Monday, March 12, 2012

Shopping on a Married Maidel's budget


So like many Americans out there, I find myself out of work...
And with nothing to do during the 9-5, it means I can devote more time to the thing I love most - shopping.
Shopping when you're married is like Columbus discovering America... There are soo many more things to buy! Groceries, furniture, home decor, men's clothing. It's like I've discovered entire departments of Bloomingdale's that I've never realized existed before.
But obviously, being married + shopping = budget. I've never used the B word before. I never had to when my parents were the ones paying off my credit cards. I used to know my shopping day was over when a store clerk told me my credit card wouldn't go through. It meant I had reached my daily spending limit. I always got a little nervous when I saw my dad going through the bill the next month - sometimes he would ask me if I knew what a certain payment was for... and sometimes it was kinda embarrassing telling him I'd bought yet another pair of Uggs.
Now that I'm married, I'm the one who goes through all the credit card statements. I gotta say, when I first started paying bills, I used to get a little nervous opening the envelopes. There seemed to be an endless supply of them. And bills for things I don't even shop for! I still can't believe that we have to pay for things like water and electricity.... it's not like we're living in Africa and there's a shortage right? Who knew that watching True Blood and Mad Men (the new season is coming soon!) would increase our cable bill?
I used to think that being grown up meant being married and paying taxes (not that I didn't pay them before, but my dad + accountant always did it for me)... guess it means I no longer get to sit at the kid's table....