IT’S MY MONEY | My dear readers, you probably won’t find any new posts on this blog for the next two weeks because I’ll be on vacation in Mexico. Yes, I am excited. I don’t plan on doing much shopping, but you never know!

Have a safe and happy New Year!

Esprit top on sale for $12.99. (from Espritshop.com)

IT’S MY MONEY | Merry Christmas to me! I’ve been doing a lot of holiday shopping lately… for myself. The temptations have apparently been too much for me. It all started with Macy’s Black Friday sale where I picked up two jackets: a black trench ($90) and an olive green peacoat ($64), followed by a down comforter ($50). My other shopping conquests of late include two pairs of jeans ($200 total), a visit to Banana Republic’s clearance racks ($143), a trip to a Calvin Klein Outlet ($95), a DKNY winter coat from Loehman’s, patent leather boots plus tights from DSW ($60) and a few sale items from Esprit’s online outlet ($40). In the past month, I have spent around $900 on myself and zero on anybody else. Am I out of control?!

I would say it’s one of those situations where I had not let myself shop for months, thus building up an incredible amount of demand for retail therapy. I can also justify my purchases by reminding myself that everything I bought was on sale and most of it came from the clearance section. How much self-gifting have you done this year? Come on, it’s okay, we all do it…

Need some self-gifting inspiration? Click here.

IT’S MY MONEY | The end of October equals the end of Breast Cancer Awareness month and good-bye pink!

Anyone who knows me knows I have an disproportionately large amount of pink stuff (clothes, home decor, Hello Kitty paraphernalia), but I’m so tired of seeing pink merchandise in stores and magazines!

Don’t get me wrong, I dislike breast cancer as much as anyone else and I definitely think people should be aware of it, but I think the pink crap campaign has gone too far. A pink box of Wheat Thins? Give me a break! Check out the site Think Before You Pink for more on this.

Raising awareness about diseases is an important endeavor, but it doesn’t have to be carried out via over-priced pink merchandise attached with promises of “supporting breast cancer research.” It’s in the marketing, according to an interesting Yahoo! Finance article. Retailers and manufacturers are probably benefiting more than the cause: some products only give small fractions of the profits or literally a few cents to the charity regardless of the purchase price. Wow, don’t knock yourself out with all that generosity!

Instead of buying a pink M & Ms, how about giving money to people who don’t have health insurance? That could probably save more lives than buying into the Pink Campaign.

RETAIL DETAIL | Move over Halloween merchandise, it’s Hispanic Heritage Month and retailers are taking advantage of the season. iTunes sent me an e-mail reminding to celebrate my Hispanic heritage by downloading some songs at 99 cents a piece. I feel more patriotic already!

Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest retailer, tells me that some of its stores, those it labels “Stores of the Community,” may be having “live music, radio station remote broadcasts, and special appearances.” Just for us? How precious.

I wasn’t aware of this, but apparently Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 is the best of the year to be Hispanic because finally, some retailers will realize they can cater to Latinos without restraint. Oh, wait, what about Cinco de Mayo? Well, that’s the holiday non-Hispanics have appropriated as another reason to eat chips and salsa and drink margaritas.

To my fellow Hispanics, in case you were waiting to download songs by a Daddy Yankee or buy a 12-pack of Corona from Wal-Mart, now is the time!

Hispanics now make up 15 percent of the U.S. population. Marketers have been spending years trying special promotions and tactics to reach this “untapped” market. Well, I’m not a marketing expert, but I can say that Hispanics shop all year-around and taking one month to recognize our contributions as consumers is rather patronizing.
Gracias, amigos! No thank you.

IT’S MY MONEY | I shopped until my feet ached on Saturday and I still wanted to keep going! Unfortunately for me, Saturday was the only day of the three day weekend I could devote to spending the small bucks I make. Nonetheless, I would call my time well-spent.

I ventured out with two goals in mind:
• find a pair of silver heels to wear to a wedding I’m in this weekend.
• look for an alternate dress to wear to a wedding that took place Sunday.

I came home with a bag of basic tees and tanks from Old Navy and four pairs of shoes. Yes, four!

The first pair were a steal: $27 for black pointy-toe, mid-heel Nine West pumps from Ross. The check-out line snaked back about fifty people deep, but it was worth the wait. Then I ventured over to a place where I can spend hours: DSW (Designer Shoe Warehouse).

I love DSW, but it’s a like black hole for me. First, of all, the San Francisco store in Union Square has three and a half floors. I perused all of them. Second, trying on shoes. I was by myself and I hate shopping alone. They all look great! Third, the decision making process. That’s the part of the shopping trip I hate. In the end, I selected a pair of silver open-toe, satin pumps ($30), gray and sea-green Adidas running shoes ($50) and black Calvin Klein flats ($35). I’m embarrassed to admit those are my first pair of fashionable flats. Yes, I’m a late bloomer. I hesitated on account of arch support, but I’m a believer. They are adorable!

I was disappointed with finding a cool new dress to buy. My back up was black and I hoped to find something in a different color, but no such luck. At least my feet are happy.

Above: a photo of my happy feet in my new black CK flats.

