But the other day, I read an interview that resonated with me. It was with a man giving tips on saving money in a tough economy. He gave several simple tips, as well as some more drastic ones, but the underlying message was this ... instead of looking for tips about how to stretch our money as far as we can to get as many things as we can, why not ask yourself why you feel the need to buy so much stuff you don't absolutely need. I realize it's a very basic idea, and complete common sense, but I think it was still a message I needed to read. It comes on the heels of me shopping around for a new TV. My current TV is about 15 years old, and in no way is it impressive, but it still works. I don't really need a new one -- I just want a new one. But I guess when it comes down to it, I'd rather not spend the money right now.
Then this weekend, I came across a new mention of a book I first read about three years ago. The challenge the book gives is to get rid of 50 items in your house (and magazines only count as one combined item). I tried this a few years ago, and I thought it would be really hard to find 50 different things I should get rid of. But it wasn't bad at all, and it felt great to get rid of stuff I didn't use or need. It also made me wonder why I saved so much stuff. So that's been my project this evening, and it will continue to be my project this week.
There's not really a good way to tie in this last thought without completely contradicting my entire post, but I'll try ...
If you are a fan of spa treatments and are looking for some extreme discounts, then get excited for Spa Week (April 13-19). It's one of my favorite weeks of the year because many services (facials, massages, etc.) are only 1/3 of the normal price. That week will leave me super relaxed as I come home to my 1990s RCA TV.
