Kissing frugality goodbye

Once upon a time, Brandon and I were cheap.  When we had first moved to Houston, we lived in a dingy little second-floor apartment and I had a part-time job to keep us out of debt.  And at that time, I kept telling myself that even after Brandon started doing internships every summer and making more money, we would stay frugal. 

Well, that first internship came and went and for the first time in our marriage, we were not living below the poverty line.  I thought we were really going overboard when I stopped working and we moved into a bigger place, bought a 42" TV, and a double jogging stroller.  We also had a baby that year and after all the medical costs, I thought, "We'll really have to be better about not spending money next year."

But lo and behold, we haven't.  We again moved into a nicer place (apparently bigger wasn't enough-- I also needed a garage) and bought a new camera, took a family trip to Utah, and went to Belize-- each of which cost a lot more than our TV and stroller combined.  But since we still have pretty cheap rent and no car payments, I still considered myself frugal.

And then we got smartphones.

That is one thing I have always considered a luxury.  Not to be judgemental, but if I heard someone bragging about how frugal they were and I knew they had a smart phone, I would silently laugh at them.  Face it; they're expensive. Brandon and I calculated that for the price of getting ourselves our new phones and plans, we could buy a new camera and all the accessories every year.

Well, that didn't stop us.  We got new Samsung Glaxy SIII's and think they're pretty awesome.  That standard guilty feeling that comes when we buy something expensive no longer comes to me.  I've gotten over it, and I love it.  I just cringe to think of what I will do when Brandon graduates and I am left unsupervised with a credit card.