Blog Update!
For those of you not following me on Facebook, as of the Summer of 2019 I've moved to Central WA, to a tiny mountain town of less than 1,000 people.

I will be covering my exploits here in the Cascades, as I try to further reduce my impact on the environment. With the same attitude, just at a higher altitude!

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Sunday Confessional - Week 4

Buy Nothing Sunday ConfessionalThis last week's shopping sins have mostly consisted of eating out.

We ordered pizza last Wednesday because my hubs was craving it and, well, I sure wasn't going to complain. We ended up getting a free pizza because they delivered the order wrong, so does that count? Uh, I guess so.

There have been a few coffee outings as well: Top Pot last Sunday and on Friday. Cupcake Royale on Monday.

Friday night we went out for a quick dinner after a trip to the clinic as a very belated anniversary dinner (8/8). Saturday night we went out to dinner with my brother, his wife and her sister at Union, one of our favorite Seattle restaurants.

Why so much crazy eating out? Well, it looks like they are gearing up for my hubs' second transplant in a few weeks. We're just waiting on some final donor scheduling info (they found a full match!). This next transplant will be much more involved than the last one and we won't be eating out again for a real loooooong time.

Oh, yeah. And I also may have bought some new mumble, mmmmrf, mumble, clothes. At least some of it was from a secondhand store. And I looked damn good, if I do say so myself.

So, while I was ensconcing myself in shopping therapy, how did your week go?

38 comments:

maryann said...

I confess I was VERY bad this week. $21 on a ravioli tray to make homemade raviolis, well worth it also, made some this weekend and they were great. $53 on maternity cloths, realized it is getting cooler and I won't have enough long pants to make it through the winter, and lunch to go one afternoon. Major guilty purchase- $20 on a new hairdryer, my old one broke in January and I finally gave in and replaced it, I'm just too tired to get out of bed early enough for it to air dry any more. Not great but I'll admit I only really feel guilty over the hair dryer.

Anonymous said...

I am am a very cheap guy, there are no stores here anyway, and I'm kinda broke. But I went to the big island and bought one black printer ink. I'm rather proud of myself that I managed to spend something.
I checked in a few times during the week to see the update on the personal and medical events in Crunchyville. I very much hope that all continues to go well. The Crunchy spending habits seem extremely modest.

Sweetly Single said...

Outside of not killing fellow shoppers in an attempt at buying some school supplies, I bought a magazine during one of my trips to the cancer clinic - in order to save my own sanity

Otherwise we are doing pretty good this month - and thinking of extending it another

mudnessa said...

mostly eating out. it is a major cut back to how it use to be but after a while it just gets to be too much to constantly have a plan for dinner and i can never get input from hubby on meals at home. gets way to frustrating and i give in and we go out, have eaten at the diner down the block a few times, only place in walking distance so that saved a car trip as well.

i did buy well the new computer i am using, my laptop died and the husband is not the best at sharing his desktop.

but other than that i went somewhere and bought a few things. i cant even remember now, guess i didnt need the stuff and should not have bought it. oh thats right the linens n' things in my area is closing so they are having a sale and i bought a little stepstool for me to use at work and home and i bought some metal bbq skewers so we dont have to keep buying wooden ones. so i actually bought less by buying that one thing.

i didnt buy it but i basically facilitated the purchase of a ceiling fan, we have been in our apartment for almost 4 years and they add ceiling fans before people move in now so i asked for one to be put in our apartment. its great, no more hot and stuffy apartment all day. and that makes me even less likely to use the ac.

MissAnna said...

I'm so glad a donor was found! I hope all the transplant bits go well--that is certainly very exciting news

Sarah said...

I too have shopped. Mostly on food out but I did pick up a computer for my bike.

I don't regret it either. ;)

Rachel said...

I did really well last week.

No money = no spending.

And this week will be the same.

...e... said...

mmmphmmmhrmmmfood.....hmfrmmphmumshoes. but it's really helping, really! it's helping!

can we keep confessing til we get it right? (mmbrffravelympicsmedal..)

Allie said...

Good to go. I got the bra I'd previously mentioned I needed, and I got my school stuff (and not even everything).

That's it. I really need to get some more clothes, because I haven't purchased new shirts since 2005, but I figure one more month isn't going to kill me, after going this long.

I was given a used espresso machine, and some used sheets by a friend. I don't count it, though, since no money/favours changed hands.

Anonymous said...

