Say you've been looking for something for a while - you know you want to buy it.

How do you handle it in your budget? Do you set money aside in the cash fund and buy it when you finally see it? Do you wait a set amount of time before buying something?

well..we're pretty new at this but we have a couple things we're looking to get in the next few months.

we actually just fund those like anything else (on paper.) once we have the funds (as specifically allocated...not just bc we have the money somewhere bc every penny has it's own purpose) we will get it (whatever it is...)

That seems logical. :)

Can you buy it used? Can you put the word out that you are looking for it?

We set aside money for things and when we have the money we purchase it. In some cases we may sell something to pay for whatever it is that is desired.

:o no - it's throw pillows :shake: I know, totally not a "necessity" - but the new house is already painted and I need to figure out a way to tie my *red* couches in with their VERY turquoise wall that sits behind it ;)

I found the perfect pillows today at Pier 1 online and I'm just trying to sit on it and hope that they go on sale or that I find a coupon.

Selling to pay for is a fabulous compromise! :)

If it's something $20 or less, I might be able to set aside some money for it next pay period. If it is bigger, I usually wait until my birthday, Christmas, or maybe Mother's Day, and use the money I get from those (Inlaws always send $40 for those occasions.) Anything bigger than that, I have to wait until tax refund time, or until I save up the money I make selling things or doing odd jobs for other people. But mostly, I just forgo it, finding that after I have saved the money for it, I no longer want or need it. ;)

sandi...think about what you just said for a minute.

you are buying throw pillows at pier one to avoid painting a turquoise wall. wall paint (esp if you watch the oops shelves at lowes/HD) is only $5/gallon...and you can get the really good paint in really nice colors.

$5 vs how much? that makes no sense.

unless you just really want the pillows...then you want the pillows, not bc of the wall...

did that make sense?

wanting the pillows bc you want the pillows is one thing...wanting the pillows to tie into a wall in a house you are going to own (so you CAN paint) is another thing entirely...

I wait a while to see if my want for it dies down a little bit until I finally decide I don't want it at all. I'm always setting money aside, so that isn't too big of an issue. Occasionally, I'll see something I have to have right then and there and I buy it. Most of the time that works out, but sometimes I regret it (like the Dirt Devil broom vac, the one that looks like a broom - lol).

Oh geez, I would way rather buy throw pillows than paint. I mean, seriously. I freaking hate painting. I would wait for a good sale. You have to set priorities. I have a set amount of money to spend, and I really try not to go over it. I am usually pretty successful. So, if I bought the perfect pillows (which I would only get with a really good coupon) I would cut back somewhere else.

Now, for those of you who enjoy painting, my dining room is a perfectly acceptable shade of cranberry but I really WANT slate blue. Come on over! LOL

Putting something like that in NEXT month's budget gives you time to shop around, and it gives you a cooling off period. The cooling off period is a pretty amazing part of the budget. Often as not, that thing one thinks one NEEDS isn't as much of a necessity after a couple of weeks.

Obviously, if it were an emergency (just for clarification, decorating emergencies are NEVER true emergencies ;) ), you could use the emergency fund.

You can also choose to spend your allowance on it. If something seems totally frivolous to me, I'm more likely to use my allowance for it, and leave the budget for the important stuff. But I don't have to do that. It's just my choice to.

sandi...think about what you just said for a minute.

you are buying throw pillows at pier one to avoid painting a turquoise wall. wall paint (esp if you watch the oops shelves at lowes/HD) is only $5/gallon...and you can get the really good paint in really nice colors.

$5 vs how much? that makes no sense.

unless you just really want the pillows...then you want the pillows, not bc of the wall...

did that make sense?

wanting the pillows bc you want the pillows is one thing...wanting the pillows to tie into a wall in a house you are going to own (so you CAN paint) is another thing entirely...

