Monday 23 June 2014

Reckless spending ends now.

Ok.  I have shopped TOO much lately.  I forget I'm meant to be saving for a house/wedding/honeymoon sometimes and get distracted by SALE signs.

I'll be honest, I googled "must stop shopping" and all the pages I read mentioned "cut up your credit card".  What happens if you shop online only and have memorised your credit card details OR can easily put in your paypal password?

So this is what I'm doing:

  1. Delete all 25 of my eBay saved searches
  2. Stop following retailers on Instagram
  3. Stop following retailers on Facebook
  4. Don't talk to work colleague/sisters/fiance about shopping
  5. Go through wardrobe and try to sell some things I don't use/wear
  6. Focus energies elsewhere - work, family, home

Do you have any tips for resisting the urge to shop?  Help me please!!!

16 comments:

  1. Maybe set yourself a time frame of how long you won't shop? Then add up everything you have spent in the past year and work out your average per week and then throw up. HAHA no I mean work out your average per week and then when you achieve your goal you know roughly how much you have saved and then you can give yourself a little pat on the back and go shopping. Or maybe some other reward that isn't shopping lol

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    1. I'm aiming for 30 days at the moment. Baby steps....

      Yeah I've been avoiding adding up my purchases because I know the number will blow my mind and make me feel really guilty. I need to do it though, to put real numbers around this awful awful habit.

      I need to get into other things. Was looking up pottery classes earlier today and am hopefully going to a dance class tomorrow night if I'm feeling better.

      Kx.

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  2. Unsubscribe NAP and all other retailers... yes ASOS also.
    I'm serious.

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  3. Do the wardrobe cull...I just did mine and sold a bunch of stuff on ebay and made over $1500! Which I then promptly spent on a new handbag, so kind of defeated the purpose of selling things in the first place hahaha but seriously, go through everything, clothes/shoes/accessories/tech stuff, and if you haven't used it in 12 months, list it for sale.

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    1. Wow $1500?? That's fantastic, great work. I plan to do an eBay culling day on Sunday.

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  4. haha i love this post. i feel ya.
    try and go a month without shopping. whilst it is hard, it can be quite liberating.
    my friend goes by the rule: 1 in, 1 out. so if she wants to buy something she has to sell/give away something from her wardrobe to justify a new item coming in.
    or try writing a wishlist for the next season and buy only the things that are on your list.
    good luck!

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    1. Hahahhaha my wishlist for next season would consist of nothing as there is absolutely nothing I *need*. I think I'm going to try 30 days no spend and then after that re-assess.

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  5. K!

    I would suggest all the things you listed above and try not to look at pretty things. If you don't know they exist, then you dont feel like you need to buy it! Seriously, look through your WHOLE wardrobe and you will find that you probably don't need anything at all! Before you EVEN think about it - Really ask yourself... "Do I need this?" It will always be a no (well 99.9% of the time).

    For some reason I dont ever feel the need to shop (Who knows why.. maybe because I'm saving?) But in saying that I will buy something I like it.. but the NEED to want something new is just not there. I like playing the game of "spend as little money as possible and watch savings grow"

    Just remember, it's not going to be forever. Good luck!!!

    - K x

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    1. Oh I am WAY past needing things. I haven't "needed" anything for years now but still compulsively shop for frivolous things.

      I recall you mentioned you were saving for a house? I'm meant to be too but I think it's too far off to be realistic :(

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  7. This is kind of a lame tip, but it's helped me a few times :)
    If i'm really REALLY struggling not to buy something, i look up reviews or youtube tutorials of things i already own (this usually applied to make up in my case)

    Once you see/read of someone else loving or fawning over a product you already have, you kinda fall in love with it again & forget about the new thing you wanted to buy !! I don't know if it will help you but it works for me :)

    Good luck Kay, i reckon you can do 30 days easily x

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    1. Oh that is a GREAT idea!! Not sure how it would work with clothes/shoes but I'm sure I can work something out.

      Day 4 today!!

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  8. 1. Shop your wardrobe... learn to love what you already have. I am trying hard to do that now. Only semi working though as I always think of something new that I "need".
    2. Reward yourself for saving eg for each $1000 you save you can treat yourself to something worth $x (you decide a reasonable amount).
    3. Actually plan and save for the things that you want. It's very easy to just spend like a mad woman if you have the disposable income, but this way you will actually think about what you buy and appreciate it once you do.
    4. Give yourself a "get out of jail" card occasionally because let's face it, what is the point of working your arse off and then not spending. I am slowly going down the road you are and my get out of jail will be CR spend and save. I can not resist if my life depended on it. So sad haha

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    1. Re #3, how do you do that? Like you said it's difficult to do when you have a disposable income. How do you plan and save towards something? Do you stash the money somewhere else?

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    2. Separate account :)
      Say for example you want a new pair of CLs - put aside $50 (or whatever a week) and then when you find said CLs you buy them guilt free.

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Thanks for taking the time to leave me a comment :)