When we were remodelling our house my husband suggested going into a very swish bathroom shop – I said no – but he went in and I followed. When we came out I was full of ideas for our small bathroom and he was getting worried about the amount of money it was going to cost.

So, after a period of discomfort, I explained why I don’t go into shops that we can’t afford. They have beautiful things that I would love to have and I get swept away. I know that in a short time common sense will prevail – but how I hate the feeling of not being able to have those lovely things in my life!!! In the worst case it can make me not like what we can afford, that is really not nice.

Wow! You do a wonderful job of articulating that yearning most of us have for bigger, better, newer, cooler “stuff”, even when we don’t need that stuff.

And you do an even more amazing job of coming up with creative ways to deal with that yearning. Thank you for the wise advice.