Great tip. Thanks Laura.When I can't get out to hike I seem to want to buy stuff all the more. It is like going into a golf store on a rainy or windy day and all I want to do is BUY SOMETHING. ANYTHING just buy SOMETHING. Do I have a problem?
My downfall is REI. They opened a store about 2 miles from my home last year. Good thing / bad thing. I went in there a couple of days ago to buy my wife and daughter a few small items for stocking stuffers - maybe $40. I walked out $500 later and really hadn't dented my Christmas list, but had damn sure expanded it! I even bought some items for myself - took 'em home, wrapped 'em, then gave them to my wife to give to me for Christmas. Her response? "You went to REI, didn't you?"
It should be noted that I am (1) generally frugal, and (2) the antithesis of an impulse buyer - normally I'll walk into a store, buy precisely what I came for, and split as quickly as possible (I
HATE shopping!). Walk me into an REI (or Cabela's or Bass Pro), and I'm suddenly in Oz. The normal rules no longer apply.
