I realized today that I have a love/hate relationship with shopping for clothes. There is lots of fun and excitement in it but how quickly things can take a turn!
You start out with having the money to go shopping. It's such a freeing experience to have that cash in hand from the budget. You know where it came from and you feel good about buying clothes because it really is a need and not just a want. You feel good because you start out in the consignment shops and cheaper stores looking for the best deals to make your money stretch as far as it will go. You have no real time limits. Finally a free evening to take time and browse and go to several places if need be. No pressure to rush home. For once, time is on your side. No children are there on the verge of meltdowns and no where else you have to be. You can't wait to find a new pair of shoes or a new outfit. It's such a great feeling to find clothes that make you feel good about yourself. Clothes that make you look good. It's fun to have something new!
Then things start going wrong. You start to feel overwhelmed by your money because you have a list of all the things you need, your husband needs and your kids need going in your head and know that the money you have budgeted will not cover it all. You only find one or 2 items in the consignment stores because really you have to shop there regularly if you want your whole wardrobe to be cheap. You know that you won't be able to budget more money for a while so you have to make every dollar count and that becomes overwhelming. You go to all the stores you can think of because you have the time but what you don't have is the energy. After going store to store trying things on, you just feel worn out! As you try things on you look for that one winning outfit, trying to account for occasions, seasons, etc. that it can be used for. In my case right now I also have to look for baby friendly shirts since I will likely still be nursing a baby all summer! The more things you try on that don't work out, the worse you feel. You're tired and overwhelmed and nothing is going the way you planned. The negative voices start to fill your head with "you're too fat" or "you just don't look good". Not to mention we have the upcoming holiday that will just emphasize it. Sure enough Easter is coming and everyone will be coming out in their Sunday best. But for me, I'm much too practical to spend money buying fancy suits for my boys that they will only wear once for an hour. I'm sure they would look adorable but it's just not worth it. I try to find even some basic plaids or pastels to make them look nice but since I waited until the last minute I can't find anything good. At this point there's a good chance that Easter Sunday we will be the family who shows up to church with little boys in t-shirts and sweats, Dad in one of his many math t-shirts and me wearing the same old tired clothes I always wear. The one pair of jeans I have and the nicest looking top I can scrape up, hoping that no one will notice that we are looking shabby! Normally, people don't dress up for church but that one day everyone will look their best!
I paint quite a picture, don't I? This seems to be my experience with shopping every time I go, give or take a few details! Does anyone else have a similar experience? If anyone loves to shop and is good at helping people find the right clothes for the right price I'll gladly take you with me the next time I go out!
You start out with having the money to go shopping. It's such a freeing experience to have that cash in hand from the budget. You know where it came from and you feel good about buying clothes because it really is a need and not just a want. You feel good because you start out in the consignment shops and cheaper stores looking for the best deals to make your money stretch as far as it will go. You have no real time limits. Finally a free evening to take time and browse and go to several places if need be. No pressure to rush home. For once, time is on your side. No children are there on the verge of meltdowns and no where else you have to be. You can't wait to find a new pair of shoes or a new outfit. It's such a great feeling to find clothes that make you feel good about yourself. Clothes that make you look good. It's fun to have something new!
Then things start going wrong. You start to feel overwhelmed by your money because you have a list of all the things you need, your husband needs and your kids need going in your head and know that the money you have budgeted will not cover it all. You only find one or 2 items in the consignment stores because really you have to shop there regularly if you want your whole wardrobe to be cheap. You know that you won't be able to budget more money for a while so you have to make every dollar count and that becomes overwhelming. You go to all the stores you can think of because you have the time but what you don't have is the energy. After going store to store trying things on, you just feel worn out! As you try things on you look for that one winning outfit, trying to account for occasions, seasons, etc. that it can be used for. In my case right now I also have to look for baby friendly shirts since I will likely still be nursing a baby all summer! The more things you try on that don't work out, the worse you feel. You're tired and overwhelmed and nothing is going the way you planned. The negative voices start to fill your head with "you're too fat" or "you just don't look good". Not to mention we have the upcoming holiday that will just emphasize it. Sure enough Easter is coming and everyone will be coming out in their Sunday best. But for me, I'm much too practical to spend money buying fancy suits for my boys that they will only wear once for an hour. I'm sure they would look adorable but it's just not worth it. I try to find even some basic plaids or pastels to make them look nice but since I waited until the last minute I can't find anything good. At this point there's a good chance that Easter Sunday we will be the family who shows up to church with little boys in t-shirts and sweats, Dad in one of his many math t-shirts and me wearing the same old tired clothes I always wear. The one pair of jeans I have and the nicest looking top I can scrape up, hoping that no one will notice that we are looking shabby! Normally, people don't dress up for church but that one day everyone will look their best!
I paint quite a picture, don't I? This seems to be my experience with shopping every time I go, give or take a few details! Does anyone else have a similar experience? If anyone loves to shop and is good at helping people find the right clothes for the right price I'll gladly take you with me the next time I go out!
Girlfriend, I'll help you with this!!!!!!!!!!
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