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Thread: Strategy for keeping on track during my one year clothes buying fast

  1. #1
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    Strategy for keeping on track during my one year clothes buying fast

    It's the start of fall, and I've found my fingers wandering across the keyboard to my favorite online shopping sites, which also include eBay and Poshmark.

    It's easy to justify shopping second hand. The prices are lower and it's better for the environment. However, second hand shopping is still shopping and since I have more than enough, unnecessary.

    After examining why I do this, I found it's novelty that I desire. So I have started visiting websites of places I would like to travel to. This serves two purposes. It keeps me off the taboo websites and fuels my drive to direct my dollars to my travel goal.

    It's easy to get discouraged when I think of the cost of travel vs buying a few things off my favorite websites. But those purchases add up and that's where You Need A Budget.com comes in. I just got an account and having a snapshot of my spending in front of me is highly motivating.

    Anyone else have a spending habit they're trying to break? What are your strategies?

  2. #2
    Senior Member rosarugosa's Avatar
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    Molly, When I was working, I had an unfortunate lunchtime shopping habit and I spent a lot of money on things that did not really add value to my life. I was able to redirect myself to start taking a daily walk in the park instead, and it turned out I really just needed to get out and have a change of scenery, and I needed some type of destination. This worked so well for me that when I occasionally did need to actually run an errand at lunchtime, I was disappointed to miss my walk in the park. Good luck!

  3. #3
    Yppej
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    I am trying to save up to pay cash for my next car. Saturday I test drove one model to keep myself focused. The salesman was not too happy that I hope to buy sometime in 2020.

    My home bulletin board has a chart where each month I record my savings.

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    Molly, great redirect! For decades, I've considered every dollar is travel money. If I spend it on a "thing", it is NOT in the travel budget. I know it's easier for me to say because I am not a clothes whore (a friend's label for herself).

    Keep the 1 year goal in the forefront of your mind! You CAN do this!!!!

  5. #5
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    I have no idea why I crave variety for some things and not others.

    I have only one handbag - a Coach saddlebag that I purchased 15 years ago from eBay for $25.00. (And who knows how old it was then!)

    Five pair of shoes - I need to wear orthotics so am limited in my shoe choice. I have one favorite style of athletic shoe, so when one pair wears out, I buy another in the same style.

    I don't wear earrings or scarves. Boots are for snow, not style. I keep them til they wear out.

    I wear my pajamas til they fall apart.

    One robe for fall/winter one for spring/summer. Both were pricey, but I wear them until they are threadbare.

    However, my closet is a revolving door. It's an endless cycle of binge and purge. Go figure.

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    Wow, I have more shoes than that! I'm not super happy with any of them, and tend to wear my Crocs because of plantar fasciitis.

    It sounds like you express yourself through clothing, nothing wrong with that.

  7. #7
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    Just trying to see stuff as utility now, not novelty. So for clothes the utility is: obviously to cover one's nakeed, to provide protection from the elements, but also if they are quite worn they might not perform the additional utility of looking nice on one, which is also something that one might fairly reasonably want out of clothes. But if they do all that.

    As for getting novelty from stuff, yea there is that temptation, but one has to be carefully taught (noone would be looking for this without so much advertising, could arise as a backlash to trying to clamp down on spending too much I think, but I don't think it's really that obvious a response to boredom to buy stuff, one has to be taught.).

    Guess I'm more inclined to buy something if I think it's rare and might not always be available (supplies are running out! such a classic marketing trick too. But it can work on me. Precarity can push one into this condition somewhat also, everything always feels running out.).
    Trees don't grow on money

  8. #8
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    Have you set up a special account for travel and regularly put money in it? I think that would help you to stay focused. Then decide where you want to go and how much it will cost. Then it may be easier to stop shopping.

  9. #9
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    I'm not trying to stop online shopping but trying to cut down, so I am thinking about getting an Amazon gift card for myself each month and sticking within that.

    But you are trying to stop shopping entirely, so that would not work.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Teacher Terry View Post
    Have you set up a special account for travel and regularly put money in it? I think that would help you to stay focused. Then decide where you want to go and how much it will cost. Then it may be easier to stop shopping.
    I direct money from each pension check into a special account, but it is not enough. I've set up a budget category in YNAB that I started this month. Clothing money will definitely get redirected there.

    I've tried clothing fasts in the past and they've never worked because I would look at my checkbook balance and think I had enough. Now with budget categories, it's more like a road map and I can see where I'm going.

    I love maps btw, as I do a lot of hiking, so I'm hoping the road map strategy will work for me.

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