Disposable income rapidly diminishing

One thing's for sure - what with the training seminars downtown I've been eating a lot more. Multiple reasons, I suppose. I've been hungrier for one. The 30-minute walk to the school does a number on my calorie-burning. And the walk back in the afternoon doesn't help matters (I felt almost sick today - like I hadn't eaten enough during the day). Naturally I spoiled my appetite for supper because I was so desperate for food I bought a bunch of junk food at the corner store before I arrived home.

My financial outlook, while fairly stable, is dangerously out of control ever since I discovered how high my credit-car limits had risen over the last few years.

Just yesterday I threw down nearly $200 on non-essentials. Goodies, to be sure, but not stuff I necessarily needed. Just stuff I thought was a long time coming and convinced myself by way of a quick "hey, it's not like I can't afford it."

So I picked up the latest volume of Ghost in the Shell - this one came in one of those big boxes again with a limited edition T-shirt (I love these - they're actually quite nice for a freebie). And I also stopped by SportsExperts to grab a new pair of pants and a golf shirt - all new stuff. I know, I could've done with some sale items but pants selection for me is an adventure in itself... those who've met me in person know that I'm a fairly stocky guy - not too wide, but just wide enough and short enough that I have trouble finding pants my size. Let's just say I don't fit in anything by Nike (which, I'm convinced are always designed for baskball players). Ironically, the shirt I got turned out to be by Nike and fits me perfectly... go figure.

Off on an eBay tangent - no I haven't won. Many a seller should thank me for jacking up their final sale prices. I'm always outbid on that UMD by a single bid (and no higher). Mostly because I think people have figured out that they oughtta be buying this sort of thing in stores anyway and getting a decent price there.
What's driving me nuts is that I started this hunt weeks ago because no retailers had the one movie I wanted. But this week I discovered several EB outlets that had it... for the insane price of $30CAD... But consider this - the average eBay final bid (that usually beats me) is around $15.50USD. Tack on shipping (let's say $5 is fair), and then finally convert to Canadian money. That's almost $30 already... and that's if I'm lucky and the Customs inspector doesn't hit me with import duty... at which point, not only did I pay the same amount I would've at a store, but I probably would've waited an extra couple of weeks for it to come through the mail.

I'm seriously thinking I might just spend the extra couple of bucks and support my local retailer... ~_~