Do you use your job to justify your spending?

I remember when I first started working I thought: OMG! I need all of these new clothes 😀 😀 😀

So I went shopping. I picked up way more of what I wanted in the items I didn’t need.

Suits? Why did I buy 5 suits? I don’t wear a suit to work (a pair of trouser jeans and a blouse was enough).

It was all such a waste of money, and just because I got a shiny new job, I had a shiny new budget to spend to look ‘professional’, when I clearly had enough in my closet to do without extra shopping.

Or how about tools? Now that I work from home, I also need a laptop when I work… outside my house!

To be honest, most of the times, I work at my desktop. I know, I’m sooo vintage! 😉 But I also enjoy working on the patio during summer or at a café when I get bored by my blue walls! In other words, I wanted it, and I could afford it, so I did.

Being a makeup artist or a photographer would be another easy job to justify spending.  You’d want to buy a large camera with all the pretty filters and flashes, or a whole slew of eyeshadows, eyeliners, powders and extra things because it’s part of your regular job, and you think you’re investing in your career.

4 questions I ask myself before spending for the job

• Does your job specifically require those items? (i.e. a suit in a formal corporate position, or a uniform)
• Are you making enough to justify those purchases? (i.e. spending $300 on a pair of pants for a $10/hour office job)
• Do you already have enough to get through a week? (i.e. 5 tops, 3 pairs of pants, one pair of shoes)
• Can you find a substitute for cheap or for free? (i.e. using the client’s laptop)

What about you?

Have you ever used your job as a justification for your spending?