"I always say shopping is cheaper than a psychiatrist." - Tammy Faye Bakker

I need to seriously consider joining Shopaholics Anonymous. I buy things compulsively, particularly shoes and purses and sometimes expensive shoes and purses. Walking through the mall or shopping online, I will stumble across something that I absolutely MUST have. If I don't buy it on the spot, I obsess over it. I check for it to go on sale. I dream about it. Inevitably, I purchase it. This bag from Anthropologie is the object of my latest desire.

I first saw it while shopping in San Francisco over the holidays. The bright colors stood out against the black background like the Northern Lights shining in a dark, winter sky. (OK, it's not really comparable to a natural phenomenon, but it's PRETTY!) The best part was the clearance price! The original $118 price was crossed out in red pen and what I thought read $29.99 was written below. It was going to be mine.

Apparently, twos and fives can look very similar in scripty salesperson writing because when I got to the register, it rang up $59.99. Ouch! I had already spent a boatload of money on my trip and could not justify dropping $60 on a purse at the time. So, I put it back and shed a little tear.

It's been haunting me ever since. Diligently, I check the Anthropologie website weekly to monitor the price. If it goes down ten cents I'm buying it. Who am I kidding? I'm going to buy it regardless. It's only a matter of time. However, instead of buying it on-the-spot-because-I-absolutely-have-to-have-it-right-now, I'm going to wait until I save up enough money to purchase it and still be able to buy gas. What good is a fancy new purse if you can't go anywhere to show it off because you have no gas?