#NOSHOPPING2018

“Nothing changes if nothing changes.”
I feel like this is the one piece of published writing that my mother can truly be proud of. Wish me luck, mom!

My former classmate Arti tweeted out an interesting idea:

Heading into the #noshopping2018 challenge, I wrote out all the rules: A simple way to save money in 2018? Stop shopping https://t.co/GfMfakAVkc

— arti (@artipatel) December 30, 2017

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js“#noshopping2018” — something that has never occurred to me in my life because I LOVE shopping. Regular price, sale items, things for myself, stuff for other people — you name it, I’ve bought it, even at the expense (no pun intended) of my finances. I’ve never been much of a saver, and for the most part, I have just accepted that as a fundamental part of who I am. I considered my lack of self-control something of a cute quirk, like, “Oh, there goes Kate, arms full of shopping bags again! Haha!” However, I have also been very aware that it isn’t the healthiest indulgence, if I literally am always indulging myself and swiping my poor (literally) debit card. Regardless of my financial situation, I’ve always managed to come up with some kind of excuse to buy something, whether I needed it or not.

Naively, I figured that time and maturity would just magically turn me into a better spender/saver, but alas, with about a year left in my 20s, I’m still really shitty with money. I spend it as soon as I get it, and then I spend the rest of the time stressing myself out until more money appears in my bank account. Something had to give at some point, but as my financial situation improved, spending less became less of a priority, because I had more to spend. Jesus, when I read this back aloud, I should like a right idiot with all the ways I make excuses for this bad habit.

Here is where the excuses end.

I’ve taken ownership of my bad habit, and I would like more than anything for it to change, especially because I am about to embark on one of the biggest expenditures of my life — a wedding.

Kane and I plan to get married some time during Spring/Summer 2019, so this year will involve a lot of saving/spending for “the big day.” Allocating what I’d usually spend on myself to something more special and valuable than any ZARA outfit seems like a small sacrifice for the bigger goal of a wedding and a marriage with the best guy on the planet.

Arti lists the rules of #NoShopping2018 in her article, but I created my own to (hopefully) increase my chances of success.

I’m really going to try to do this for the whole year. I’ve taken a mental inventory of all the stuff I currently own, and I think that this is more than doable, especially because there are so many other people doing it too! I feel like having an online community to back me up/offer my support to is really going to be key, especially when things eventually get rough and I’m tempted to buy yet another black t shirt from H&M because they’re “cheap” and “you can never have too many black t shirts.”

Aside from the obvious goal of saving $$$ for my wedding, I also just want to prove to myself that I’m not the spineless jellyfish I think I am when it comes to shopping. I mean, I’m a grown-ass woman, dammit. I can do this!

Now tell me, is this something that you would ever try? If you’ve already done it (or something similar), do you have any tips to share? Comment below and help a sister out! Thanks in advance!

Oh, p.s. It’s day two, and so far, so good.