I’ve tried to mend my ways over the last couple of years and halt my seemingly endless desire for stuff. I think the brakes have been rather successful and while I’m still no ultra-thrifty, re-user, re-purposer, I’ve made big progress. I was the kind of person who would walk into Target flat broke and in need of toothpaste and an hour later my cart would be brimming with anything and everything. In my present life I’ve either eliminated or replaced most of my Target purchases and when I do happen in, I stick to my list and that’s it. All of this is to say that I love to consume, but I’ve been trying not to and doing a pretty good job.

Enter my mom…

She had this idea that it would be fun to take each of her four daughters out for a day of shopping. We could buy whatever we wanted and she would pick up the tab. There was a budget, but it was kept in disguise and we were only to be aware of the limit if we exceeded it. At the end of each daughter’s shopping day, the daughter returned to my parent’s house and put on a little show-and-tell for my dad. He then became the great equalizer and surprised each of us with a check totaling the unspent money in our unknown budget. I had my day in the spotlight a few days ago (I was the last to go) and it was a ton of fun. I started out hesitant and unsure and ended the day drunk on the power of purchasing. Thanks mom and dad for giving us “kids” the opportunity for such an adventure. While I love everything I bought and don’t regret a single purchase, I don’t think I’ll be returning to my old ways anytime soon. This was a one time occurrence…but it sure was fun!