Changing the Way I Spend My Money

Having just recently entered the handmade business world, I have been thinking a lot about how I spend my money. I've always given handmade gifts - handmade by me - but now is the time to expand that beyond just my own crafts.


I LOVE to shop. Retail therapy is my friend. I am a shop owner's dream; impulsive, given the resources I have great taste and there's no such thing as too many. What's that? It helped me to survive college and bankrupted me by graduation - I did learn my lesson I swear.  


I have to say - while not excusing the behavior - this is an inherited trait from my mother; THE Supreme Shopping Queen. She starts buying the following year's holiday gifts DURING the after Christmas sales. For her it is her expression of love. For me, it helps to calm the chaos and fill the void for a time.  


Over the years, I finally figured out some self control. Having my son really helped to put such things into perspective. This was especially true for the 5 years following my divorce, when I was doing it all, and I mean everything, on my own, until I met my fantastic husband and everything got better.  


Given my new circumstances (handmade shop owner), I find myself feeling more guilty than in the past when buying from big box stores.  So I am in the process of changing my behavior. My goal? To spend much more of my money locally, in independently owned shops and on handmade items. I also want to inspire and teach our children to value handmade items. I believe this is important to pass along.  


My inspiration for this post is Tara from Scoutie Girl's recent post called:
change the world with your money 


I love what she has to say here: 

You know I think buying handmade is one of the best ways to change the world with your money. Your hard earned dollars go directly to people who make the thing you’ve purchased, the money stays in your community longer, the profit helps a mom stay home with her kids or an artist realize the dream of creating for a living.
Hopefully, you also know that I think paying what things are worth and earning a good income are important too. It’s hard to change the world with your money when you don’t shell enough out… or have any to use. 


Great food for thought.  I'll report back on how I'm doing in this endeavor as I go along. Setting goals is good. I like it.