Why I Say "No": So I Can Say "Yes" Later!!!

This is just a stand alone post, but I was given an opportunity to see experience why I say "no" so later I can say "yes".

One thing I've discovered the last few years is there are a lots of good deals out there. Whether it's with coupons, hanging on a clearance rack, or tucked at the back of a box at a garage sale. I want to live well, save more, and have money to give to others, but it's the little decisions on regular everyday shopping trips that can deter me sometimes... I'll think, "It's only $3" or "but I'll use it for ... (an event three months down the road)". Stocking up on items while they are at a great price, or buying for the future, are both great things to do, and I do them. But for me, if I don't ask myself more questions before making a purchase on a "great deal", I'll overspend in that budget category, or I will fill my home with things I "like" but don't "love". So I have been trying to make a habit of asking myself questions like:

- "Will I wear this more than twice?"
- "Do I already have an item similar to this at home?"
- "Have I used up most of what I have already?" (like pretty candles, hand soaps, etc...)
- "If I purchase this toy, what toy can I put in the garage sale box instead?"
- "Do I LOVE this? Will I regret NOT purchasing it a week from now?"

A lot of the time, I have to say "no" to something. I put that cute shirt back on the rack, set the toy truck back on the table at the garage sale, or decide I'm going to use up what I have first.

But then, when I hit a garage sale like I did this week, I finally can say "YES!!!" and love it! A certain 2 yr. old boy in my house is a very happy little man. At a garage sale this week, I "previewed" a friend's garage sale the night before, and scored a Fisher Price Little People construction set and fire station set, along with some Melissa & Doug wooden puzzles. He found them before I could stash them away for potty training rewards & Christmas and had to take them to bed with him, lining them up properly...

They have since been put back away for later, because.... (drumroll please)... When I went back the next day to say hi to my friend and see how the garage sale was going, she had added this train table about to her sale... I made a quick call to the hubby and we both were able to say YES!!!

I couldn't wait to get it set up at home and show it to my Levi. Every time I thought about the table, all I could think about was "That's why it's so worth it to say no. Because today I got to say yes!" And I know I will remember this for a long time to come. It will motivate me to keep on saying "no". Because I love getting to say "yes".