My Blue Shoe Day -- Thrift Wins Over Fashion: Lessons from a Color Clash!

Today I was stranded at the gym with blue leather shoes. They're definitely hot shoes, but not with the outfit I was wearing. Buying new a shirt or a matching accessory was an option, but I decided to be frugal rather than fashionable.

The scenario: The non-profit company that I work for has a free gym for employees. For the last several weeks, I've run a daily brisk mile on the treadmill and lifted a few weights. Today, I tried a new routine. Rather than work out in the middle or end of the workday, I hit the free gym before work.

Great idea. I had my gym shoes. I had the rubber shower shoes ($2.49 from CVS), but the Joan and David black leather pumps ($7 dollars on sale at Marshalls versus the full price of $90) were not in my gym bag.

No problem. I typically have an extra pair or two stashed in my office. But today, only the blue shoes were left. They're a pair of Nine West Shoes ($6 on sale ) made from soft blue leather and three-inch stacked heels.

These shoes look hot with the $15 powder blue, light wool suit I found at a yard sale or the blue and brown skirt that was a hand-me-down from a friend. But today, I looked like a fashion don't, as in: don't mix those colors!

The administrative assistant in the office very was kind. She looked at my outfit and studied the situation.

"Do you have an appointment today? Do you have a meeting? Do you have to see anyone today?"

No. No. No, I said. My only appointment was with the keyboard and phone.

"Well. You're fine," she said, adding: "The shoes look...OK."

I wasn't convinced. The clash annoyed me and I knew that I could easily pick up a matching or complementing shirt for under $10 at the shopping center located dangerously across from my office. After a quick stop at the clearance sections at Gap and Ann Taylor Loft, I returned back to the office without making a purchase.

I learned a lot from my day of clashing colors:

1) Pack carefully. Whether you're going to a foreign country or just to the gym, it pays to double check your bags. Shopping for missing items can cost time or money.

2) Don't settle for near matches. To her credit, the salesclerk at Ann Taylor Loft nixed the blue shirts that I had selected as possible replacements. "Your blue shoes are much lighter than that," she said. I discovered that almost-but-not-quite matches can look worse than an outright clash.

3) Ignore your shoes. No one cared about my clashing shoes but me.

4) Turn a mistake into a fashion statement. So what if my black skirt and and yellow sweater set clashed with the baby blue shoes? I converted my error into a bold trend of extreme accent colors.

5) Whatever! By midday, I stopped caring about my shoes, my sweater and skirt. Hurricanes are threatening parts of the U.S. A historical presidential election is underway and my shoes don't match. Big Deal. Make life really happen!

6) Convert mistakes. My fashion mistake sparked a very productive day. I spent a lot of time in my office writing.

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The Automatic Pilot Lands in Another Crappy Moment: A Financial Lesson

It was just another crappy moment, but as the cliche goes: I learned a lot. And so goes life with my dog Scruffy, who continues to teach me Zen-like lessons in patience, planning and the dangers of living life on automatic pilot.

Here's the scenario: A little while ago -- at sunset -- I was walking the dog and I ran out of doggy bags during our walk. (TMI) Anyway, when Scruffy (that's him in the photo) headed for a neighbor's yard, I acted like a good citizen. I asked for a plastic bag and cleaned up after my dog. And then stuff really happened. Here's what I learned:

• Don't be smug. Blissed out from my do-good efforts to clean up after my dog, I stopped paying attention to the task at hand. Mindlessly, I let the plastic bag flap in the wind. As such, the bag missed the target, but my hands hit pay dirt. (Don't ask. TMI.) Needless to say, I needed a lot of soap when I returned home. Lesson: Stay focused on money, savings and clean-up efforts. Be mindful. Pay attention to details.


• Don't get angry: Annoyed, I let the leash drop into the mess. As such, one mistake led to another error. Lesson: Misdirected anger just leads to bigger messes in personal, financial and professional matters.


• Don't get lost in regrets. "I'm tired of pulling lessons out of crap." That was my mantra as I walked the dog home. But I was so lost in regrets that I twisted my ankle and almost broke my pretty silk flip-flops from China. (These pretty shoes look like Madame Butterfly meets Surfer Girl). As I tripped over the curb, I realized that in past personal and professional stumbles, I have squandered time, money and effort by banishing myself to purgatory circles of regrets. My target attitude: Stuff happens. Just clean-up and move on.
  
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4 Mindful & Savvy Uses for Rebate Checks: Avoid the Mall

"Getting a Rebate? Focus not on more, but on more of what matters." Bottom line: Don't overspend. That's the word from the folks at Center for a New American Dream, a consumer organization that targets meaningful living and spending plans.

Here's a guest post from New American Dream about frugal and mindful uses of rebate checks:

"In a few weeks, Americans will receive their rebate checks—part of a $168 billion effort to bolster the economy through increased consumer spending. Author and sociologist Dalton Conley, however, notes in a New York Times op-ed piece that “Consumer overspending got us into this mess. More spending won’t get us out.”

Before Americans use their checks to prop up sagging sales of unsustainable products, New American Dream and the Conscious Consumer Marketplace would like to offer four things everyone can do that will be smarter for and kinder to our pocketbooks, the planet, and the economy:

1. Pay off your credit card. Author and personal financial journalist John Wasik writes for Bloomberg.com: There's no personal economic benefit to carrying a balance on a credit card. It's an albatross. So pay them off and shed the seabird. Then download a free New Dream Wallet Buddy credit card sleeve to remind you to consider carefully before you charge: www.newdream.org/walletbuddy.pdf.

2. Invest it. Recently, the national savings rate dipped below zero, the first time since the Great Depression we were spending more than we saved. Conley suggests citizens should invest the money, not run to the malls. Why not do some social goodwill while saving for your future? Learn more on Marketplace’s Socially Responsible Investing page: www.newdream.org/consumer/sri.php.

3. Buy wisely. If you buy something, make it count—for you and for the environment. Writing for MSNBC.com, personal finance journalist Laura Coffey (after cautioning first to get debts under control) says consumers should “consider buying an energy-efficient appliance, especially if you’re now relying on older, less-efficient appliances.” For more on energy efficient appliances and other ways to support the Green Economy, visit the Conscious Consumer Marketplace at consciousconsumer.org.

4. Give it away. No, don’t send it back to the government with a “Thanks, but no thanks” note. But if you are out of debt, investing responsibly, and satisfied with the state of your stuff, then maybe it’s time to help build a sustainable society by supporting causes you believe in.

Remember, when the check comes, you are not just a consumer. You are a citizen. Think of the rebate as an opportunity to keep afloat and support your values."

source: www.newdream.org.
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