Credit Mentality

I was reading Debt and the City's post today about slipping into the credit mentality, and that "all it takes is one swipe" and I completely agree.

What drove me to that first swipe was likely a combination of stress from my move and from losing my job (all on the same day!). Since then, the stress has continued to pile on from unpacking (and subsequent feelings of suffocation), arguments/letters to the old landlord to try to get the security deposit back, finishing my paper and presentation, and dealing with a couple (thankfully minor) family emergencies.... the swipes have followed fervently behind.

The damage? I've spent about $3000 on a purse, shoes, and clothes (how quickly we fall into old habits!), not to mention all the money I've spent eating out with family and friends (neither M or I have cooked since we moved in... we only went to the grocery store for the first time a week ago).

I still haven't listed any of my old purses on ebay, so that will offset some of what I've spent (if all goes well, roughly half).

I'm going to wait for a few returns to post, add up every last cent I've charged to the credit cards, and then update my sidebars. And then I'll create a plan for tackling it! And I'm determined to fall back into the HEALTHY pattern I was in before we moved - namely, reacting to stress by exercising, NOT by spending! Not only have I been spending loads, I haven't been exercising at all... I am very disappointed in myself. :(