DANM YOU AND YOUR LOGICAL THOUGHTS! :lol:
I considered that this afternoon, while we were out. I figured ONE wall worth of paint is, what, $5 TOPS - (it's not even a full wall) and the pillows are $35 each! :D LOL

I had originally thought that it was just a good way to make the furniture work in that space - however, I don't *need* the pillows and the paint is far more economical and practical :)

Oh geez, I would way rather buy throw pillows than paint. I mean, seriously. I freaking hate painting. I would wait for a good sale. You have to set priorities. I have a set amount of money to spend, and I really try not to go over it. I am usually pretty successful. So, if I bought the perfect pillows (which I would only get with a really good coupon) I would cut back somewhere else.

Now, for those of you who enjoy painting, my dining room is a perfectly acceptable shade of cranberry but I really WANT slate blue. Come on over! LOL

This is valid, too - we hate painting, it took us three years to get two of the world's smallest bedrooms (the girls') painted in this house. AND - we have to paint the girls' room in the new house because it's really - well - my living room colors - PLUS DH is going to have to come here and paint these walls as well over the next couple weeks (the "old" house)

I guess I'll just wait and see how it goes. If DH is on a roll and wouldn't mind doing one more wall, we'll repaint. I do like the turquoise, though - it's grown on me - and it *does* tie into my rug. Pier 1 has good sales, if memory serves, and maybe I'll luck out and get a GC for a housewarming present ;)

Putting something like that in NEXT month's budget gives you time to shop around, and it gives you a cooling off period. The cooling off period is a pretty amazing part of the budget. Often as not, that thing one thinks one NEEDS isn't as much of a necessity after a couple of weeks.

Obviously, if it were an emergency (just for clarification, decorating emergencies are NEVER true emergencies ;) ), you could use the emergency fund.

You can also choose to spend your allowance on it. If something seems totally frivolous to me, I'm more likely to use my allowance for it, and leave the budget for the important stuff. But I don't have to do that. It's just my choice to.

Yet another really good point.

But, xt - I might DIIIIIEEEE if I don't get these pillows :lol:
j/k of course ;)

I admit that after a month of looking around, I was really jazzed to see the ones that matched both the wall and the couches (and the rug for that matter). But - I'll just have to see if my allowance can handle it - and if they go on sale. I vow to NOT pay retail for them! ;)

One of the best parts of budgeting is that it gives you time to get creative.:)

Another option for you would be to buy some cool fabric and cover any pillows that you already have. We've moved a lot in the last 10 years and I haven't always been able to paint. The easiest way for me to try to pull the house together has been by sewing over what I already have.

I guess now is when I have to admit that I really don't sew.:help: I buy that tape/iron on stuff and go to town with it. I should learn how to sew but I don't have a machine:o

DANM YOU AND YOUR LOGICAL THOUGHTS! :lol:
I considered that this afternoon, while we were out. I figured ONE wall worth of paint is, what, $5 TOPS - (it's not even a full wall) and the pillows are $35 each! :D LOL

I had originally thought that it was just a good way to make the furniture work in that space - however, I don't *need* the pillows and the paint is far more economical and practical :)


:lol: it's from all the time i've spent with xt over the years. it's exactly the sort of thing she'd say to me if i had a silly thought like trying to justify spending $35 a piece on several throw pillows rather than spending $5 on paint for one wall...IF i was saying i was buying the pillows to make the wall work (and saying i was trying to keep a budget.)

if i wasn't trying to keep a budget, that's one thing.

if i really wanted the pillows regardless...that's yet another thing.

but spending what is probably $130+ after tax (4 pilows at retail at that price) to avoid $5 worth of paint and one afternoon of mild work is silly. i say if you want the pillows...budget them next month or use your allowance like she told you...but just don't use the wall as the excuse :smirk: make sense? bc that just doesn't make sense :joker:

(btw i totally get *needing* throw pillows...but i'm more inclined to shop my fabric closet or the clearance aisle at JA and recover the pillows i already have...Pier 1 skeers me bc i LOVE the stuff in there but it's so dang pricey...and i'm cheap by nature. i love nice stuff...and i love decorating in my home...but i want to do it as cheaply as possible and get off on being able to tell you exactly how little i paid for things. tacky? yes. but i don't care :lol: )