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In this week’s Ten Money Questions, we speak with Susan Wagner. Susan writes about fashion at Friday Style and everything else at Friday Playdate. On Thursday, she was wearing a pair of jeans from Old Navy, my favorite discount retailer. I know this because she typically reports on what she’s wearing that day at the end of her BlogHer posts, a detail that makes me smile because it’s a clever and witty way to sign off as the fashion writer. So whether she’s wearing flip flops or the “correct†yoga pants, Susan always provides great tips about wardrobes. Of course, clothes and accessories cost money… read on to hear if all this spending leads to happiness. Enjoy!
1. You give some great tips listed in your Stylish on a Budget post. Do you agree with this statement: a good wardrobe is more about having less and loving it more? And how does it mesh with our consumerism culture?
I absolutely agree. Getting dressed is much simpler when you have a smaller selection of things that really work for you--right size, right cut, right style. Being able to look in the closet in the morning and see things you really like, and really like to wear, takes the stress out of getting dressed. Having clothes that fit and flatter also takes the attention away from the clothes and puts it back on the woman inside them, which is important. We are more than just our clothes.
I think the less-is-more philosophy really goes against the general theory behind fashion culture, certainly, which is all about having what’s hot and new, and behind consumerist culture, which equates stuff with success and status. Having an overstuffed closet won’t make you a better person, though, and it won’t make you happier; it just makes it hard to see what’s in your closet.
2. What is your most significant memory about money?
When I was a freshman in high school, I bused tables at a restaurant; it was my first non-babysitting job, the first job where I had to pay Social Security and FICA and all that grown-up stuff. And I remember getting my first paycheck and having a big fit because my take-home pay was so much less than I thought it would be. My dad sat down with me and explained what had been taken out and why, and what happened to that money. It was my first real lesson in capitalism and democracy.
I watch reruns of Friends all the time now, and the episode where Rachel gets her first check from the coffee shop and says, “Who is FICA and why did he take all my money?†still makes me laugh.
3. What is your worst habit around finances?
I am in charge of the checkbook at our house, but I don’t keep up with it very regularly. Instead of entering all the debit card receipts every day (or couple of days) I wait until my desk is completely covered with little bits of paper and then I wig out and spend two hours tearing my hair out and balancing the account. And then I swear to myself that I am NOT going to do this again, and then two weeks later I'm buried under receipts and the whole thing starts over.
4. You made a comment on the post called The Secret Lives of Cash Paying Wives stating that, “Separate money is good, but secret money is dangerous.†Can you elaborate on this thought?
When I read the New York Times article that you referenced, I was a little taken aback by the women in it who were going to such elaborate lengths to hide their spending from their husbands; they were doing things like overwriting checks at the grocery and stashing the cash in their lingerie drawer until they had enough to buy a handbag or some shoes. And that kind of deceit was really disturbing to me.
My husband and I have separate credit cards; we pay the bills out of the joint account, but we don’t have elaborate conversations about every purchase. We have a budget for the house and we both respect that and stay within it. We’re not hiding our credit card bills or the things we buy, but we’re not lying about it either, and for us that’s an important part of our relationship. I think secret money--or secret spending--is dangerous because it undermines that sense of trust and honesty; separate money, though,
