Shopaholic Rehab: Pay Attention

Over the weekend I was shopping for my bridal shower outfit, even though we all know I had more than enough perfectly good dresses and accessories to choose from already! Now I don't own too much in the way of jewelry and I wear my red heels all the time, so I thought I could pick up some accessories to make the Mara Hoffman dress I had already bought (thrifted at least!) really pop.

I wandered into a nearby J. Crew since I love their wrap bracelets so much, but didn't see any jewelry to covet, so I checked out the shoes! I saw a pair of coral red pumps that I thought would be great with my beige seersucker dress, though a touch pricy $198. But then...

The CulpritI slipped these on my feet to make sure of the size I needed and immediately felt the rush of impulse buy waft over me. I'm always thinking I should buy some leopard print pumps and this pony hair pair just looked amazing. I ran up to the cash register and the total (with tax) was...

$375

Crap... I had actually assumed that the two pairs of shoes were the same price! I was so embarrassed I handed over my credit card, ran out of the store and sat on a bench, trying not to panic. I started coming up with plans - should I come back the next day and return them, should I come up with a lie why I couldn't keep them? I don't have time to return them tomorrow, should I wander around the mall until I think there was an employee shift change?

In the end, I waited maybe 30 minutes and walked right back in and returned the crazy expensive shoes. It was a little embarrassing to be like, "I just bought these and now I'm returning them," but the cashier was super nice and, really, what do they care? Now I did see the sales guy eye me and I ran back out of the store without a bag - sorry for the lost commission buddy!

I really can't believe I impulsively bought something without looking at the price tag. What's worse is this isn't really the first time that's happened, I'm constantly purchasing a few items at once and not totaling up the final price. So here I am, publicly delcaring: I will stop and think before I buy!!!