Going on a Spending Freeze
Well, I figured that since I’m giving up weekly drinking I might as well give up shopping too! Hahah…no no that’s not actually the real reason for going on a spending freeze.
Wait before I go on, can we discuss that image from the film Confessions of a Shopaholic? That is me. I swear, when I pick up a gorgeous new pair of shoes, I really am making the world a better place, one shoe at a time. That’s exactly what goes through my brain. Do you hate me yet?
No really. That is my life.
Ok you must hate me now.
I digress. It all started last week when I went to go pick up a heap of dry cleaning. And when I say heap, I’m talking at least 40 pieces . As I was going through the bags of plastic wrapped garments, it soon began to feel like Hanukkah. Many of the items felt like new to me. Probably because I hadn’t seen them in two weeks. (Sidenote: I’m terrible at remembering to pick up my dry cleaning.) And then it finally hit me, I need to stop going shopping.
Some of you are probably thinking, “Really? You needed to dedicate an entire blog post to this? How about you just stop.”
Well ladies, it’s just not that easy for me. Whether it’s for shoes, clothes, accessories, makeup, etc etc, I just love shopping. It doesn’t even have to be with expensive items. It could be that $3 Halloween bowl at Target that I think is totally adorable, but I don’t really need it. Or those $20 leopard print footie pjs. Do I need them? No. Do I want them oh so badly? Yes. And while $3 here and $20 there isn’t so bad at the moment, in the long run it adds up.
With all that being said, here are some of my other reasons for going on a spending freeze:
1. I have a lot of clothing….that I don’t even wear.
2. I’m running out of space.
3. I’m on the road to losing weight. So why purchase clothing that might not fit me in a month? Let alone in 6 months.
4. I need to save money.
5. I bought a lot of clothes and shoes in August & September. Way too much.
I must tell you, I did show some very good restraint that I will seriously be patting myself on the back for. Earlier that day, I was drooling over Elizabeth aka White Lightning’s Sally Hansen glitter nails on Instagram. So, while I was at CVS I took a little stroll down to the nail section and scooped up a box, but before I left I put them back. That little box of nail strips was only $10. But I took a minute to stop and ask myself a question — something I never do — did I really need it? I already have an assortment of glittery nail polishes at home, so perhaps I should use those up first. And just like that, I went on my way. I was sad for a few minutes, but looking back I don’t miss them at all.
There are definitely some exceptions to this freeze. For example, if my daily makeup staples run out, I will replenish, but I won’t be picking up an extra lipstick with them.
So…ladies. Here I go. No more shopping for the month of October and maybe for the rest of the year. Do you think I can do it? Could you do it?
