Thanks for always being open minded and honest about these reviews, they are very helpful.

Lately, I noticed I’ve been feeling stressed telling myself “I can’t afford this or that”, when I really can, I just don’t want to prioritize it. I think spending on wants however ‘silly’ is totally okay, as long as you are building a secure financial future for yourself by saving too.

I stopped reading this blog a while ago, and just wandered back today. It’s comments like the one above that made me quit in the first place. Judgmental much?

I got her this book as a way to reach her in a way she can relate to. Will it work? Who knows. But it was my piece of advice to her, so she doesn’t have to be in my world of “digging out” later.

What is right for one is never always right for another, and that is why books like these can be powerful. That is, of course, until they are ready to fully commit and read things like The Simple Dollar everyday! :)

Thanks for the review and great advice.

You often justify your purchase of expensive meals out, gourmet cheese, etc. You say that this is because food is your passion. You also splurge on video games, at the very least you bought the Wii at the peak of its hype. Would a $10 car racing game be an adequate replacement?

I splurge on very little. I eat simple, healthy foods, and I admit that the idea of spending so much money on food seems like a waste. You admit to struggling with trying to lose weight, so how is that spurge any less healthy than a fondness for brand names?

My only splurge is clothes. I don’t spend $3000 on a purse, but after having used so many H&M and Target purses that fall apart after a few months, I’m willing to spend several hundred on a high-quality leather bag with better construction so that I can use it for a long time. Truly high-end designer handbags are constructed by masters of their craft. The workmanship and raw materials (soft, buttery leather) account for most of the cost. More expensive heels are more comfortable. I have had Payless shoes that left me with blisters and bleeding cuts. I have Ann Taylor sandals that I can wear for hours, with no pain or blisters from the straps. I spent more on the latter, but I consider it money well spent.

You may not place importance on appearance beyond general hygeine and cleanliness, but certainly you’re not naive enough to think that others do not judge on this basis. Even if they aren’t judging on the basis of brand names, they judge on fit and structure. It might be a better world if we were judged on our merits, but it’s unrealistic to expect that we will be.

I could never personally drop $3000 on a purse because the guilt would eat at me so much, I’d end up getting rid of it. It’s not guilt over people in the world starving and how much food that $3000 would buy, but rather my own guilt in knowing that I could have gotten one that looked just like it for a fraction of the cost. This is not impugning someone who can afford to spend $3000 on a purse. If you have the money to do it, then do it if that’s what you want. I’m just way too practical to spend that much on a purse.

Fashion does not mean going broke for designer labels or shopping at a certain store. Fashion is about looking good and wearing things that make *you* look good. It’s about the cut and the style that looks good on you and works for your body type and build. A designer outfit doesn’t automatically mean that it will be flattering on you, nor does it mean that a cheaper knockoff will automatically look bad on you. Style does not equal trendy.

I stopped reading this blog a while ago, and just wandered back today. It’s comments like the one above that made me quit in the first place. Judgmental much?

However, one can look at it this way…all those designer purses and clothes could hold some resell value – tangible assets? Maybe. Cash in one of those Jimmy Choo handbags, honey and direct it into a valuable experience like travel.

Why would anyone waste a minute of time reading this advice? Haven’t we all evolved from the Money magazine level of information?

Whenever I’ve spent some ridiculous sum of money on something I don’t really want or need, I get rid of it. I have always felt that guilt.

As for the relatives thing, you are dead on, and not just because of the way money can define and ruin relationships. You will always have certain friends and relatives who will try to gain from you, or make you lose, or tell you what to do with your life, rather than giving advice, and nowadays a lot of them are very consumerist.

It is a good idea to take some time off from socialising, and identify who are the quality people in your life, and who you REALLY don’t need.

As someone with an artist’s eye, I’m a bit of a fashionista myself. But if money were no object, I can not say I would run down right now and buy a $3,000 handbag. Common sense (I guess this post presupposes that most people have it…) dictates that it is not sound to pay above fair market value for something. So how do I accomplish being a fashionista on a budget when I’ve got an eye for high-end shoes (I prefer Christian Louboutin to Jimmy Choo)?

1. I read Vogue. $12 a year if you catch a subscription sale. That’s $1 per month which is easily budgeted in and the ads are the best part. Am I going out to buy a $3,000 skirt now? No way. I tear out the pages with the things I like and save them in a folder for ideas. Often fashion is about a new change to an old design (Shakespeare was right and it applies to fashion too) or a redo of an old design in an innovative fabric. Then I:
2. Visit my local fabric store. Sewing is making a comeback now that fabric prices seem to have stabilized. Sewing machines can be had for a very low price and many will do a great job for someone with limited sewing skills. For those who don’t know how to sew, many fabric stores have classes that cost very little (mine offers them 2 classes for $25) and with patterns that are designed for beginners, it is an easy skill to develop. As for the actual cost making garments, I look at fabric and wait for the sale. Patterns and fabric regularly go on sale so it’s worth it to get on your local fabric store’s email list. I just made copied a $5,000 Badgley Mischka for about $30 using sale fabric (half off that week) and a Vogue pattern ($3.99 the following week). I can’t buy a knockoff for that and it’s one of a kind. I got several complements when I wore it too. :)

Where in my budget does this fit? Fun money. I give myself a small amount of fun money every week and if I want something that doesn’t fit in that, then I have to wait until it does. All of my fashionista urges have to fit in that budget–period. So if that means no lattes, etc for the week, then so be it.
3. Shoes and handbags are just a matter of waiting. As I stated earlier, I think Christian Louboutin makes gorgeous shoes but I can not justify paying $1,000 for a pair of shoes–even if money weren’t an obstacle. Nor could I justify that as something to save for–no pair of shoes is worth that much, no matter how pretty they are (and I LOVE shoes). So what do I do? Well, it won’t be long before someone copies them for $100 or less. So when I spot something that I *really* want (I have a get-home rule instead of a ten-second rule, if I get home and I’m still thinking about that item the next day then I save for it). As for handbags, I get one really good one a year–after Christmas and always with a good discount.

I think the key difference here is that I’m not tied to those things as a measure of self-worth. It’s not about the label, it’s about the pleasure I get from something beautiful and it is all the more precious if I made it myself. It sounds like what this book is advocating is an entirely different thing.