Shopping | Life Accordinglee

I’m guilty. Yep. There, I said it. I’m guilty.

I let the advertisers get me.

That’s right. I just bought a shirt that I didn’t really need (nor can really afford on my poor college student budget) all because I received an email with a 10% off coupon.

I know. 10% isn’t even that much. Was that purchase even worth it? Heck, the shipping costs were more than the discount itself. But hey, I’m about to have a really cool shirt conveniently shipped right to me (The shirt is for an academic honor society that I’m a part of and says “geek” on the front. Yeah. I had to have it.).

There’s just something about visualizing that little minus sign in my head that entices me to buy things I don’t really need. I’ve been hoarding coupon books and gift cards since I got to college. I tend to be very frugal with my money, though. I can usually tell when something is too expensive and not really worth my time, but show me that same product at a discounted price and I’m all over it. I think it’s a disease.

I know companies have figured this out about people, too. They target us. I can’t tell you how many emails I get throughout the day claiming this sale is seriously the final chance to buy their product at a lower rate, emails from websites I didn’t even know I had accounts with.

Sometimes I can delete the emails right away (New checks? Eh, I don’t need those). But other times (like with the bookstore email claiming 75% off all books. Oh God.), it takes a lot more will power not to drop what I’m doing and buy everything I like. You can see how this might be problematic.

I told you it would be bad…

One thing I’ve never given into, though, is Black Friday. I’m not about to be trampled to death by housewives that have sat in line all night waiting for the coveted Victoria’s Secret sale when all they do is jack the prices up to make them seem discounted in the first place. Not my thing.

No, my new guilty pleasure is Groupon. Oh yes, I’ve signed up for deals in two different cities now. And every day, when I get loads of emails about fitness deals and $200 earrings marked down to $20 (seriously?!), I have to genuinely force myself to hit the Trash button. There goes my deal (Not really, I could just log into my account. But I try to take this moment as one of victory).

What’s something I know I should do, but don’t? For the sake of my tiny, tiny bank account, I’ve got to stay away from the discounts.

A lot of women (and even sometimes men) who join Pinterest have great intentions. They pin all these creative projects or delicious looking recipes on their boards with the purpose of actually making them in the somewhat near future. Right…

It’s okay. We all do it.

And because that never usually works out, we just end up pinning more and more funny cat pictures until all of a sudden it’s three o’clock in the morning and we’ve just polished off a brand new tub of Ben & Jerry’s.

But this past Christmas, being a poor college student, I decided that I was actually going to attempt to fulfill my Pinterest destiny and make DIY Pinterest gifts for my family.

Pros: Super cost effective and heartfelt. Your mom will probably display it for everyone to see and then mention it whenever someone walks past.

Cons: Takes up a lot of time and, even when you fail (we’re talking it looks more akin to a sloppy 1^st grade finger-painting and less like the professional-looking handprint family tree art piece that you wanted), your mom will display it for everyone to see and then mention it whenever someone walks past.

Luckily enough for me, I perceived my own failure in advance and planned accordingly. I made two fairly simple Pinterest gifts, but because I lack a picture of the second one, I’ll only be talking about one of them.

Sharpie Mugs

Anyone that has a Pinterest account and has glanced at the DIY category has seen this project idea. The basic premise is that you can buy a basic white coffee mug, draw or write (with a Sharpie) a cute little phrase like “This isn’t actually coffee” on the side, bake the mug in the oven at 350 degrees, and after some cooling time – voila! DIY mug.

Nope.

If the Sharpie doesn’t rub off from your hands, the markings you made will most definitely come off in the dishwasher (and also potentially from handwashing).

A better idea, and what worked for me, is this Delta Air-Dry Permenamel Transparent Glass Paint Set.

Click the picture for the place to buy it.

The packaging says it’s for glass projects, but it also works just as well on your run-of-the-mill ceramic coffee mug. There are three different tools in this set: the surface conditioner (the little white bottle), which you brush all over the mug first; the liquid lead (black tube), which I skipped over since this wasn’t a glass project; and the paints.

There’s no need to bake the mugs because the paint is supposed to stay on without heat. Now, you can’t put your finished mugs in the dishwasher, but you can handwash them, which is at least better than having your design disintegrate upon contact.

I don’t have any tips for actually designing your mug (all I did was look at some pictures on Google and tried my best to mimic them), but I do know that this set works. Granted, you’re paying a little extra for it (about $7 plus a $1 mug from the dollar store), but it’s still fairly cheap for what you’re getting.

The mugs were a hit with the family and they’ve still held up after several washes. DIY mission accomplished.