I am a spending MACHINE!

So. Last night I spent $430. Ahhhhh!!! I bet you’re asking yourself, “on what!?”

Well I’ll tell you. I bought new ski boots. And now you’re probably asking yourself, “didn’t she just buy used ski equipment for a killer price of $400?”

I sure did. But since I’ve never purchased ski boots before, I didn’t realize they had to fit a certain way. BF didn’t know either. He bought his on the internet and they just so happened to fit him perfectly. So when I went to try on the boots from the Craigslist seller, they felt like the fit me. I moved around in them, and it seemed okay. But just like with running shoes, you never know what they’ll be like until you actually use them. So when I wore them last weekend, I was in considerable pain. My feet hurt so much that at some points I was near tears.

Originally, BF and I went to the store b/c they do custom boot fittings. And I know that they usually try to sell you their merchandise while you’re there, so I was well aware of that. But when I tried on a boot that fitted me properly, I noticed the difference right away. The boots I bought were way too big for me, even though they were my right shoe size. The saleswoman really knew what she was talking about, so for the sake of my feet and comfort level, I bought the new boots. They were on sale of course, but only discounted by about $100.

I have spent a ridiculous amount on ski equipment. $400 initially + $430 for the new boots (plus boot insoles) + $371 for the ski pass = $1,201. I’m cringing right now. That is a TON of money.

Also if you’re wondering, I did look on the internet (eBay included) for the boots at a cheaper price. But after shipping, exchange rates and duty/tax, it worked out to be the same or more. I’ll still keep looking for a cheaper price, because I have 10 days to return them.

But, this is an investment. I can try to sell the boots I originally got, but basically I’ll never have to buy ski equipment again. My skis are good, my boots are brand new, and my helmet and googles are fine. As long as I take care of them, I’ll be able to wear the gear for years and years and years.

And, I have the money. Not to say that it’s justification for buying the boots (because I sure would love to have the entire $1,200 back in my savings account), but that was a really big factor in my decision. If I didn’t have the money saved, there’s no way I would have charged it on my credit card. And if I thought I’d be hooped for saving money for our Big Trip, I woudn’t have bought them.

That being said, I feel like I’ve been on a spending spree lately. Especially with my Retirement Portfolio losing more and more money. I feel like my money is slipping away, even though I know I’m still steadily increasing my networth.

For once, I want to hit my monthly budget. I thought I’d be able to do it this month, but with this $430 purchase, that’s not going to happen. So I’m going to work hard at keeping my spending to a minimum for the rest of the month, and look forward to April.

Lesson learned the hard and expensive way. Now I know how ski boots fit. :(

One Response to “I am a spending MACHINE!”

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1. Give Me Back My Five Bucks » March Goals: My Review says:

   Saturday, March 6, 2010 - 07:31pm at 7:23 pm

   [...] can see, I didn’t do too badly all things considering. $432.30 of that Miscellaneous was my ski boots (I took the $$$ out of my Travel Fund to pay for them). So I really only went over by [...]

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