Now that summer is right around the corner, I’ve been stocking up on my poolside reading. I had the pleasure of reading Jen Lancaster’s HYSTERICAL memoir, “Bitter is the New Black – confessions of a condescending, egomaniacal, self-centered smart-ass, or why you should never carry a Prada bag to the unemployment office” (see the humor already?!) Basically, the book is her recounting of being a high-powered executive at the turn of the century and pretty much acting like a stuck-up bitch as a result of her fortune. Then, the whole economic crisis happened and she found herself without a job and thus having to skimp on all her normal essentials – including prada and (gasp) professional cuts and color!
Not only was the book laugh out loud funny, it was heartwarming (a tough feat to pull off considering she comes off as such a bitch in the beginning), and extremely resonating. I’m not going to lie, I grew up in a really wealthy town and my family took care of a lot for me (um, I got a brand new car when I was sixteen – thanks Grandpa!) But, thanks to my mom and dad’s determination to make my brother and I appreciate the value of a dollar (along with that new car I was encouraged to get a job to pay for gas and to keep the car looking pretty). As much as I proclaimed my parents as “like, so unfair!” thank god for that! It is so easy to overindulge, especially when you’re used to it, but you also have to ground yourself otherwise things can spiral out of control.
One of my favorite parts of the book is after her unemployment checks run out, she goes through her closet and starts comparing her upscale items to utilities she could’ve paid for instead. Fortunately I’ve never been in fear of not making a payment on something, but I’m sure we can relate to going through our bills and expenses at the end of the month and wondering – hmm, did I really need those black wedges (and it’s ok if sometimes the answer is yes). But, in today’s economic world we should be thinking about what we can skimp on. I know I’ve made a serious effort to not get my nails done every month and to try and do them myself (and they aren’t half bad!) It ends up saving me close to $60/month which is close to $720 a year!
So, I gotta ask: What are your “must” items that you’d be better off giving up?
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