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Not planned or Impulse

December 30th, 2011 at 05:29 pm

I created a new 'not planned' category. Thought about calling it 'impulse', but that seemed to have a negative connotation. And not all my not-planned spending are impulse, some are pretty calculated.

I think I could also call this emotional spending, a lot of the justification is for emotions not so much logic.

My spending this week includes:
$500 for a trailer that has a lot of sentimental attachment to me and the sale will help someone who is not able to buy groceries. I don't have room or use for the trailer so I'm 'lending' it to a good friend to use indefinitely.

$555 for a painting that I'm bidding on on ebay. Its from a new artist who I follow on YouTube for another reason. She lives in an eastern european country and has trouble making ends meet (like most folks), I also am 'friends' with her on facebook and I see her financial struggles, she lost her job for a bit, etc. I personally would like to see her quit her day job and focus on the activism she does (and shows on youtube), and sell paintings to make ends meet. So that was one reason to bid so high. Another was I really like the painting, she even did a video of how she made it, and I would really like to have it in my house. I have never bought art like this before so that's exciting too. Most of the stuff on my walls are either gifts, from the dumpster (seriously, but its a beautiful oil painting in a really nice frame), or prints/sketches I picked up on my travels. There are 4 paintings on auction, all are currently over $400. She's only auctioned one before for $81. She started painting in November. I suppose its possible they will become quite valuable, but I don't know what exactly that means to me since I'm not buying it as an investment but to have forever.
What is art worth? I've been thinking about that a lot these last few days (as I've bid on a painting more than I've ever bid and I'm deciding if I want to up my bid to make sure I get it, how high should I go?) I'm trying to equate price with enjoyment. Isn't that a hard task!

$100 or so on home decorating. I've been organizing and decided that not only did everything need a place, but it had to be a nice one. So, for one of the few times in my life, I went out to buy stuff to put stuff in (besides plastic bins, I always buy those!). For example, I have been using the cardboard box that my space heater came in as a paper recycling bin in my home office. I upgraded that to a basket. I didn't use any of the baskets I own because I wanted a specific size, so I went to the Fair trade market and bought one for $14. Its beautiful. I look at it constantly since I can see it from my computer.

Added: Here's the picture:

4 Responses to “Not planned or Impulse”

  1. Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
    1325269642

    I bet I'm not the only one who'd love to see a photo of the ebay painting if/when you get it. Smile

  2. patientsaver Says:
    1325294116

    that's what my comment was going to be....can we see a picture of the painting?

  3. Jerry Says:
    1325950498

    I think you are correct, "Impulse" could lead to a connotation that isn't completely accurate. Not every unexpected expenditure is an impulse purchase, sometimes crap just happens! Replacing a flat tire, example, or unexpected health insurance deductible costs, etc. Oh, and nice artwork! Where is the artist located? We are living in SE Europe right now.
    Jerry

  4. PurpleLight Says:
    1326246380

    The artwork is from Romania. And I won the auction. I'll post a picture when I get it framed and hanging. I've been communicating with the artist too, and giving some advice about ebay. I've been ebaying for years. I know I'll post more about that. Later...

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