Taking some small steps toward greater financial responsibility

[frugalone]

I've been reading a couple of financial blogs lately, and one of them mentioned the constant temptation of having emails from retailers in your inbox. It really opened my eyes.

I am starting to unsubscribe to various sites/retailers, and I'm leaving my buying-based Facebook groups. I very often throw out catalogs, or, I write on the cover the page # of an item inside I might want. Later, when I go through the catalogs, the item doesn't seem important. Or sometimes, I don't even open it up. I just toss it.

I'm beginning to realize how much of my money goes on stupid little things that are soon forgotten. My worst habit is probably art supplies I never use. I'm putting together boxes of unused supplies to donate to a local group that works with disabled adults. They run a studio in which the adults make beautiful craft items, which are displayed in a gallery or sold at the local fine arts festival.

[JayPee]

As far as buying new stuff is concerned, my best defence is decluttering. Every time a take some stuff in my hand, I ask myself it I would buy it again today. Quite often the answer is no. It is an awful lot of work to get all that crap out of your house again. With that in mind, I rethink two or three times if I really buy and bring something new in the house.

I still have a little hoarding hobby left, I collect model cars from the former GDR. In order not to spend too much or buy too many, I have a simple rule: My budget for this hobby is 50% of the money I made from selling unwanted stuff. Currently, the budget is about $1 a day. Not much, but enough to buy a model every few weeks that is carefully chosen. I must admit, buying is more consious now and I value the models more than I did in the past.

[frugalone]

There are DEFINITELY things I would never buy today! Absolutely not.

I'm also going to abide by the one in, one out rule.

[ToomuchStuff]

This is a reason I keep multiple email accounts. I have one where I have made purchases for work (this allows me to keep records for future needs/purchases), as well as one just for signups/spam, etc. I have places that I may buy from on occasion and I let them spam that one, because I don't have to look at it, unless I am needing/looking for something. Orders get transferred to a saved folder, and the other stuff can just be mass deleted. If there is something that it has been more then a year, needing/buying from, then I should (haven't always), unsubscribe from them.

[freshstart]

I do the same thing, toomuchstuff. My 'real' email inbox is a thing of beauty, just friends and family, no businesses