IT’S MY MONEY | Labor Day Weekend is coming up and I have some shopping to do! I have a wedding to attend on Sunday and I need a dress, so I think I will hit the hysteria of Union Square on the weekend to see if I can find a deal.

I’ve heard from many experts that you should do a practice run online before a big shopping day. Here’s some sites I’ll be checking out to warm up my buying muscles:

• Amazon: 70% of more than 400 products for the home.
• Macy’s: Up to 50% off. I need some new black pumps!
• La Redoute: 50 % off tons of items. A friend turned me onto this catalog store while we were in college. Chic, but not cheap-looking clothes.

Coach wristlet, fun and functional, $48.

IT’S MY MONEY | I’ve been on an informal crusade for the last year to convince women to minimize their accessories and ditch big purses. I don’t care if you can fit anything into a big bag, do you really need to? I say make your life much easier by bagging big bags and picking up something smaller like a wristlet.

Wristlets are cheaper, hold more than you would expect, are undeniably cute and are easy to hold onto. I don’t buy expensive purses because I’m too poor, but I have invested in a second Coach wristlet (my first was a gift—thanks Kristina in NYC!). The one pictured above is $48. Sounds pricey for such a small object. It is, however, worth every penny for the convenience, style and simplicity it will bring to your life.

You don’t need five tubes of lipstick, three checkbooks (or even one for that matter), a first aid kit and lotion. Sure those things are handy, but you don’t need to cart them around all the time. And, when you do (i.e. you’re on vacation), then you can reach for the larger purse and toss your wristlet right in.

You will have to pare down to the items you absolutely need: driver’s license, debit card, up to three credit cards, one tube of lipstick or gloss, cash and cellphone.

Say “no” to bulky bags!

IT’S MY MONEY | I interviewed the co-founder of a pharmacy aimed at Latinos who told me that purchasing decisions “are not all price-driven.” I completely agree and the more I cover retail the more I ponder, how much are we willing to pay for a good experience?

I have been having my hair cut at the same salon in the Seattle since I started college. Before that, my mother had always cut my hair. My salon in Seattle, Gene Juarez, is not terribly pricey (I pay between $40 and $50 for a cut), but what I love is the service. When I arrive, I’m offered to put on a cotton robe so I can change out of my shirt. I’m asked if I want tea, coffee or water to drink. I then sit down in a comfortable lobby with every fashion magazine imaginable. So, over all, I love the experience. Not that’s out of this world, but it’s enough to keep me coming back. I have tried other salons, but the attention to detail is never the same.

Now that Wal-Mart is by far America’s price leader, every other retailer has had to come up with a way to sell some sort of experience along with products to get customers in the doors and at registers. It seems like a no-brainer, but at the same time, many retailers are skimping on hiring staff to save money and lower prices. Balancing good service, adequate prices and desirable selection of products is difficult.

My favorite “experience” are:
• Apple Store. Help is easy to find and never too pushy. Products are not overwhelming. The space is clean and well-lit. It’s very approachable.
• Sephora. The selection is amazing and I have found the staff to be knowledgeable. I love personal recommendations when it comes to trying new products.
• BMW dealerships. They make it easy to have car repairs done. I didn’t know that was possible.
• Panera Bread. First, this is my favorite quick service restaurant. Second, they either page you when your food is ready or they bring it out to you without expecting a tip. So yummy and stressfree.

What are your top picks?

IT’S MY MONEY | Memorial Day is about remembering those have gone before us and because it’s a three day weekend, it’s also about shopping. As blasphemous as that sounds, we are in America– the land where capitalism is king and any occasion can be molded into a reason to spend money.

Disregard the moral debate and let’s look on the bright side for a minute: Sales. Shops will be teeming with them. As with any shopping trip, you should go into it with a plan. If you find a pair of slacks for $5, I don’t care if they are cheap unless you need them, otherwise you’re wasting money. Decide ahead of time what items you need, i.e. khaki pants, white T-shirts, colorful polos, etc. And of course, take your time, it’s a three day weekend afterall!

For some deals, check out:
• JC Penny’s “buy one, get one for 99 cents” on tops, shorts and cropped pants for the entire family.
• Sunvalley Mall’s feature on its Web site that lists many of the sales going on at its stores.

IT’S MY MONEY | I have been consumed all week with March Madness mania. That may sound surprising considering the only sport I really get is tennis. I have to admit, I don’t know much at all about major sports like basketball and football.

Nonetheless, I bought two tickets this morning to see the men’s basketball team of Vanderbilt (my alma mater–go Dores!) play in the second round of the NCAA tournament in Sacramento tomorrow.

It was a total splurge for me (I spent around $130), but I figured, when is the next time my alma mater will be playing in a city near me? (Vandy is in Nashville, Tenn.). I’ve never spent that kind of money on any other kind of entertainment or sports event.

As I have mentioned before,
I don’t like spending into three digits on single purchases. That starts pushing into the realm of plane ticket spending, which is where I like to do my splurging (if you could call a $200 ticket to Seattle to bond with my siblings a splurge). Perhaps I can justify this by telling myself it’s inflation or some form of trading up.

Hopefully, I won’t regret this decision later and I certainly hope we don’t lose! We are playing Washington State University, a school I detest because my brother went to rival University of Washington (sorry Cougs!).