Yesterday, my roommate came home from Cole Haan, happy about his purchase. He told me all about his great shoes (and new flip flops) and the great deal that he got thanks to a promotion.

“Sweet, let’s see them.”

“Oh, I don’t have them yet.”

Wait, what??

It turns out that my roommate is quite money-savvy. Just like you, he doesn’t like wasting money if he doesn’t have to. And just like me, he prefers shopping online.

Instead of buying the shoes in the store and walking out with them, he decided that the extra week was worth and that by buying it online and getting free shipping, he’d be able to save the 5% or so in tax. He didn’t need the shoes soon for a special occasion, so waiting was barely an issue.

So he got the best of both worlds. He was able to try on the shoes and find out if they would be a good fit for him. He also received the customer service many claim is a reason to buy from brick-and-mortar stores. And he got the savings by buying online, where there is no sales tax.

There’s no problem with going to the store, then purchasing online. The store gets the money either way. The employee may not receive commission for the sale, but I believe that should not impact his decision of how to pay. While it would be nice, I don’t think it’s something he should have to take into consideration each time he makes a purchase.

Readers, do you shop online or in-store? Is it worth it to save a few dollars in tax or do you want your goodies fast and hate waiting?

I was flipping through the channels last week when I found a woman on the QVC channel selling a desktop computer. I like to keep tabs on certain technology products (mostly computers and external hard drives) just to keep track of the trends. I’ve coveted an external hard drive for years, and when the prices hit $30 for 250GB, possibly around Black Friday, I’ll pull the trigger. I don’t NEED one, but it would be nice to have a real place to backup my files.

Anyway, the woman on the QVC channel was rattling off all the cool features. The monitor was very large, which everyone loves, the processor was extremely fast, and the hard drive was humungous.

Just how big? 500GB, “which is enough to store over 50,000 songs, 75,000 pictures, AND 100 movies! Do you understand how much that is? More than you could possibly use!”

First, let’s take a second to think about how old you would have to be to have that many pictures and songs. If you can fill it, you probably have recorded some original Mozart. And your family pictures probably include some great shots of the gladiators in the Collosseum.

Second, is that woman you trying to sell something that nobody can use?

I’m sure there are a lot of people who bought this computer because it was at a reasonable price. But I’m also sure that a lot of people who didn’t need that large of a hard drive were sucked in and end up buying more than they needed.

People make purchases far larger than necessary simply because they can constantly. Think about the 64oz soda you’re about to buy. Sure, it’s only 20 cents more, but do you really need 64 ounces of soda?! That’s ridiculous!

In short, we shouldn’t let sheer quantity dictate our purchases. We need to spend our money wisely and focus on quality first.

Readers, when do you make purchases that are larger that necessary. Have you ever bought something such a large quantity that it was “more than you could possibly use?”

I’ve read a lot about the dangers of lifestyle inflation on other blogs, and it makes sense: As I make more money, if I keep my spending the same, I’ll be increasing the amount I save without giving up our quality of life.

This logic may be hard to argue with, but I’ll try.

I think lifestyle inflation is natural, can be used as a reward, and we should all allow ourselves to let go every once in a while, even if it means forgoing some of our savings.

I recently received a raise at work. It wasn’t large, just about a 3% increase in my bi-weekly paycheck. It felt nice to be recognized for a job well done, but I suddenly had a decision to make: What should I do with my extra coin?

Around the same time, I signed up my first advertiser for the blog. Again, not much, but I’ll hopefully get more advertisers and I have to make a decision about what to do with my extra money.

First, I thought about just putting it in savings and over the course of a year, I’d have a couple thousand extra dollars the bank. Nice, right?

Then, I let my mind wander. I’ve wanted an iPhone for awhile, but that’s ridiculous, right? I don’t actually need one, do I? My phone works fine for phone calls and text messages, isn’t that enough? Of course, being connected all the time would be cool. But is it a realistic option?

For awhile, I’ve lived like a college kid. I live in an apartment where two of the occupants live in closets (we had to remove the shelves so they could fit their beds. All it is is a bed), I live in a room with no windows (not the closet, but I won’t be bragging anytime soon), and I eat pasta about 6 times a week. I don’t live a lavish life, but to be honest, I don’t mind it because I know I’m saving $300-$400 a month in rent alone.

Now is my time to slowly move away from living like a college kid. I should afford myself something nice every once in awhile. Now is once in awhile. And that something nice is an iPhone. I’ve worked hard the past 9 months and taking a look at my budget planner, it looks like I’ve been saving about 50% of my income each month. I’ve been up a healthy emergency fund, fully funded my 2009 Roth IRA, and now I deserve to be rewarded.

The iPhone cost $200 plus $30 a month for the service. That comes $920 for two years of service. Sounds like a lot, right? Well, between my raises and my blog income, it will account for a little more than half of my income increase. Sounds reasonable, right?

I know that I could simply increase my savings and that I don’t NEED an iPhone, but after weighing the costs and advantages of this, I’ve decided to go for it. I’m rewarding myself for a job well done, and I’m still able to save a significant amount of my paycheck.

Readers, how do you feel about lifestyle inflation? Am I right or am I being silly and simply justifying a ridiculous purchase?

Of course, I’m not one to throw money around without thinking about minimizing the cost, so I did my research and realized that the $200 iPhone could be mine for…free. Want to know how? Come back tomorrow and find out how I snagged a free iPhone and 2 free months of service.