You know Crunchy- I don't think you should feel guilt at all about what you've done- eating out a bit etc- the whole point of it all should be I think to shop/eat out consciously(sp?)- to truly enjoy your meals out, coffee at the cafe,etc when you do them- but to do so with thought- not just out of habit. that to me seems to be the real purpose; to shop with thought and not just robotically.

I

LeahBear said...

Last week was pretty good for me! I only spent twice. On Wednesday I went to Starbucks for breakfast because it was the morning after I squashed my finger to bits, and I just was not up to making breakfast for myself.

And then on Friday, my husband bought us tickets ($22 each) to see a local band. Not TOO bad, eh?

I am so glad to hear they found an exact match for your husband. Best of luck!

Anonymous said...

Crunch I am so pleased that they found an exact match for your hubby. I would be out there having family times etc while you can too.

I went on camp on the weekend. I preplanned all my scrap pages.. As a result I spent very little. I confess that I bought a few pretties because I honestly could not replicate those things. However there was a multiprize draw and I won 4 prizes! Then there was a gift bag and it had so much stuff too. I definitely came home with more than I took.

Family wise we probably had our heaviest eating out week ever. My daughter was in the school musical and as a result bought her dinner 3 nights this week. She was at school from 7 am to 10 pm. As I was away so my son ate at his work twice. The staff dinners are excellent in value and cost less than I could ever do them. When we all came home on Sunday night there was a mass of unpacking to be done and my husband decided el cheapo pizza was the way to go. I was so tired I did not argue. Definitely extremely sinful there. This week it is back to scratch cooking etc.

So it is now time to try really hard over the next few weeks to pay for the sins.

suze_oz

steffington said...

I bought a county fair pass: $15
I got my nose pierced...$30, but I figured since I used the gas to get to the city, I should just do it.

My friends & I went to Taco Bell yesterday, but I was STARVING and had no food. $4.19

Theresa said...

Glad to hear that a full matching donor has been found! That is very good news. :)

Anonymous said...

A full match! That's so exciting! Lots of prayers and hopeful thoughts coming your way.

Annarchy said...

Congratulations on the match...best wishes for the future, both immediate and long term. My big sin was going out for a beer after floating the river. No excuses...I just totally forgot. Then we went to Shakespeare in the Park (free) but forgot to take water so I bought two bottles of water on the way (it was in another town, couldn't really run home for it).

Teri said...

bad terrible and horrible all wrapped up in one big ole pile of badness

For over a year I have been looking for new bedding, I walked into a store to kill time- found something PERFECT! PERFECT I say.

Anonymous said...

One big expense I had not expected was a new battery for my car. Got out of work, went to start it and nothing. Since it was dark out, I bought a new battery at Costco adn put it in the trunk, then dowsed some soda pop on the battery connector thing to de-corrode it, then took the bus home. Easier to change out a battery in daylight - especially when there are men folk around who have the proper tools! Still not improving on *not* buying the cheap bad food. Baby steps are needed, baby steps.
It's great news about the perfect match, Crunchy! Wonderful news!

rosiegirl said...

Congratulations on the match, this is wonderful news. Sending you healing thoughts.

JessTrev said...

Wow, so happy for the full match! Been pretty worthless on the eating out front (lots of it) but on the buying, somewhat better. Got a glass cutting board to replace old plastic ones (been looking for over a year). Got some metal canisters to spray olive oil out of rather than replacing disposable cans. Got some soil amendments/seeds for fall gardening and a fern for my DD's room that she wanted. School supplies on mandatory list (altho got reusable plates/cups and offered to wash for class rather than having them use paper/plastic for snack). Lightbulbs for a specific light (halogens, track lighting, wondering about how efficient they are). I definitely thought about what I bought but it's not nothing! Will do bettah (hoping to continue the restraint past the month end).

EJ said...

A perfect match- what great luck.

Eat out and enjoy yourself. Life isn't (only) for denial, frugality and being a good, shining example!

Anonymous said...

some friends were getting married this weekend, and i was given the job of some preparations that required shopping. i chose carefully, walking around for hours downtown to make the best choices. then i bought 2 guidebooks; my sister is getting married in south africa in october and we need to plan our trip. $100 on wedding materials, $45 on guidebooks. i was nauseous afterward, it was crazy! nothing else. amazing how easy it is to hold off on buying things in the moment, then later i wonder what it was i was thinking of buying; doesn't even stick!

not reporting on eating out; i have, i do, i'm minimizing but not eliminating.

