After reading this article Sunday night about someone who did a year of no shopping I've decided to do a "no shopping month" from Jan 8 to Feb 8 (figured there's no time like the present!) and wanted to share in case anyone wanted to join!
Some background: At the end of 2015, I started making 6 figures. I've closely watched my money my whole life and and reaching this salary at age 26 seemed like a dream come true. In 2016 I had medical issues, which actually caused me to spend less (thank goodness for my company's great health insurance) because I wasn't really shopping or going out a ton. 2017, though, was another story. I had a bit of a YOLO attitude (hey, I nearly died in 2016) and I felt like I was so good with saving money so who cares if I spent the extra on clothes, new hair products, kindle books, or whatever else I wanted. I max out my roth IRA, put 13% to my 401k, save $800 to various savings goals, and have 5x emergency fund. Plus, my boyfriend and I have no kids, no pets, don't really drink, and cook 80% of our meals at home (yikes, we sound boring, I swear we're not!) so if I want to buy new shoes then I will!!!
But all that shopping bothered my frugal sensibilities. I stopped caring about sales because I can afford to buy things full priced. I stopped checking out books from the library because books aren't that expensive. I didn't increase my 401k % because I liked having the extra money in my bank account...to spend. And now I just have a bunch more stuff that I have to find space for. Also, for as much as I read and have other hobbies, I found myself online shopping out of boredom instead of doing those hobbies.
So reading that article was the tipping point I needed to reign in my unnecessary spending. I'm starting out for one month but am hoping to extend this as long as possible.
I made a list of things I can buy and things I can't buy. I'm sure some will think my "can" buy list is a little generous but I think this is reasonable for me and gets to the heart of why I'm doing this. I also included things that may not actually occur in the upcoming 30 days, but that I wanted to write down in the event I continue this challenge for longer.
Things I CANNOT Buy: Clothes and shoes (can take something to be repaired if needed),jewelry/accessories, extra makeup, hair products, skin care (aka "oh I want to try this even though I have 5 similar ones at home"), books, electronics and gadgets, homeware and decor (including kitchenware)
Things I CAN Buy: Groceries/food, toiletries, including hair products and makeup, once I run out, functional house items (toilet paper, trash bags, etc.) that have run out or need to be replaced, gas/car maintenance, gifts for others (birthdays, holidays), entertainment (travel, movie tickets, concerts), calligraphy paper/pens once I run out (this hobby gives me so much joy so don't want to deprive myself if my pens die or my pads fill up. but I also have tons extra!)
I'm sure something will come up in the next 30 days that isn't on either list so I'm curious to see how I handle it. Let me know if you have any ideas or advice or questions!
Submitted January 09, 2018 at 09:49AM by sm0gs http://ift.tt/2EnwWev
