Broke the budget..how about you?

Budget??? Um, no budget....but I keep track (in my head) of what the credit card balance(s) are. Some weeks I really blow it, other weeks not so much. Did some damage this morning at a Quilting & Knitting expo.....going to "try" to save (refrain from buying) until we go on vacation in Sept. There is a wonderful quilt shop (The Cherry Pit) in downtown Sevierville, TN that I want to spend some "quality" time in. :D Keeping my fingers crossed that DH will let me go by myself (have checked & it's not too far from the cabin we are renting & with the GPS I know I can get there & back). He is very protective of me going places by myself, esp if we are away from home....gotta love him for that. Have been to this shop one time before, he took me & waited in the car. I "felt" rushed, even though he told me to take my time and I knew he meant it. The shop even has chairs/magazines etc for hubbies waiting on their wives while they shop. They have thought of everything! But I know my DH, he wouldn't go in.....he would rather sit in the car. :icon_rolleyes:

I don't have a budget established, but I do try and watch what I spend so there's enough leftover to pay bills..lol. I did spend quite a bit recently to get enough fabric to finish a quilt for my husband's birthday since I drastically underestimated what I initially needed. I have items in my M* wishlist so that if I see a DD that I love then I can add a couple items to it. I was really bad when I started on M* and the forum and I have most of the templates but there are a couple out there I still need that are in my wishlist. I already had today's DD. What saves me is the only shop locally is Joann's and the closest actual LQS is about an hour away so I've only been there 2x. Joann's has some good deals this week and so I couldn't resist--their quilt fabric was $2.49, the blizzard fleece is 70% off, and there's some drapery linings on sale & some quilt backing that I need to go back for this weekend before the sale is over. THEN, I should be done for awhile. I have some projects I want to do for Christmas presents but I should have enough in my stash to get them going. (I stocked up on the warm&natural batting when it was on sale last time and have enough to finish my mystery quilt, my husband's quilt & 1 more, so I will need more for the Christmas projects, sigh).

I don't have a budget but I do have 3 questions I ask myself whenever I feel the need to "shop"
If there are more than 2 "YES's" then I have to buy - the questions are :- 1) Do I like it 2) Do I want it 3) Can I afford it
It never fails me, I always get 2 Yes's
LOL

If you really do want to spend less on fabric, my advice is to write down what you are buying and what you are spending. I have a page in my Daily Planner for this. Money you save by not buying fabric can still go to support your craft. You could save it to go away for a weekend to a quilt show (which is what DH and I are doing this weekend), or upgrade to a better sewing machine or any number of things you might have on your wish list that are big-budget items you might think you can't afford. I get a "high" when I buy new fabric and when I eventually come down from that high I need a new "fix." I went through a bit of withdrawal when I stopped buying lots of fabric but now feel so good about saving that money. Keep track of what you're spending, writing it down in one place, for three months, then you can make a decision about what you are spending compared to what you'd like to be spending.

I'll get off my soapbox now. Thanks for listening!

Cil, I can't wait to see what Punctuation fabrics you bought!
I don't have a budget per say - I used to just always tell myself no to buying the DD
But since I've started saving $100 a month to go back to Hawaii, I now have a cushion and I allowed myself to order the
Sunnyside charm pack and mini charm pack - only $12.08
I can replace that money in September - so now I can't order till next month....
well we'll see.....ha!

I really don't budget either. But I slowed down quite a bit. I needed to get fabric for the Christmas stocking group (25% off) and I bought some containers to organize my scraps into colors. $1.11 each sounded good at good old Wally's :)

My husband says I have a budget, but his idea of one is not mine, so I spend the money and he tries to act like be doesn't notice or care. He is so good to me. :)

Thanks ladies, now I don't feel too bad. I can't say that I really have a fabric budget and my hubby doesn't ever say anything about what I spend cause I'm usually really careful. As long as the bills are paid, he doesn't much care after that.
I had said I wasn't going to spend any more after a couple of weeks of "stocking". Two weeks in a row, Joann's had a 15% and then a 20% off entire purchase including sale items. Those weeks I stocked up on flannel, backing fabric and batting...and a few other cottons. I was really good and haven't been for two weeks and didn't spend anything online either! Then Susann had to post the beautiful quilt with such wonderful fabrics and I had to have it. That and finding the store at Etsy that is going out of business. I'm hoping to order more from her too, but not right away. I ordered smartly from her. i got 6-7 different fabrics and coordinated them to be able to make two different quilts. I'm hoping she keeps the 12% off total order sale, or more would be nice. That and the fact that she refunds overage on shipping was great. I got $8.40 back, which means she was able to stuff all my fabric into a small flat rate box. Some of them say they will refund the money but never do. She did the very next day!
Kathy, I will be sure to take pictures of all my fabrics when they come in. I can't wait!

Terri,

I used to live near Sevierville; I know the shop. If you have time for a "shop hop", my favorite one in the area is Pappy's. It's on Highway 411 (AKA Sevierville Rd) south of Sevierville. I hope you have a great time in my old stomping grounds! (And if you're interested in buying a horse farm, ours is on the market, 2 minutes from Pappy's!)

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Originally Posted by Terri

Budget??? Um, no budget....but I keep track (in my head) of what the credit card balance(s) are. Some weeks I really blow it, other weeks not so much. Did some damage this morning at a Quilting & Knitting expo.....going to "try" to save (refrain from buying) until we go on vacation in Sept. There is a wonderful quilt shop (The Cherry Pit) in downtown Sevierville, TN that I want to spend some "quality" time in. :D Keeping my fingers crossed that DH will let me go by myself (have checked & it's not too far from the cabin we are renting & with the GPS I know I can get there & back). He is very protective of me going places by myself, esp if we are away from home....gotta love him for that. Have been to this shop one time before, he took me & waited in the car. I "felt" rushed, even though he told me to take my time and I knew he meant it. The shop even has chairs/magazines etc for hubbies waiting on their wives while they shop. They have thought of everything! But I know my DH, he wouldn't go in.....he would rather sit in the car. :icon_rolleyes:

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My Mastercard told me he needed a rest. So I am going to give it a nap for at least 2 payments and then WATCH OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!