When Negative is Positive.

It was hard to escape shopping today. I needed groceries, had promised the boys a bowling trip, and booked the babysitter so that I could run errands (and use the bathroom!) alone. As I planned my expenses, I started feeling guilty about the gel mani/pedi I’d booked for the day before our 2-week vacation. I had a genius thought just then: I could just buy the supplies to do it myself! It won’t save me any money this time, in fact it will probably cost more, but all future gel mani/pedis would be free! Note that I only do the gel thing before vacations. To be clear: this will be the first vacation for which I gel. Furthermore, this is our only planned vacation this summer. Do you begin to see how my shopping mind works? It is senseless. And I end up penniless.

I started to rationalize my upcoming expenses. Groceries: basic need. I have to feed my family, and this family likes a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. Bowling: the kids bowl free, I just need to pay for their shoe rentals. Babysitter: required for sanity now that school’s out. Gel mani/pedi supplies: Um…

Today, Day 4 of Unraveling, is not the day to splurge on a UV lamp for curing gel polish!  Yet I continued to talk myself into and out of it. I even considered using the babysitting-set-me-free time to go to Ulta in the name of research, without actually buying anything (remember? I turned a new leaf!)…with the coupon freshly printed and in my purse.

Instead, I focused on groceries, a true need. I didn’t go to Ulta; I didn’t buy any gel manicure supplies. I won’t use that coupon before it expires now that I’ve written this post.

I even canceled my gel pedicure.

Even more impressive: my net total today was negative, thanks to a few returns. Triumph!