Where Do You Draw the Line?

Have you ever been inhibited by a shopping experience? My daughter and I went in a shop today where everything we looked at had three digits and I am not counting the digits to the right of the decimal point. We kind of moseyed around and found some really cute things, but nothing that was what we considered "worth the price". No values were found and certainly no bargains. In fact, we wondered if they ever ran a sale.


One cotton button down woman's shirt had a price tag of $295.00. It was nothing special; not made in the USA so what constituted the price (not that made in the USA would be justification for that kind of price)? Was it the label which, by the way, wasn't a name I had ever heard of, was it the location of the shop, or was the price just jacked up just so the shop can be considered "upscale"?

Once out of the store, my daughter commented that the place and places like that destroyed her ego. They certainly can put one in one's place. She went on to comment that she felt like they looked at her knowing full well that she couldn't afford to buy anything; then she giggled that she couldn't. When we finally reached the car and drew a breath of normal air, my daughter asked why or how some people can afford or better yet justify spending that kind of money on a shirt when you can get something equally as well made and cute from Gap or Penny's for about $29.00. "Buy the $29 shirt and give the rest to charity", she said.

We had a good discussion while having a happy hour drink at Sonic about how we can justify any of the purchases we make. At what point do you decide that your purchase is of value, a bargain, or justifiable? Do you feel comfortable buying a $125 pair of shoes because they really feel wonderful (and if you have ever had feet trouble, you know that this can be a justifiable means for good shoes)? Do you feel like you would rather pay $25 for a pair knowing that at the end of the season they will be trashed anyway and you can hobble along just find knowing that you have that $100 bill still in your pocket? (By the way, I took those $125 shoes back.) Maybe you really can't afford the higher priced shoes so your decision is easy. You just don't buy them. You may have a hard time justifying even the cheaper pair when you have a couple pairs from last season that will work.  (You noticed, folks, that I am not talking about $3000 or even $300 shoes - I cannot even fantasize about those.)

The same can be asked of almost all purchases we make especially women's clothing and makeup. Even grocery items--does the store brand work for you or will you always choose that can from Del Monte? You may have the money for brand names, but always choose the store brands. Do you always choose the higher priced items (grocery to electronics) thinking that you are buying the best? Some people do, you know. They really feel that the highest priced item IS the best.

The whole shopping experience left us with mixed emotions. It is the American dream to be able to make enough money to afford such things found in this shop so I am glad that some can; however, if I personally had that much money, I doubt that I could spend money that way. Perhaps that all stems from the childhood I had; making do--with a touch of frugality mixed in plus a couple dashes of pride.

Where do you draw the line? At what point do you say enough is enough?  Are all your purchases the best, are all of your purchases the cheapest, or are you somewhere in between evaluating each purchase on it's own merit. Probably most of us are the latter. We might not pay $40 for a steak, but will pay $100 for shoes OR maybe it might be just the opposite if you are a man who loves his steak. Where do you draw the line?

I have been a little off my game lately, but hope to get back to some fun blog posts soon. Live is good.  I hope to have a post about peanut harvest again soon, maybe even tomorrow.  Love to all.