Just wanted to be truthful with you all. I went to the Outlet Malls for the day with my girlfriends and spent $154.
On the bright side-2 items were things I had been looking for-kid’s chopsticks (called “rookie sticks”!) and cake decorator’s gel food coloring.
Also, at “The Children’s Place Outlet” they had 3 racks of clothing going for $1.99, which is an incredible price for their stuff. I bought Princess half of her fall wardrobe, as well as a pair of good quality sunglasses for each of them (which were $2.50 each) and spent $27 there. So that isn’t too bad.
I did however buy myself a dress, about 6 new tops and a pair of capri’s. The capri’s were not on sale, but were the slightly less expensive outlet price. All the shirts were on sale for $8 or less. The dress was an Eddie Bauer that originally cost $70 and I got for $12.
This is WAY more than I usually spend on myself for clothing. Most of my wardrobe comes from thrift stores and yard sales. And now (as long as my shorts all still fit, which they should) I’m pretty much set for the summer.
The plus side is that there were a lot of other things that I determined that I (and the kids) really didn’t need, so I didn’t buy them. Also, although I placed everything on my credit card we will easily be able to pay off the balance at the end of the month.

I think you did very well! The Eddie Bauer dress was a great buy, and those things are very high quality. What you have to think about is how much use you’ll be getting out of the items. If you look at it that way, you didn’t break the bank.
Rookie sticks, LOL! Never heard of them. I’ve seen people use a rolled up matchbook cover and a rubber band to make chopsticks easier. Can you use them? I can, but I wouldn’t hesitate to ask for a fork, LOL!
Hey, you know what? If you really do feel guilty, there is a way you can make up for it. Check out your local grocery store for holiday items that are now on sale. Our Stop & Shop has all their Kosher for Passover items at 50% off. I bought vanilla for $1.39! You could stock up on a few things and make up for the money you spent on clothes (which, btw, I don’t think you have anything to feel guilty about.) I hope next week it hits 75% off, but I figured I’d get a few things this week just to make sure I don’t miss a good buy. I use a lot of vanilla and I’m sure tired of paying a fortune for it.
I love the Eddie Bauer outlet store. They usually have awesome deals! And I’m a strict clearance shopper. Worst case, it has to be at least half off, or really cheap to begin with for me to buy.
I charge everything for the points on my card and have always been able to pay off the balance.
I guess the thing is that I really didn’t NEED any of the stuff I bought. I just WANTED it. 🙂 Sometimes when you’ve been doing the frugal thing for a while it actually become difficult to spend money without feeling guilty.
Yes, but rememeber this is also party why you are being frugal. To enjoy the things you want to. Sometimes it is those little splurges that make you feel good. It just gets out of hand when people “splurge” too much or too often.