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Is spending that cash
really necessary?

As Mayor Mufi Hannemann works hard to create a leaner budget focused on basic city services, I wonder if he knows how his budget philosophy is affecting our wallets.

Now, when I go shopping, I have to ask myself, Is this a "need to have" item, or just a "nice to have" one? No more impulse buying, no more shopping till I'm dropping, no more justifications for that formal I'll just use once, and no more Manolo Blahniks because Sarah Jessica Parker made such a fuss over them in "Sex in the City." I even remember days when I chose "nice to have" over "need to have," and fantasizing about marrying a rich man so I could shop all the time for "nice to haves." Well, no more.

Yes, I have become a budget-conscious shopper. Not that I had the budget to overdo it before ... I'd do it anyway. Shopping for the fluff stuff was a fun and exciting escape from the humdrum world.

When I bought new clothes, I'd see myself in them at some fabulous party, a romantic date or on an expedition to shop for more clothes. Same for decorative objects. I'd see them in my house or office in that perfect little place that just screamed for color or a pretty object. And that formal dress from Neiman's that I would probably only use once would, I was convinced, make me the belle of any ball. Yes, my fantasy world has been rich!

But now that is all gone. That ball gown is definitely on the "nice to have" side, while I have lots of nice classic black pieces that can be dressed up with a little bling. Pass! And those Manolo Blahniks cannot be justified when there's a shoe sale at Macy's or Nordstrom Rack. Pass! And is that decorative vase really a "need to have" for my shelf when I'd just be dusting it for the next 20 or 30 years? Pass!

EVEN AT Wal-Mart, the discount king, I weigh each purchase.

Medications: Need to have.
Makeup: Definitely need to have.

Palm tree hooks to match with the palm tree shower curtain: Well, the jury is still out on that one.

Sometimes the line between "need" and "nice" is a little blurry as I picture my perfectly coordinated palm tree-themed bathroom that, I'm sure, will evoke oohs and aahs from all who use it, especially when they sit on the cushioned palm tree-design toilet seat.

The "need to have" vs. the "nice to have" philosophy is so simple, and yet, with all the temptation out there, it's difficult to draw that line in the wallet sometimes, especially if you've got kids crying for that new Gameboy video, or if your teen frets she'll be an outcast if she doesn't get that third piercing, or if your bathroom would be a decorating "don't" without the right shower curtain hooks.

So I guess the mayor has done me a favor by reintroducing the idea of fiscal responsibility that went out of style after the Great Depression. My checkbook is balancing a little more in the black these days. I can pay more than the minimum on my credit cards each month. I never get buyer's remorse anymore.

I always have the "need to have" items within reach instead of a nice vase that I can't blow my nose with. And yes, my shopping time has been reduced, leaving me with more time to do other things. And true, I can pamper myself now and then with something special because I will have the money for it. I guess our city will be in better shape, too.

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