Eva said...

Perfect match is wonderful news. Good luck.

I think that I went well this week.....or I may have just blocked the decadence from my conscious mind. No, no....I think I did well. I still have $50 in my purse so something must have gone right.

Unknown said...

I can't pay attention to posting my sins because you posted a link for CUPCAKES????? Am coming over. Now.

knutty knitter said...

One local takeout on a busy day. Thats all folks :)

Go the transplant!!


viv in nz

jewishfarmer said...

Congratulations on the match!

Well, we were on vacation last week, so as I said when I signed up, I spent and didn't feel guilty about it. We ate out a bunch of times (including my first time at the Moosewood Cafe - yum) and bought small gifts for the children to assuage our guilt at abandoning them to the total indulgence of their grandmothers
;-). I bought books, but since they came from a birthday gift-certificate, those don't count, I assume. But we did buy my husband a few used books.

So we were bad - heck, it was my 10th anniversary trip, and we're not going on one of those again anytime soon ;-). I feel no guilt.

Sharon

Anonymous said...

Let's see....

Mandatory school supplies 30$. Please... don't get me started on how I feel about the crap we had to buy. Already did the rant on my blog.

Because we were in Office Depot due to mandatory school supplies... I saw a shredder (30$). I was already trying to figure out how to shred tax returns from before 1996.. is there a company that does it for you? And so on and so forth. I saw this for a really nice price and just simply bought it. Do I feel guilty over this? Not terribly. It is a useful tool and not frivolous but perhaps I could have handled this better by checking craiglist first.

That same day, my honey insisted on going to McDonalds because he was hungry. I would have preferred to go home because I don't like McDonalds that much but it seriously wasn't worth the fight. My matrimonial happiness is way more important than the 10$ we spent. But if the decision was left up to me? We would have went home.

And then I bought my pair of fall/winter/summer shoes (73$). I buy a single pair of flat shoes around Labour Day and wear them every day to work until next summer at which point they have fallen apart and I throw them out to repeat process following year. No choice in that purchase and pretty much no choice in how much I spend. I have difficult to fit feet so I buy whatever fits that doesn't totally turn me off with respect to style.


As someone else said, I think the challenge is important because it makes us think about our purchases. We can't go forever never buying anything. Maybe this challenge will have us thinking about how we can do better by thinking about purchasing things second hand (ie. shredder) and curbing our frivolous impulse buys.

Anonymous said...

So happy to hear about the match. I am spending less, except on gas b/c I've been ferrying between my house and Grandma's after Gramps passed away. I did buy my aunt an organic goody bag, with all necessary items (she and my cousin have moved in with Gram to take care of her, sweet huh!) My Gram said, what the heck is all this granola crap! She calls my Aunt & I the tree huggers, damn straight! Oh, Chinese food one night (never again, toooo much packaging).
JenK

Anonymous said...

Very happy to hear about the match for Mr. Crunchy.

I really goofed and have been cringing inside for three days now. We were in New York City for my sister's wedding and took advantage of the fact that we were near an Ikea store to look around for a new bunkbed. We had tried making a loft on our own, but it wasn't very sturdy and much bigger than needed. We have 4 children in a SMALL house and so wanted to see what Ikea, that caters to small spaces, had to offer. We looked around the Ikea in the Bronx and my husband found lots of great things we could buy as well, you know, the little things. I said No, it wasn't worth breaking my no spending contract on. We did find a bunkbed well suited to our needs. Well, we then planned on actually buying it on our way home to NC. We stopped by Ikea in Virginia. By the time we got there we were 3 hours behind schedule, due to missed turns, fighting children, etc. We were miserable. So what did I do? Along the bundbeds, I came out with some cutting boards, a SET of new pots, a stool, and two pillows. URGH!!!!

This challenge has made me aware of how much my mood affects how I spend. I need to be careful and check in with my internal thermometer or something before I go out.

Oh yeah, than I only had one day to get the kiddos ready for school. I did use a gift card to get some things, but pretty much blindly went down the list and threw things in my Target shopping cart. This year, the teachers required BRAND specific items. I mean come on!!!!

No new clohtes for them though. They went to school a little ratty--most of their nicer clothes still dirty from our trip, but their winning personalities can endear them to their teachers instead!

Anonymous said...

Happy to hear about the full match!

I was bad this week...

