$318.79...

.... let me repeat that.

$318.79.

That's how much I spent at Target last night.

Here's what I "stopped by" Target to purchase:
Milk
Sunglasses (lost my prescription sunglasses somewhere. Oops.)
Cute, cheapie shoes I can wear and not worry about ruining.

Okay, so I did buy those three things. Plus a helluva lot more.

What is wrong with me?!?!? I have a problem.

I remember back when I was 20. I was married to my first husband, and we hadn't been married for more than a month or so. He had a job interview for a teaching job, and I had time to kill (we lived in a different city than where he was interviewing).

I had a list. I went to Target. I only bought what was on the list (cleaning supplies, other household needs). I spent $98, and I remember being panicked, because that was sooooo much money. And I was dreading telling the husband (who was and still is a bit frugal- that's a nice word, right?) that I had just spend almost a hundred bucks at Target.

I picked him up after the interview and started to spill the beans. "Ummm, I got all the stuff on our list. It cost a bit more than I expected." He said, "How much?" I said, "Don't get mad." "How MUCH?" "Please, don't get mad!" "HOW MUCH?!?" --with his face getting redder each time. Finally, I told him. I showed him the receipt, so that he didn't think I was a spendthrift.

Please don't get the wrong idea. He is not a bad guy, nor was I ever truly afraid of him. He never gave me a reason to be afraid of him. But money was not a comfortable subject for us. I have a shopping gene. He has a frugal gene. Not a good mix. Fortunately, he learned that it's sometimes necessary to spend a few bucks on cleaning supplies. But, wow, that seemed like a lot of money then!

Fast-forward to last night... shopping with the Farm Boy. I plugged my little check card into Target's Black Hole for credit cards (what is the official term for credit card machines???)... and I only slightly winced at the total. SLIGHTLY. Farm Boy didn't look at it. He didn't even ask. Smiling and joking with the cashier, he was just busy loading up the cart.

Times have sure changed. And while I feel lucky that we can afford to be spendthrifts once in a while, I wonder... maybe I should join a Compulsive Target Shoppers group or something.

Hi, My name is DCMM (aka Grumpy F). I am a compulsive Target shopper. And I don't know if I want to stop. I mean, I'm helping the economy, right?!? ;-)