When to let it go?

Does anyone else still use a daytimer - as in an actual hard-copy binder with paper in it where you write down what you have to do? I've used one for 10 years now, and I love it.

When other people began to switch over to PDAs and other hand-held computer-style versions, I couldn't get excited. I don't want to have to look at some tiny screen, where I have to push buttons to get from day to day or subject to subject. I want to look at the whole month ahead of me, where I can actually read what I've written into each date. And then I can just flip to the weekly section, where I'm looking at a week at a time, with detailed notes of what I need to do each day. Then I flip to the address book if I need a number, and flip back to the section where my budget is, because I'm almost OCD about my budget - I'm constantly updating it with every dollar I spend. It's my life.

I can't plan anything without it, because I have absolutely no ability to tell you what my obligations are for next week, much less next month (I can barely remember on my own what I have to do today), and I'm big on planning. I'm very organized. I'm not rigid about it, in that if I don't get something done, it can easily slide to the next day or the day after that, and most things are in pencil so I can erase them, move them, etc. I can be fluid about it. I just can't remember it. So, I need it written down. And I need it in a format that's easy for me to read and work with. Thus a daytimer, not some tiny little screen where I have to pick each day with a stylus if I want to see what's planned for that day. I don't have the patience for that.

In December, I finally had to retire my original daytimer. It had gotten ragged around the edges. My previous cat, Ava, had chewed it in several places. It had started to disintegrate from 10 years of constant use. It was time to let it go. So, I went in search of a new timer.

I decided I'd get a nice one, and I settled on a black leather "Concorde Day Runner." It had pockets up front, as I must have, and pockets at the back (an upgrade). It had the three rings I like and was the size I like (7.5 x 10 - any larger is too unwieldy, any smaller is not useful enough). After much time looking at every possible choice, I selected it and made my purchase. I was happy. It had just one problem. The rings are too small. I discovered this when I started trying to put all the stuff from the old planner into this one. It wouldn't all fit. Not good. I must have all my stuff!

I went ahead and decided to try and streamline. Maybe I *didn't* need all that stuff. Maybe this was a good time to do some space-clearing - to toss out obsolete and unused stuff - to consolidate. So, I did that. I massively pared down. I was going to start 2007 leaner and meaner!

Well, so far 2007 pretty much sucks. That's not really because of my planner, but let's just say the planner isn't working out much better than other parts of my life are working out. I miss some of the things I tossed out, my calendar pages are always tearing from the rings being too small, and it's much too late now for me to return the planner and get one with bigger rings - if I could even find exactly what I want.

So, my question is, do I go ahead and replace the planner now, a mere 4 months after I bought it, or use it for a while longer to get my money's worth and then replace it? I intend to find someone else to give it a home - it's in perfect condition. I'm not just going to throw it away. But even though I'll give it to someone else, it still feels like a waste. This wasn't some $10 purchase! On the other hand, how long are you obligated to use something expensive that doesn't really work for you before you can replace it without feeling like you wasted money?

I once paid $130 for Doc Martin's because my boyfriend at the time insisted I needed them to waitress. "You have to have good shoes!" I waitressed for a grand total 6 weeks (one of the worst 6-week periods of my life), and I could barely wear the shoes because they had a seam that cut a groove into the top of my foot. The seam didn't magically disappear after I quit waitressing, and I probably wore those shoes twice after that. And I held on to them for three years. Because I'd paid $130 for them. On the upside, I learned never to spend that kind of money on shoes again. I'm not saying you have to buy everything from Payless - cheap shoes can be uncomfortable and fall apart. I'm just saying keep it to two digits. Then if you end up hating them, you can part with them without kicking yourself too hard. Sunglasses, too - I destroy or lose expensive sunglasses, so it's all about $6 pairs from Target now.

But while I've learned the lesson about paying too much for shoes and sunglasses, the question remains: when do you cut your losses and run away from an expensive purchase?