First up! I've gotten back on Facebook. It was a slow reintegration. I feel so-so about this decision. Especially after spending an inordinate amount of effort to create another empty profile from which to run my business from and taking a break from my Target Cartwheel of Champions ( $105 in savings to date! You got to SPEND more to SAVE more, duh! -Maybe that's my tie in?).
All that gave me the heebie jeebies about Facebook is still there. The ridiculous article titles, the stream of opinions that make you dislike people you once liked, the flood of my own opinions that I can't stop myself from posting. I still left Facebook off of my phone and with a little finagling with Anti-Social - I'm more or less contained. I've found if you don't check FB often your feed contains absolutely nothing you are interested in. Instagram is still my social media drug of choice. I'm not sure why I got back on but it definitely has to do with running my FB business page and getting bored without enough websites to click.
So! Now that I'm reattached to the umbilical cord of the world lets move on to FPU Class #5 shall we?
This lesson, Buyer Beware, was a little all over the place. We learned about being aware of being marketed to. We learned about not buying things 90 days same as cash (which I've never done, because, seriously, I have credit cards for that). And we finished off with learning about the power of paying in cash and negotiating. Like I said, all over the place. But I would say this class had as big of an impact on me as the Savings class.
In small group discussion we were asked to talk about our feelings about being marketed to and what turns us into "the red faced kid having a grocery store tantrum." The usual suspects were all there - ALL the men mentioned electronics (thankfully, JTS does not share in the love of the large television). There were only two women in the class (me and a very religious mom I've already isolated by describing myself as agnostic). But the other woman and I discussed our desire for Stitch Fix and our problem with baby items and convenience foods.
Afterwards I realized that I really (as silly as this sounds on paper) define how good I am at being a mom with the "quality" i.e. price of what I purchase. I had a fit to get the $70 bottle warmer because it was THE BEST one when I ended up never needing to warm a bottle once. I felt neglectful because my baby didn't have THE BEST baby swing ($200+ more than the one I bought). And I still get a sad feeling in my heart because I bailed on Honest Company diapers after 6 months and I haven't bought my child a pair of these adorable shoes to date (and HELLO she is almost 1.5 years old). Will I look back and feel a sea of regret that my child wasn't wearing $60 moccasins? Sometimes I seriously believe so. And this is obviously an issue.
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| The baby shoes of my dreams. |
Another thing I realized from this discussion is that I use money to make myself feel better. Like how (and why) I was drinking too much, buying a new something can give you a quick burst of confidence when you are feeling lackluster in the esteem department. I know that people who enjoy saving money get a thrill from finding a great brand name at a super cheap price. I'm trying to get that thrill. I get the thrill from buying the brand name item at it's highest price ever at Nordstrom. Makes me feel good about myself. And this is obviously an issue.
These were really important thoughts for me to think. Up until I know I hadn't really connected the dots to purchasing to make myself FEEL like a good mom or a confident woman. Up until know I hadn't even connected the dots to see myself as an emotional shopper. That's the power of marketing and I'm on the line!
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