I go through this cycle of wanting, buying, feeling immediate guilt, using my new stuff and feeling happy and then repeat. I forget that I felt guilty and that I *just* bought a bunch of stuff and instantly want more. I'm such a consumer whore. For example, we went to Paris in June and we spent a ton of money on travel, food and shopping. Before we went, I went crazy shopping to prepare for Paris. I swore to my husband that I wouldn't buy anything for two months and eventually caved in a month later and broke my promise.
I think I learned this constant shopping habit from my Mom who is the ultimate shopper. She will travel to remote places with my Dad and still manage to take him on a 12 hour shopping trip in a remote village. I can't blame her though and regardless I need to get myself under control. I get especially tempted in the blogging world where all the fashion bloggers are showing off their new wardrobes, putting up links and being annoyingly cute in their 4" platforms and miniskirts that would never be work appropriate for me.
Any suggestions on how to kick the shopping habit? I'm debating deleting all my shopping (gilt, hautelook, ruelala) emails, not visiting fashion blogs and leaving my credit cards at home when I shop.
I know this is a random post. I'm swamped at work but then I remembered that I promised a giveaway and I'm only 2 posts from 100. So close! So I will be posting more this week I promise.
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Ugh, I go through the same cycles! No advice, but I know how you feel.
ReplyDeleteYes, this. If it's any consolation, there are SO many others of us in your same boat!
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I'm so obsessed with all the shopping stuff that I'm starting a blog about it. Just as soon as I can get things running, so, um, sometime later this week. Consuming Obsessions -- www.consumingobsessions.com Don't worry about remembering, I'm sure I'll remind all the other Bees at least 10 or 12 times! If you ever want to flesh out your musings into a guest post, would be happy to have your thoughts.
If you want to read just one book that really makes you think twice about your purchases, I recommend Annie Leonard's "The Story of Stuff." It's a teensy bit academic (which isn't exactly to say boring, just ... not a light read), but crams a lot of eye-opening stuff into a single read.
If you don't have a budget spreadsheet of your financials, make one now! On the y-axis, I keep all of my monthly expenses - rent/mortgage, utilities, cell phone, loan repayment and then list out all of my credit cards and include line items for deposits and cash withdrawals.
ReplyDeleteI impose a limit on how much I spend on each card every month. I try to stay in the $1200-$1500 range total for all credit cards. So that range INCLUDES dinners and clothing purchases. I know in advance when I'll exceed those ranges - e.g., big trips, airplane ticket purchases, etc - so I'll adjust the ranges accordingly.
Let me know if you want to see a copy of my spreadsheet! We'll curb this spending/shopping habit together. :-)