I'm a Sucker for Cheap, Old Movies

I've been trying to stick to a budget, pay debt and loans, and become financially independent and secure. So I just haven't been buying things I don't have the money for. Or so I thought. I suppose I thought this because I don't usually buy clothes or shoes or CDs or books anymore. I don't buy gadgets, and I don't buy home furnishings. As I looked at the $9.99 movie rack at Kroger tonight, though . . . I realized what my financial weakness is. Although it seems like a small thing, when you buy as many movies as I do, it becomes wasteful.

Take these $9.99 movies . . . If I buy one per month, that's about $120 per year. Not so bad, really, but when movies are so cheap (especially the $5.50 movies at Wal-Mart), I tend to buy a couple. That could be, say, 200 bucks a year! Now, I don't think I buy a movie each month -- it's probably more like a movie every two months. Still, it's $100 to $200 that I don't need to be spending. I mean, when's the last time I watched "Little Man Tate?" I've had it for a year and haven't even torn off the cellophane wrapper . . .

Here's the thing, though -- the sale movies are almost always old movies, and I LOVE old movies! I hardly ever watch contemporary movies anymore because they're almost all questionable, as far as I'm concerned. But what about '90s movies in which everyone wears rayon and things look gray and dingy like Seattle? You bet I'd buy those. Weird '80s movies, such as those imagined by Jim Henson? Of course. Classic musicals from Hollywood's heydays? My absolute favorite.

So what prompted this post, you ask? What movie did I buy tonight? Well, I'll tell you. It was "Funny Girl." But I was thisclose to buying "Sleepless in Seattle" as well.

Oy. It's just a habit I've got to kick. But you never know when you'll be in the mood to watch something like . . . "The Cutting Edge."

What about you, readers? What's something you splurge on?


Thing I'm thankful for: talking with my mommy.