So, Christmas shopping has been a real eye-opener for me this year. First, I'm shocked at how foreign the whole idea of spending hours shopping has become. I am completely out of the habit, and yet that was something I used to do quite regularly.

This season has also taught me why I stopped making shopping trips in the first place: the impulse buy. I bought many gifts for myself. True, some were things I needed and were incredibly good buys, like $30 Reebok shoes. But other buys were pure impulses, like a winter hat and ear headband, and slippers. Yes, they were cheap. In fact, I think combined they totaled $15. But I don't NEED them. I have slippers. I have a hat and headband. So, I took both the hat and the slippers back to the store today. And I had to force the woman at JCPenneys to give me a refund on my credit card instead of a store merchandise card. But I'm now $15 richer. And just slightly irritated at how easy it is to fall back into old spending habits.