I have read about shopping fasts on numerous blogs, as well as outfit challenges (you know the ones where you only wear 10 outfits for a year), and I'm always impressed that people can do these types of challenges. I often ponder whether or not I can do one, but then I quickly forget about it and go on with my clothes-lovin' life.
Not anymore!
I've decided to do a shopping fast for 6 months.
And let me tell you, I love shopping. I love clothes. So this will be a challenge!
I got into major debt in my 20s because I spent way too much money on clothes. When I was in my early 20s, I once counted and had over 200 tops. Yes, two hundred. That included tank tops, t-shirts, sweaters, etc. but really, 200 is a bit obscene. And I probably only wore half of them, if that!
So obviously I have tons of clothes and there's no need for me to go shopping. Any clothes shopping I do is purely a want nowadays.
Starting today
Although I haven't bought new clothes in a couple weeks, I'm setting my official start date as today - November 5th. I am vowing not to spend money on clothes until after May 5th. While I think the month of November and December will be fine, I anticipate the new year will be tough as by January I'm generally sick of my winter gear and wanting to get a few new sweaters to tide me over until spring. We'll see how this goes!
Anticipated benefits:
- Save time by not shopping
- Get out and do more productive things with my time (i.e. go for a walk with a friend or pick up a new hobby)
- Save money
- Discover a new love for old items in my closet
I'll check in once a month and let you know how this fast is going.
Note: This does not include clothes for Husband. I generally do his clothes shopping for many reasons and I will continue this if/when he asks for something new. He's generally very happy to wear the same old clothes for a long time and only asks for something new when he really does need it, so I imagine I won't have to get much for him over the next 6 months.
Has anyone done a shopping fast successfully? Any tips?
Hi there! I'm not sure exactly how I got here, but I have done something similar so I thought I'd comment :) In 2011 I went a year without spending on anything unnecessary, to include clothing & everything else. The goal was to pay off as much of my student loans as possible. Subsequently I paid off $14,000+ of debt in one year.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest advice is to remember that the anxiety of changing your behavior will pass. If you start thinking about something you want and delaying the gratification becomes anxiety provoking (it did for me in the beginning), distraction is HUGE and extremely helpful :) Also, avoiding those situations that will put you in temptation's way is also key. Avoiding your favorite stores for a while and not falling victim to the thinking that "I'll just browse and not buy anything" (Kind of like an alcoholic going into a bar just to socialize. We all know that's a BIG mistake).
Anyway, good luck to you!
Emily (www.thriftysocialworker.com)
Welcome and thanks for commenting!
DeleteIn some ways it's a tough time of year as I'm often in the mall for Christmas shopping, but in other ways it has helped as I just add whatever I want to my own list! Thankfully most of my favourite stores are not ones I have to go into when shopping for others.
After the holidays I'm definitely going to have to avoid the mall though!