Mary Karr Quotes

Just because you can afford it doesn't mean you should buy it.

I try to not get to the point where one is making wallpaper, or simply painting money. I want to make sure that I am at least trying to weigh myself down, that there's a challenge each time.

My conscience is really active. So I feel bad about spending excess amount of money on things.

I don't need to be a frontman all the time, and in fact, the older I get, the less of an urge it is inside me to play that role. I've still got it inside me, and I do occasionally allow it out.

There is an attitude that we should be able to have everything. No, you shouldn't be able to have anything. I'd like a helicopter, but I can't afford a helicopter, so I don't buy one. People are buying stuff they can't afford on credit. I bought my Ford hybrid with cash.

I don't like expensive things... I just can't help looking in a magazine for the splurge and the save.

Anyone who lives within his means suffers from a lack of imagination.

Industry, thrift and self-control are not sought because they create wealth, but because they create character.

The impulse to spend seizes everyone. He who, the whole year through has taken pleasure is saving and piling up his money suddenly becomes extravagant. A stream of presents pours itself out on all sides.

We live in a culture built on debt, so we are encouraged to have no self control.

I try to be very modest with what I do. I'm not a frivolous spender.

When I had money, I felt pressure, whether it was to invest it or do good with it, and I couldn't let it fizzle out. It was like I needed to prove to myself that I could look after it, only I did the opposite, but you have to take a chance in life.

As a general rule, if you are prone to melodramatic meltdowns, please avoid purchasing a webcam for any reason.

My greatest achievement is being able to write records that are real snapshots of what's going on in my life. I won't repeat myself for the sake of commerce, or to please other people.

In my experience, those who make the biggest fuss about not spending much at Christmas are generally the ones who buy what they want and eat where they want 12 months a year.

To a large degree, those early lean days were self-imposed.

Overspending is as certain a part of the holiday season as overeating. But pushing away from both the table and the cash register at least a little bit sooner can make the post-holiday hangover hurt a little bit less.

I think I've become more modest as the years have gone on.

When you get older, keeping the private stuff private seems less important.

Books are not brands. Some people are very willing to see themselves as a brand, but you can't be a certain type of writer to a certain type of person all the time. It will kill you.

One never comes into embarrassment, if one is ready to balance. To ask oneself never in embarrassment, what have you in these decades made.

From the time I was 16 and I had my own checking account, you'd think most young women would run out and buy clothes. No, I ran out and got myself a psychiatrist!

I'm a bit of a shopaholic. I've been working in the Bollywood film industry since I was 17, and I have always been financially independent, but I think I would be useless looking after my own money.

When I passed the age of 50, I learned how to control my emotions.

I love to spend money.