Your spending style: how do you justify your purchases?

A funny-but-not-funny thing happened to me on Wednesday.

I had to take the car in to Beaurepaires as the night before I saw a massive nut and bolt in my tyre [how do those suckers get in there?] and the tyre was bound to be a flat in the next 24 hours.

But that's not the funny part.

The next day, while killing time window shopping (non full-time wages makes me undertake this pointless practice), while waiting for the update on my tyre repair, I got the call from the Beaurepaires dude that my tyre was in fact irrepairable and instead, I needed two new ones as the other front tyre was bald.

I smelt a rat - hello, upsell to woman who knows nothing about cars - but in the end, two new tyres were essential. Ker-ching: just under $300.

As I again waited for my new tyres, I headed back to said shopping centre on foot and bought two new oil heaters for my kids' rooms, plus a new queen-sized electric blanket (both sides of our dual-control number were now kaput) and I knew that not dropping into Forever New when they had a 'take a further 40% off' sale would be utter madness.

I wouldn't buy anything - not after that unplanned household budget blowout on tyres, etc - just, you know, look.

BUT: when I saw a pair of lusted-after-from-afar silver ballet flats now down to $17.94 (yes, $39.99 full price, down to $29.99 on sale, now slashed to 17-odd bucks, I'd be nuts to refuse them, right.

I mean, look at them:

On the way home, still reeling from $500-plus of kinda unplanned spending on boring essentials, I chuckled at my justifications for 'accidental' spending over the years: "It was on sale". "I needed another pair of jeans". "At 70% off, and in my size, how could I just leave it there?"

This deserves a blog post, I thought. One on the psychology behind our spending styles.

The next day, off to a Sydney airport eating tour - yes, it's as decadent as it sounds - I was confronted by the reality that I was in the presence of pink-dom in the shape of the only Sydney Victoria's Secret store. 

And so, I had to do what was right and just as a huuuge VS fan, and buy some new undies from the mini-version of this lingerie mecca.

As I was leaving the airport, I HAD to stop by the newsagent. I have always justified airport newsagent spending. First and foremost, wherever I do it, it's a tax deduction for me. But at an airport... well, here I happily pick up air-freight copies and mags I don't usually buy. It's at an airport, you see.

So, I loved, LOVED today's column by Mia Freedman in today's Sunday Telegraph on her "twisted shopping logic."

Here is an excerpt:

Uncensored, here are some of the thoughts that pop into my head when I’m shopping:

“I haven’t had a parking fine in ages so this $240 dress is actually free!”

“These jeans are 40% off which means I have made a profit of $80. I’m practically rich. Now what should I spend that on?”

“There’s a $20 EFTPOS minimum and I’m only buying three boxes of Cruskits so this $10 worth of chocolate is essentially free (and as an added bonus contains no kilojoules).”

“I’m at the airport on my way to another city so therefore this imported copy of Vanity Fair for $15:95 is not that expensive.”

“I’m going to park really carefully for the next few months and that means I have at least $180 worth of non-fines to spend for free in this shop right now.”

“If I was addicted to the pokies, I would be spending a fortune and have nothing to show for it so this $150 necklace is a bargain.”

You can read the whole very funny article here:

http://www.mamamia.com.au/style/mia-freedman-parallel-shopping-economy-money-is-free/

The one on justifying spending when you've had no fines is a beauty - mine works in reverse ("damn all this money I have been saving and saving. I just got fined! Now it'd be a real crime to not buy that not-exy dress I have wanting to buy for ages, dammit".)

What's your spending style? And how do you justify your purchases?

Go on, confess...