Last night my mom and I visited the brand new H&M store downtown. This is the third location in the Lower Mainland, and the only one within a walking distance from my home.

I’ve been a fan of H&M since the early nineties; I was a tad disappointed there were no US locations� when I first moved to the States. I was a secretly pleased at the same time because it made the brand a bit more exclusive – I liked the fact that you could only get it when you visited places like London and Copenhagen.

I just so happened to be in New York in 2000 when the first US store opened on Fifth Avenue – it felt a little like Christmas and I’d go on to tell people I went to New York because of the opening.

Soon it popped up all over the East Coast and I knew it was a matter of time before it reached us.

I like H&M for a number of reasons; the first being their relatively inexpensive trendy pieces, thanks to them I can try out fads I like without having to worry about their longevity. Like those bubble skirts from sessions ago, I doubt those will ever make another comeback in my lifetime.

It was loud and crowded despite it being less than an hour to closing when we got there. My mom decided she wasn’t in the targeted demography but thought the prices were encouraging, although at some point she looked on worriedly at the crowds and said “Just because it’s cheap doesn’t mean you have to take every crappy thing home!”

I succumbed to the euphoria I came away with a maxi dress for $18.93 which I’ll probably never wear.

In line with my new budget conscious lifestyle, I will no longer apologize for patronizing Swedish giant merchants.

In other related news; we’re getting our very own Apple Store (right next to the H&M!) – if they keep this up I never have an excuse to leave this city ever again. What’s next, a Camper store?

Could you successfully run a half-marathon if you only had a month to train?

That’s the question I’d been asking myself as the date drew closer.

My June edition of Runner’s World says that I can – good thing it came when it did otherwise I would have had to live with that lingering self-doubt.

I woke up at 5:30 this morning convinced it was raining; having had one false start already and with exactly a month to train I dragged myself out of bed and hit the pavement.

It wasn’t a smooth run, I started a bit too fast and was rapidly tiring out, I slowed down coming back and tried to get my breathing under control.

I want to take it seriously this year and shave at least 10mins off last year’s time. It’s doesn’t make any sense to not train and do poorly, then I might as well just not run.

To get my up to eight hours of sleep and still wake up that early, I’m going to have to go to bed early – which means I have to be asleep by 10PM.

From the look of things I’ll probably do only one long weekend run, I’m hoping to walk the route but I’m not going to sweat it.

I think I’ll do well, I’ll be fine as long as I use the next four weeks wisely.

I’ve been reading a lot of personal finance blogs lately.

I’d like to blog about my finances or my futile efforts at saving – but given my more than normal erratic spending lately, it’ll just be too depressing.

I, like most people was never taught the value of money as a child, my mother’s philosophy to this day remains: “If it’s too expensive, don’t buy it” – which isn’t always practical.

It wasn’t until I was much older that I realized that the idea of saving/investing my money excited me… almost as much as shopping.

Even though I’m a little hesitant to document it, I’d love to start a more clearly defined journey towards financial freedom and build myself a nice nest egg.

The one thing I’ve learnt from these personal finance blogs is that it’s not for the faint hearted; there’re sacrifices to be made and huge lifestyle changes ahead.

I intend to start small; grow my saving a tad more aggressively, research and invest more and most importantly try not to spend more than I own.

For the first time in years, I’ve done up a budget that I want to stick to, I’ve set up precise financial goals, I’ll curtail impulsive spending (like that Marc Jacobs scarf I bought on sale and still haven’t worn a year later), I’ll look closely at my investments and take a more hands on approach at managing them. And above all, I’ll respect my money.

I’ve been thinking about this for a while and I feel I’m more likely to stick to if I write it out, in a place where everyone can see.

Here are a few PF blogs that I read religiously:

• Give Me Back My Five Bucks

• Million Dollar Journey

• Get Rich Slowly

• Spilling Buckets

• In Debt Because I Like Nice Things

I’m sure there are a lot of personal finance blogs out there for every kind of person – so if you’d like tips on how to save a little more or are just curious, it’s worthwhile to check them out.

As always, use caution.