Hi, it's frugal friday: what's your gazingus pin?

"A bargain ain't a bargain unless it's something you need."  ~ Sidney Carroll

This is so true.


In the past I have been a bit of a bargain hunter and then I also have my gazingus pin which is stationery. In one of my favourite practical books Your Money or Your Life Joe Dominguez and Vicky Robin talk about this:  “A gazingus pin is any item that you just can’t pass by without buying. Everybody has them. They run the gamut from pocket calculators and tiny screwdrivers to pens and chocolate kisses.” Do you have something that you can’t help but buy?
For a while I found creative ways to stop buying stationery by avoiding shops and relying on my willpower.  I no longer have this desire to pick up and purchase notebooks and pens and organizers. One of the reasons is my greater reliance on the personal computer, another is a drawer full of unused stationery items that nobody wants. The main reason is I am trying to de clutter my life and not spend money in general. I am pleased to announce I can now go into a store and not buy a stationery item, I can even look at them at not buy. The most amazing thing to me though is that I can even see them in a bargain bin and not buy them because I realize they are not really a bargain at all as I do not need them.

Do you have or did you have a gazingus pin?