The Risk of Self-Rewarding

I'm a big fan of thrifting, of pretty shoes and clothing, and also of chocolate, potato chips and cheese.

There are times when life circumstances are stressful and during those times, I tend to self-reward.

Sometimes, I can go overboard and over-reward myself for surviving a particularly difficult experience, a rough weekend or for achieving an big goal.

There are risks to this.

Even thrift shopping has its boundaries;  yes, its good to find wonderful things at dirt cheap prices, but every budget has its limits.

Food rewarding also has its limits and I can honestly admit to myself and to all of you that my current weight and out-of-proportin butt are the result of over-rewarding.

I am at the age where food should be viewed as nourishment and not a reward.  At least not on a regular basis.  I'm not saying its bad to occasionally reward one's self, but when this becomes a habit instead of an occasional practice, it begins to tread on dangerous ground.

In this post, I am sharing some of my recent thrifted treasures and in doing so, I feel that my words and my actions are incongruent.  I'm saying one thing and have done another.

As I was driving home from my thrift adventure, I was excited about all I had purchased...and on the other hand I was also disappointed that I didn't have better self control. 

I am, of course dealing with some grief and have experienced a very tough weekend, but still, I should be especially aware during times like this that I am self-medicating through shopping and food.  

I should be aware of how easy it is to go overboard with the self-rewards.

I did need to find an "in between" coat, that can be worn in cooler, but not super cold days; that's why I went shopping. I found the beautiful leather and I am grateful for that.   I also needed to buy a winter coat (which I didn't find).

What I didn't need was to find all of this:

Donald Pliner Italian shoes, $20.00 at a consignment shop

but because they were great deals, and I could used them to upgrade my fall wardrobe, I did buy them.  And I'm thrilled to have them, but I'm worried that I won't be able to say no to other 'great buys' when I am under pressure or stress.

Grey knit skirt, $7.00, consignment

Perfect, mint condition Italian leather coat by Laura Clement

Fedora....I added the feather.

Beautiful poncho, purchase at retail price at a from-frou gifty shop...because I have been looking for the perfect poncho for 5 years...

Pretty Eddie Bauer button down shirt, $5.00, Goodwill (under the Talbots sweater I purchased last week)

poncho detail

My photographer, Peyton, who insisted I take and post this picture....

Wilson's Leather blazer style jacket $10.00 at Goodwill after $5 coupon; love the mahogany color.

Jacket detail.....by the way...I washed this coat in the machine!  It came out perfect, but had to be washed alone!!!!!

Cole Haan, air nike technology shoes, in perfect unworn condition, $19.00 at consignment

I din't buy anything frivolous, or anything that isn't practical and won't be used well...but I just needed to stick with my original plan for purchasing.
I don't want to own anything frivolous.  I want to have a well curated wardrobe.  I think I did a good job choosing my wardrobe additions, but it could so easily get out of hand...and in the past it has.

I just want to be more careful, more purposeful.

This applies to food rewards too.  I'm a stress eater.  I will reward myself with a Reese's peanut butter cup when I'm stressed or tired or have competed a large research project.  Generally I choose healthy meals...but then I eat the extras too...like a candy bar a day.  I always have an excuse to eat something chocolate.

Today, I called mightily on my will power and won the battle of the candy bar.  I did not cave.  I did cave, however when it came to potato chips.  I had a heaping platter of them with my chicken noodle soup.
 I know its not practical to cut out all bad habits at one time so I've made a decision;  I'm going to try my best to avoid chocolate during the week.  I will allow myself one candy bar per week and I'm going to ask my husband to bring it home for me on a specified day each week.  I'm not going to cut out salty treats like chips, but I will try to sub popcorn on most days.

As far as the shopping goes, I'm going to try to stick to a wardrobe plan.  I'm going to try to fill in gaps, but not give in to the temptation of every beautiful bargain.

I'm going to give it a my best shot.  Here are my goals:

1.  To save more money by not buying, not save money by buying more things thrift
2.  To eat healthier and lose a few pounds
3.  To make more purposeful choices, fewer impulse choices
4.  To learn to resist over-rewarding


Wish me luck...and if you want to help me out by prompting me to remember my goals....I won't be offended at all.

Thanks for putting up with my rant!  Love and Hugs.