“A budget is just a method of worrying before you spend money, as well as afterward.” - anon

I don't know if it's thanks to the economy...if the constant onslaught of doom and gloom prophecies are finally getting to me...or whether my plan to think before I buy is actually (gasp) working...but recently I've found myself visiting websites...ogling the massive reductions and...rather than snapping up a few steals and deals as I would have done in prior years...taking a virtual stroll through the aisles and leaving (virtuously empty-handed)...

Everything's "nice" and "cheap"...both dread words because nice is about as insipid as you can get and cheap is relative (if it started out at $850 and it's now $220 it's certainly massively reduced...but is it "cheap"?)...but, until that magic moment when something jumps out at me as being "special", it's proving remarkably easy to ignore all of the inducements to shop.

Is it me? Has the Scottish frugality in my genetic make-up finally taken over...holding my other emotions hostage? Or is anyone else experiencing a certain lethargy when confronted by the current sale extravaganza?

Barbara Kruger - Untitled (I shop therefore I am), 1987