Where Did All the Shopping Posts Go?
If you have been reading here for awhile, you may have noticed that I used to do a LOT of fashion haul posts and frugal shopping posts. Even my shopaholic neighbor commented on how frequently I was shopping. You will have also probably noticed there haven’t been any of those in at least a month. This is a direct result of Mike and I signing up for Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University class. I love shopping more than most people, but I also like taking on a project with my husband.
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| The “old” me following a retail binge. |
It’s not that we couldn’t afford my shopping so much, it’s just that we weren’t saving for longer term goals as much as we wanted to be. Starting the class for me was a lot like joining Weight Watchers. I remember when I joined WW I was diligent about calculating and writing down the points value of everything I put in my mouth. Well this month we set up our very first budget and we were crazy about saving receipts to track and categorize every penny we spent. Mike built an incredibly complicated database of our finances in Quicken and we allocated every dollar to either an expense category or a savings goal.
The first thing I did at the beginning of the month was to unsubscribe for nearly every retail email I get. No more daily J.Crew sales. No more daily RueLala flash sales. No more Shop It To Me emails. It was kind of painful to do, but I don’t miss them now, and they were cluttering up my inbox every morning with massive retail temptation. Seriously, I used to get like 30 retail emails DAILY. Yes, I may miss my favorite brand going up for sale at deep discounts…but on the flip size I’m building my own nice little nest egg for a massive shopping trip to the San Marcos outlets in the near future.
Secondly I stopped going to certain places just because I was bored. Like the mall, a frequent default location to “entertain the kids” when it’s rainy or too hot or too cold to be outside. Aside from my stealthy photography hijinks with Pam in Nieman Marcus Last Call (which WAS MASSIVE temptation) I haven’t been to the mall in weeks. I also stay far away from Hobby Lobby, Kohls, and I try to steer entirely clear of the shoes, accessories and women’s clothing sections of Target. I try to find other places to go when I’m bored, like the gym or the library. I did get a brief infusion of retail therapy when my mom came to visit and took me to LOFT for my birthday. With my $20 rewards card and her $75 birthday money, I was quite satisfied to select a few key pieces.
It really is amazing to me how much easier breaking the shopping habit was than I’d expected, especially when I implemented some of these simple environmental changes. And as my yoga guru would surely remind me, it’s all about living intentionally and mindfully.
Next up in the habit changes…food and drinks. I need to break my addictions to fast food, lattes, and expensive alcoholic beverages.