How I stick to my budget

The tried-and-true trick that keeps me from overspending

Last weekend, I was catching up with my sister. She mentioned browsing in a new store downtown when a gorgeous, super soft-looking sweater caught her eye. “It was heaven in a shirt. I would have snuggled in that sweater every damn day,” she told me. “Well did you buy it?” I asked her. “Um, no,” she said. “It was way too expensive. Yes, it was cashmere, but it was $400! I did not $400 like that sweater. I maybe $60 liked that sweater.”

This is a phrase that we’ve been using for as long as I can remember to help us make good decisions around purchases, specifically impulse buys or things that are wants, not needs. It’s kind of like asking yourself, “Is it worth it?” when evaluating a Food Freedom choice, but it puts the decision in concrete terms, using a language we can all understand—money.