Cables are an inevitable bothersome necessity.

If you own any kind of gadget, it will ALWAYS come with a cable, even if you try to go as wireless as possible.

So why not make organizing or looking at them as beautiful as possible?

Lufdesign

Wire Blooms Cable Clips

Know what kills me?

When people rationalize huge unnecessary purchases for strange reasons (when they can’t afford it) and then pinch on other things that are littler.

I’m not trying to rationalize or justify buying a huge flat screen TV or go on a $1500 shopping/dining out spree (*ahem* *raises hand*), but it’s because if you buy the TV or go on a shopping spree, you’ve done the math (like I have), and CAN AFFORD IT.

If I was still on a $60,000 salary, that $1500 spree would NOT have happened because that would’ve meant it was almost an ENTIRE bi-weekly paycheque down the drain on FUN.

Granted, the money I’m making now may or may not last, but in the scheme of how much I’m making, a little spree of $1500 is justifiable. Maybe not the brightest considering that the money COULD have been saved in an Emergency Fund or spent in a wiser manner, but at least it won’t put me into a credit card debt of $1500.

(Not only that, we can’t all be crazy budgeters working ourselves to the grave trying to save and deprive ourselves of purchases. I just happened to save up a lot of those little purchases and went hog wild at once instead of doing it gradually over the year.)

No, no.

Who I am talking about in my statement above, are the the people who ARE in debt, who have BIG mortgages, who have LOWER paying jobs and are trying to penny pinch and be frugal because of what’s going on in the economy.

But wait!

These people then go out and buy a flat screen TV, not from Best Buy, but from Wal-Mart because it feels more like a frugal store, and to top it off, they try to penny pinch on groceries and save $0.50 on a can of beans or cutting out their daily latte.

Those penny pinching measures on groceries or cutting out their beloved lattes are all great measures towards slowly trying to make some room in your budget and to cut the little frivolous expenses, but what good does it do if you go out and end up blowing $2000 on a flat screen TV?!?

That $2000 you could’ve saved by NOT buying that flat screen TV could probably have bought you tons of beans! MOUNTAINS!

It’s like they’re treating themselves for living on beans, and patting themselves on the back for saving $0.50 per can of beans!!!

And these people know they’re living kind of on the line.

Maybe not consciously, but subconsciously. They could have an Emergency Fund saved, but I’d bet good money on that they don’t have anything saved, because if they did, they wouldn’t be spending it on a flat screen TV they really ran the numbers on their budget and their income.

But if you can’t afford anything, and then you do some crazy shopaholic logic and justified it with math calculations over the can of beans savings but then blow $2000 on a flat screen TV before you have the cash saved up to buy it… then you’re just plain stupid.

As a side note, the worst part for me is that people pinch on groceries – the one thing that fuels our bodies to keep us going.

Instead, they buy convenience foods, thinking that spending only $9/day in 3 little frozen dinners will be enough, but forgetting that you could make much better food a lot cheaper, in a larger quantity and be able to freeze it all if you just did a little elbow grease and started cooking.

I guess I just love food too much to really understand why people would want to skimp on something that we have the pleasure of enjoying  on a daily basis.

So, what do you think?

Click on my little discovery to see a larger picture.

…and always remember to check the products, prices & labels of what you are buying

Have you ever said this lie to yourself?

There are plenty more of those kinds of clutter excuses where that came from, and if you ever catch yourself saying any of the following… think about this post!

WHILE YOU ARE DECLUTTERING (or trying to pretend to…)

• 1. I’ll fix it some day

(No you won’t. Liar! LIAR! Pants on fire! )

• 2. But.. just in case!

• 3. Aww, I can always sell it in a garage sale or online if I don’t want it any more

• 4. This will be worth something someday

• 5. What if my sister/brother/dog will be able to use it one day?

Mentally slap yourself on the wrist if you say these things.

HOW ABOUT WHEN YOU’RE SHOPPING?

And when you shop, here are another 5 sets of questions that will help you keep clutter at bay:

1. Do I need or really want this?

2. Umm.. do I have somewhere to put this?
(No, the junk room doesn’t count)

3. Do I have this at home already?
(You probably do. When in doubt, leave it)

4. Is it just because it’s on sale that I suddenly want it? (YES!)

5. Have I been lusting after this for a while?
(This is my favourite excuse)

There.

Simple questions, hard answers and decisions. Go forth, de-clutter, shop wisely and report back!

After being in Europe and getting used to the way things are priced (well not 12 EUR for a slice of pizza and pop, mind you)…

I am now getting frustrated with the way things are priced in North America.

Why are hidden fees like taxes EXTRA on top of the retail price?

I know it’s a way to get us to think the price is lower and therefore a great deal, but we are all seasoned shoppers here in one form or another.

When we see things priced at $29.99, we know we can’t just hand over $30.

We have to hand over $40 to cover the tax.

Very frustrating.

I now want to only pay the sticker price (taxes should be included). Not the sticker price + tax.

If it costs $413, please put it at $413.