The Hustle of Sistah Ant

I want nice things, just like a lot of other people.   Problem is, I’m a tightwad.  Whenever I want or need new clothes, like now, I wind up making do with what I have.  I never know when I might need to use the buffer in my checking account for something unexpected.  Besides, if I have any extra money, shouldn’t it be going to something crucial, like paying down this ridiculous amount of debt I have, or boosting up my emergency fund?

Thing is, as long as I keep thinking that way, I’ll never buy new clothes for work or play.  And clothes don’t last forever.  They fade, they stretch, they shrink, they fall out of my favor, buttons fall off, hems fall out, and though I’ll do buttons, I don’t know if I have patience for all that other stuff.  Every season, I give or throw clothes like these away.  I hate clutter.  But too much time saying later, later, later, puts me in the exact position I’m in now -wearing the same clothes over and over again, struggling to make it look like I have more than a week and a half of clothes to rotate.  And I never have any money set aside to spend to get myself some more clothes.  Another problem is that, even though I’ve been shopping like this my whole adult life, I HATE bargain shopping.  I’m tired of spending hours wading through stuff I hate in order to find stuff I can tolerate.  Maybe if I was able to shop with some bank, I’d enjoy it more.  I’ve always hated the process of shopping.  For the past decade, it’s been one long exercise in settling for less than what I really want and feeling like I don’t have enough to get what I really want.  It turns into an exercise in guilt when I allow myself to buy something I really like that isn’t cheap or on sale, even if I can afford it.  I might shop twice a year, if I can motivate myself to do it.

This is the prime of my life and I want to look GOOD.  I want to like what I’m wearing EVERY day and not just once or twice a month.  I want to like the way ALL my clothes fit me.  And I don’t want to go into debt to make it happen.  Perhaps I should create a particular savings account that is specifically designated for spending.  I can put a nominal amount in there each month until it grows to something I can work with, and then whenever I want to shop, I can do it guilt free with that account.  Thanks Boston Gal!

In the meantime, I think I’m going to be hitting up as many sales as I can afford this coming August.  I haven’t figured out yet where the money is coming from - I don’t want to derail debt repayment to make it happen.  Lemme give it some thought…