It’s been a heck of a week. The Australian dollar hitting parity (experts say it may surpass and come up to AU$1.10 to US$1 this week), and tweets and blogs have been going crazy about shopping online from US stores. No prizes for guessing who else just had to jump on board and buy from the US.
*wave frantically* ME!
Thanks to the strong Aussie dollar, my budget for September has blown wide open, with purchases from Skinstore.com (a Clarisonic. Whee!), Shopbop (a Tory Burch wallet. Okay I needed one, since I’ve been reusing my old wallets. I can’t ever get expensive designer ones because they get so beaten up in my bag), Feelunique.com (Steam Cream, and free worldwide shipping), and other sites for other knick-knacks. I wasn’t the only one. My husband’s been going nuts shopping online too.
Hello? What about our mortgage?!
September budget. Way, way overboard.
After scouring Sephora.com for hours over the weekend for something to buy, just so I get free shipping (orders must be over US$50) and have them sent over here via HopShopGo, I realised something. I wasn’t actually buying something I needed. The feeling of “Oooh that’s nice, I want that one!” didn’t even reach me. I was simply throwing items into the shopping cart just because I thought it was cheap. The idea of shopping just because I simply HAD to keep taking advantage of the strong AUD, not because it was actually something I wanted, alarmed me. I immediately closed the webpage and stayed away from the computer since.
Sure, I could buy stuff from the US, ‘cos they sure as heck are a lot cheaper than getting them in Australia. But if I don’t need it, never really wanted it in the first place, aren’t I just spending frivilously, regardless of how cheap it is?
Case in point, my trip with Beetrice to Bangkok. Oh my goodness, things were so cheap there. Clothes, beauty products, etc. I shopped, I hoarded. I came home with an extra duffle bag just for my shopping. In the end, I hardly wore most of the shoes or clothes I bought because in the end, I found that they fit badly. My recent purchase from Victoria’s Secret? I found out that the so-called cashmere blend sweaters were 15% cashmere (instead of more), didn’t fit as well (even though I was meticulous and checked the sizing charts), and were made in China.
Here’s my point. Set a budget and stick to it. I know that the Aussie dollar is doing very well against the USD, but know what you want to buy, and stick to it. Don’t be like me and simply shop for the heck of it. Even if it’s Sephora. Because in the end, you’re the one who has to open that credit card statement and gasp at the huge bill (and the international transaction fees that go with each purchase).
Just like me.
PS: I bet you were hoping to find websites on where to shop when you read this, huh? Nah, my friends at Lilpil, Indulgent Reviews and The Plastic Diaries have already done such a good job at that. Go check them out, especially Lilpil‘s very informative post. Again, spend wisely!