In my quest to be frugal, I’ve been keeping a very close eye on my wallet. It likes to come up for air once and awhile when I’d rather it drown in the bottom of my bag.  I was especially careful this past weekend in Montreal, because last time I was there I spent close to $1000 dollars!  There were shoes, sweaters, jeans, and jackets…yes plural.  The shopping in Montreal is fantastic!

This time around I decided to exercise my mind rather than my wallet.  I am committed to drowning my debt.  Although there were plenty of opportunities to shop, my greatest obstacle was a morning alone downtown.  I was free to roam the stores unchaperoned for 2.5 hours and all I bought was a coffee and a bottle of water.  I know, I know, coffee is an anti-nutrient and all that jazz but I made a deal with myself.  I could sip and enjoy a coffee while browsing if I didn’t spend another cent.  This allowed me to have a treat without that treat being a few hundred dollars worth of unnecessary apparel.  I was content.

There were some close calls, however.  I picked up a few items in one store, thinking, I’ll just try them on – no harm done.  But after 10 minutes of walking around the store, I decided to toss them aside.  No need to try anything on, because I wasn’t buying anything.  I went to Chapters and found a few interesting reads.  No need – I’ll just make a trip to the library when I return home – FREE!   I am proud of myself for sure, and I am happy to report that the evil credit cards are still MIA in the black abyss that is the bottom of my bag