instant gratification

I (Jamie) generally pride myself on being fiscally responsible most of the time. Trevor and I try to be very careful with our finances as we plan for the future and attempt to eliminate all unnecessary debt. We have a detailed monthly budget and for the most part, do quite well sticking to it. We've come to appreciate the fact that we don't have cable or go to many movies; that we share a car and try to keep our eating out to a minimum (okay so we fail at this sometimes, but we are trying).

>>>Fast Forward>>> to today: I have been trying to figure out a way to get more cardio in to my exercise routine. Okay let's be honest, I've been trying to figure out a way to get motivated to exercise at all. I LOVE my Denise Austin Pilates for Everbody DVD, and who doesn't love a little Yoga Booty Ballet action, but I find that without additional cardio, these don't do me as much good as I would like, even if I would do them as often as I should. Ahem. :)

Oh right, so TODAY I found a top-rated workout DVD on Target.com. It just happened to be the 30 Day Shred by Jillian Michaels, the sassy trainer on The Biggest Loser. (If she can help people lose 100+ lbs., surely she can whip me into shape.) I decided that DVD would be just what I needed to kick start my workout plan. Better yet, it was only $8.49, a good price for any DVD, and I was excited to have found my thrifty little self a bit of a bargain. I thought that since Target was only a few miles away, I would just head over there at lunchtime, pick up my $8.49 30 Day Shred DVD and save myself some shipping cost. Plus, I could start my workout TONIGHT. As in, just a few hours from right now. I walked into the store at 11:45, and to my surprise, the workout DVDs weren't $8.49 like they were online. No, no. They were $14.99! $14.99, ya'll! Usually, I would have the self control to walk out of the store, head back to the computer, order the DVD for $8.49 + shipping, and give myself a mental high-five for having exercised good money management. But instead, (you guessed it) I walked out of the store at 12:00, having gained one Jilian Michaels DVD, but having given up $16.37 (tax included). I tried to justify it by saying that with shipping costs my purchase would have been close to that anyway, but to tell you the truth, I feel icky that I know I overpaid. I probably won't take the DVD back to the store...and...I probably will open it up the moment I walk through the front door and get ready to shred. But now, as I'm sitting in the in-between, I feel like I lost to the man.



I was too impatient to wait a week for something that I didn't know I needed three hours ago.

I know it's silly to be bent out of shape over $5 or $6, but I thought it a good eye opener today at what our society and ultimately what we have become. It goes far beyond dumb things like DVDs and $5...maybe if we were all wiser, more patient, and less selfish about material things, this world, and our economy would be a much, much different place.