Budgeting Gumption

  

Groupon is a clever beast. They send me emails and I can ignore exactly 3 out of 4 of them...but that 1 I can't ignore usually gets me to buy something. Typically it's a 50% restaurant deal or auto coupon which, considering how much we go out to eat and need our cars working, it's helpful. However, I sometimes want to splurge on hair care or consumer goods and that is NOT okay. I should probably even cut down the restaurant coupons because that only encourages us to eat out more. Looking at the future budget amounts for law school I can't even begin to justify the spending we do now in comparison...but we're slowly getting better. I found a new slogan help in this frugal journey ahead. I ask myself...

"Can I acquire this thing or service in a different way with similar results and not spend this much?" 

If after true introspection the answer is still No...then it's justifiable BUT if, for an instant I think of an alternative then I need to re-evaluate and probably answer YES.

So does Groupon offer great deals on things I need? Yes
Are some of those deals things that I've already found an economic way to fulfill? Yes
Here's a happy caveat though...
If Groupon offers something I needed before I found the deal AND the discount is better than I would get with my usual method then...I CAN get it! Yay!