money matters

i hate to think about money. i only like the things it can buy.

joa's recently turned into this self-taught financial guru. reading up about financial IQ from books and websites, whatever he can get his hands on. and then he'd turn the advice on me, lecturing me about my spendthrift ways.

i do not deny that i am a spendthrift. i buy everything i fancy and often maxing out what cash i have. and i know it's a bad habit. i don't need three different blue mascaras, five different tones of blushers, two of the same t-shirt in different colours, and the list goes on for clothes, shoes, bags and everything else.

what can i say? i love to shop. i love to pore over the shelfs for new things. i love the novelty of wearing something new, using something new and exploring something new. yet i know all these are an utter waste of money. that at the end of the day, they all land up in the thrash can.

he's been reminding me of the money we need to save for our new place. for renovation, for the swanky furnitures that i want, and for the exotic looking wallpaper i want for our feature wall. where's all the money gonna come from? from years of penny-pinching of course. that means, being practical in my wishlist, omitting items that i can do without and quit my habit of buying anything i set my eyes on.

i plead with guilt.

we've been debating about my plan to get a new phone for months. the current one is glitchy - we both agree - and unfashionable - i agree. i had initially set my eyes on the E61i. the boorish predecessor of the E71. how i came to this is quite a irrational. i'd seen someone with it (the red one) and she looked darned cool with it. and so there was this stall that had it (the same red one) with a price that was agreeable - $300 less than the E71.

i tried to set joa up for it as a birthday gift. first of all, he thought it was an ugly phone and second of all, he thought it had too many functions that i didn't use. but most of all, he knew i didn't need a new phone. and i didn't.

at the end, after many hours prowling all the mobile stalls in the neighbourhood, he offered to buy me the LG Ice cream which he felt was more suited to me. so here it is, my final indulgence. i hope with this, i will learn to be wiser in the way i spend my money and finally attain my ideal person - the super woman who's not only flashy in her outlook, but also with an impressive bank balance.