What I learned from Suze Orman

Not from her personally, you understand, but from watching her program "The Suze Orman Show" on CNBC on Saturday nights.  Like many viewers, my favorite part was the "Can I afford it?" segment where participants told Suze what they wanted to buy (many requests fell into the category of what I call Stupid Spending) and she told them whether they were approved.  Or denied.

What I remember most was the question Suze always asked:

"How are you going to pay for it?"

 That simple question has become the mantra of my personal spending.  How am I going to pay for it? 

I believe in budgets and savings.  I do not believe in debt or paying interest.  I have one credit card, and I pay the bill in full every month on the day the statement is issued.  In my budget I have a monthly allocation for treats and that's what I use to pay credit card charges for fun stuff. 

Recently I ran across an item I had been coveting for a long time (no, I'm not going to tell you what it was - one person's fun stuff is another's stupid spending).   The cost exceeded the balance in my treat account.  But this was a buy it now situation.  How was I going to pay for it?  The treat account went into the red, and the negative balance was reduced by cutting back on groceries for the next month. Treat account is now back in the black.  Once I had answered the "how are you going to pay for it?" question to my frugal satisfaction, I was able to push the buy button.   It's an item I use and enjoy every day and over the course of a year will cost less than $1 per day.  I'm happy with that.  Thank you, Suze, for your pragmatic approach to spending.

What do YOU want to buy?  How are YOU going to pay for it?

Penny Pincher