A lesson in the value of money.

Two years ago, my mom and seester gave me a “living locket” for my birthday. The locket is clear glass on both sides and you fill it with little charms. The locket is so me, I can’t even handle it. The 7 charms so accurately represent me and what I care about, I wear it all the time.

After a short period of wearing the necklace, the glass cracked. It hangs just perfectly at “smash into my desk every time I sit down” height and it kept getting banged up. I was careful, but it slowly got worse and worse.

Last week, part of the glass broke away. This left a hole big enough for one or all of my charms to fall out. Jewelry Emergency. I taped up the glass to secure the charms, put the necklace safely in my purse and pouted for the rest of the day.

Last weekend, I went to a pumpkin festival with my seester’s family. I wasn’t planning on spending anything. I’d already spent $7 at McDonald’s for breakfast and a coffee the night before and I was feeling like a bad person.

When we got to the festival, there was a stand for the company that makes these lockets. I talked to the sales lady about my broken locket. She offered to sell me a brand new replacement locket at her cost. She also showed me an add-on clasp that shortens the chain so I *hopefully* won’t smash the locket next time I sit at my desk. She even offered me a deal on the clasp because she wanted to clear the inventory.

Here was a woman offering solutions to all of my jewelry problems at a reasonable price.  Guess what I did?

I walked away.

When I got back to the group, no one was surprised that I didn’t buy it. My seester’s husband kept razzing me about my inability to buy anything. His words were “I spent more money than that at the gas station on the way here!” I guess savers don’t like advice from spenders just like spenders don’t like advice from savers. Noted.

So there I was hemming and hawing about spending $18 for a new locket and a $3 pearl clasp. I even texted Hubs about it.  His response: “Go for it. You love it and wear it all the time.”

It took me a moment to realize that this wasn’t about spending money willy nilly on something I don’t care about.  It was $21 to put one of my favorite necklaces back in the jewelry rotation. It was $21 to show off what I love and care about and $21 to remind me how well my mom and seester know me. I had 2 years of enjoyment out of the original gift. Hopefully, $21 will give me another 2 years.

It was about this point in my thinking that my brother-in-law told me to “just buy the d@mn locket.”

So I did 🙂

I offered $20 for the locket and the clasp. She accepted. Done deal.

A lesson in the value of money and I got to practice my haggling skillz.  That’s an afternoon well spent.