!) it goes in the give-away pile. Before you think about how generous I am, just know that I’m partly doing this to make some room for the new stuff once my shopping fast is over. (Hey, I’m only human!)