I saved €400!

I saved €400 this afternoon. I feel really good about it. I went to Ikea this afternoon with my oldest and youngest children and one of my best friends. She went with a meticulous list and specific things to buy, I went… to go.

I love Ikea. I don’t think you understand. I love Ikea. One recently opened about five minutes away from my house and I could kiss the company directors for having chosen that location. I love Ikea.

Before this Ikea opened, I had to drive an hour and a half to the nearest store, and so I didn’t go very often. I would prepare for weeks in advance, and often spend quite a lot of money. My husband despaired of the opening day of the Ikea near us, because he feared that our budget would go out the window.

A surprising thing has happened however. I go to Ikea quite often, but I almost always buy nothing. I pick things up and look at them, but I tell myself that I can go back and buy them anytime I want. This has probably saved me several hundred euros already.

Today I saw the couch that I’ve been drooling over for the past six months, as well as a rug that I’ve been coveting both at 50% off. I stood in the reduced price section for a long time, looking and thinking.

I didn’t buy them! I trusted my gut feeling, which told me that I would regret buying them, and wouldn’t be able to justify the purchase, even to myself. I walked away happy.

And I didn’t spend €400!

Kelly Rigotti started Almost Frugal as a thirty-something American trying to dig her way out from under a mountain of debt (~€60,000). She's almost frugal and would like to be more so, but shops at Ikea too often for her own good.

Kelly has blogged 584 posts here.