I had planned to go into NYC to visit a friend before the challenge began, so I had to buy Amtrak tickets and MetroNorth tickets. We ate lunch out, before spending a free day in Central Park. Afterwards, we were bad and stopped at a bar for drinks before going out to dinner. We got bagels the next morning (because I was in NY and wasn't going to pass up the bagels). After saying goodbye, I met up with another friend for lunch (luckily that meal was with an equally environmentally conscious friend, so the cafe served all organic foods, mostly bought locally). I also stopped at a Whole Foods to buy my sister some skin care products because she has been literally crying over her acne lately. While waiting for my train home, I bought a ginger ale because I had an upset stomach as well as two magazines for the ride home.

I'm not going to worry too much about eating out in the city, because I thoroughly enjoyed the meals with great friends, who I hadn't seen in a long time. And the skincare products for my sister were bought from a company with great practices (suki), and have made my sister very happy.

When I returned home, some family members visited, and though we ate all our meals at home, we did go shopping one day. I bought a purse that I have been lusting over for months, and a really pretty dress that was on sale.

I've also been sneaking out for coffee/lunch on occasion. But, I go to a local coffee shop that serves organic, fair trade coffees and teas. They serve mostly organic food, and everything is bought locally. I don't feel bad at all about giving them my business.

Anonymous said...

i've been doing steadily bad this month. so, pretty much the same as the previous weeks... i got my friend a bottle of wine as a bday present. it was local (ontario made). i only buy ontario wine... yes, feel free to mock me for my poor taste. but it's local and i like it. i also bought an aloe vera plant for myself, 'cause i killed my last one. and i ordered a pizza.

Harper said...

I avoided the confessional last week hoping this week would help blot out the spending from my mind. Nope. Seems like, except for the first week, once I said no spending for August, the August spending began. Went out for meals, although I have cut the number of lunches out in half so at least that's something [right?]. Bought some shoes [on sale but still] for a September trip. Bought more supplies for my mom's xmas gift. Spent way too much money joining a german sock yarn club [it was a lottery, who knew I'd get in?]. Basically, I think I've spent more in my spend nothing month than I did in May, June, and July combined.

Margaret Cloud said...

I am also glad they found a donor, I to buy some of my clothes from Goodwill and garage sales, you can find like new items, I feel you can buy a little more at those places and only one item from the stores.

Anonymous said...

You and Mr. Crunchy have been on my mind, glad to hear about the donor.

I have sinned, forgive me but the seal on our main toilet failed and, given the toilet's age, etc. and the cost of a plumber (we're not up to yanking toilets), it just made sense to replace the whole thing. So I bought a toilet, a seal, and a toilet lid, plus installation. The least fun I've ever had successfully shopping for something.
I also spent $4 on some pots for moving outside plants inside.

Anonymous said...

I thought I was doing well and really was until the fair that I posted about on week 3 confessional.

I'm going to go ahead and confess now to the sins of the day - today actually.

thought I could make it until September before buying any new clothes for anyone - totally wrong. my kids desperately need new sneakers for the 1st day of school since they both have PE that day and I didn't buy new sneaks for them since before baseball started last spring. They have been running around barefoot (very green option) and in Tevas all summer...but tevas aren't allowed at school because of the whole no open-toe-shoe thing....Now last springs sneaks dont fit - complete with "Ow my toes" comments. Off to the store today to get new ones for both. While I was out and not happy about being spendy, I stopped at McDs for $1 sundaes for the 3 of us. And it was off to BJs for gas and groceries, which somehow included frozen cookie dough - I'm weak or PMSing....
The best way to not spend $ is for me to stay home.

Jenette said...

Well didnt do so good. Bought a hose and pump for my labor pool ... and didnt even use it as I was 9cm by the time I get to my hospital room. Technically we didnt 'buy' anything at the hospital but everything I touched was disposable. We bought take and bake pizza. Last but a good thing ... cloth baby wipes.

Anonymous said...

Four coffees and one lunch. No stuff.

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the match! Wishing you the best! Good luck! = )

As for the no shopping ... can I get a do-over? a mulligan? starting 9/1??? ;o)

Though I have been very conscious of the spending. I've even walked out of the store and then turned right back around and went back into the store and returned the item. I was completely honest with the sales girl ... saying 'i am buying this because it looks good on the hanger, not me. i'll never wear it.' She gladly accepted the return.

I promise to do better next month in my own pseudo no buying challenge (really, its to make up for this month!)