After work, I usually wander off to malls hoping to spot something nice, but everytime I see something nice, I had this urge to buy it but then I am not financially stable to avail those items I want. What I do, I place them on my wishlist and hopefully, I could tick some of it (meaning I finally have it). Here are the list I have been wanting since last year:

• Braces (worth Php35,000)
• Lasik Treatment (worth Php100,000)
• Mac Laptop (Macbook or Macbook Pro)
• Ipod Touch (worth Php15,000+)
• Iphone or a cellphone with WiFi (Iphone-Php30,000+, WiFi Phone-Php7,000-15,000)
• Hair Rebonding (worth Php2,000++)

I know most of these are considered luxury, but then I recently learned something interesting from Joel. He mentioned that if you are wanting something, be sure that the whole package is worth the things you really want to do with it, meaning be sure to maximize the worth of an item (be it cheap or expensive). This mantra would help me which ones for me are considered disposable(trash) and a great find. My old self would really dig those cheap finds not minding their quality and other aspects. Now, I realized that I must assess an item before purchasing. It must pass the standards that I had set in mind:

• What is this worth after six months? Is the price proportional to the number of months I'll be using it?
• What else can I do with this (besides the usual)? How can I maximize it's capabilities to fully make use of it?
• Do fancy-ing this still makes me happy after a few months after buying it? or do it leaves me regretting after a few days or months of using it?
• Do I really need to buy this NOW? or I will just return a few days to see if I really like it the way I liked it the first time I saw it?

I am setting these standards for myself whenever I see something that urges me to spend my hard-earned money on. I have this habit of liking something just because it's cool or just because it's an eye candy. These are shallow reasons but enough to make me happy for a while. But this leaves me with wanting more and that is the thing I am avoiding: Wanting something more than I could chew. this is one of the habits I am considering to change or perhaps revert.