I finally organized my closet and discovered I have way too much stuff. Way too much of the same black T-Shirt, White T-shirt, etc. With summer sales going on, I've been pretty good at not going out and buying clothes, shoes on sale. I have to admit it's hard. I am making myself NOT buy anything I don't need. Has anyone been successful? what was the longest amount of time you went between shopping trips?
I went out today for a few items. I wrote down a short list of things that I really needed and stuck to it. I got eye balling other things as I walked through the aisles but just stuck to my list and left the store.
I am not a shopaholic so I can stay without shopping for few days and even couple of weeks. It's definitely difficult during holiday season but for the rest of the year I'm pretty much able to control my shopping urges. It definitely helps to make a shopping list and plan for your shopping so that you don't lot of impulse buying.
I'm trying to cut back on general expenditure, and a good way to do this is to cut back on shopping trips. If you shop twice a week, try and do one shopping trip, and then extend the intervals by shopping a day later each week. That means that every 7 weeks, you'll save a full week's shopping costs. On the day before the shop, make up meals from leftovers, or raid the freezer. If you can be strict with yourself and do this, it's a great way to save money.
What I did to cut down on shopping, especially mindless shopping or the kind that you can do with friends for entertainment was to change what I did during those times. For example, at one point Saturdays was shopping day for friends and myself...but I scheduled yoga into my mornings and art into my afternoons and couple time for the evening...which filled my space and time with more fruitful stuff to do. So instead of accumulating stuff, I am having more fun and different experiences...and I do not miss shopping, in fact, now, I kind of do not like it very much.
I absolutely love shopping but it has got to a point now that my cupboards are overflowing with items of clothing that I haven't yet worn. So what I do now is limit myself to shopping only one day a week which makes shopping feel more like a treat than a pastime. The rest of the week I make sure that I am busy doing other things like little projects around the house or helping out at my husband's business. This seems to be working for me and as a result I am saving money.
If I find anything I really like on sale, I buy it even though I don't need it. I bought a T-shirt recently, and i had bought 5 more just days before. I'm indeed an addicted buyer
I haven't been shopping in almost 2 years. I bought a new car on finance and just cannot afford any new clothes. I tend to sort my wardrobe out in spring and autumn and any clothes that I think I am not going to wear in the upcoming months I put in a suitcase and store it in the loft. That way when it gets to my next sorting, I can get it out again and I’ve got a whole suitcase of seasonal clothes and I usually find that I have clothes that I had forgotten about so it feels like I have new clothes!
I'm the same way. I go into Target intending to get one or two small things, and come out with a shopping cart of items I "need" to have. Then I get home and look at what I've bought and realize I really didn't need any of it except the two items I went there to get. But I am doing better, though. As tough as it is, I find the best way to not overspend is to not go to the stores at all. Grocery shopping is different, of course, but I really do try my best to stick to the list when I go there.
What I started doing is going to stores that just sell groceries. If you go to a store like Target or Walmart, then you don't just buy groceries, you buy clothes and DVD's and kitchen gadgets. If you go to a grocery store, you just buy food and get out. When I find that I'm shopping too much, I avoid stores that sell a variety of merchandise and just stick to the grocery store.
I'm really good at preventing myself from buying unnecessary things. When I want to buy something, I begin thinking of the hard work I do to earn those money that's why I end up not buying anything at all. I would rather invest my money on some investments that could provide me with passive income.
Thats great! First, way to go! I even found in cleaning out my closet I was able to downsize and find things that I could mix & match to make a new outfit so to speak. Its a frugal way to live! The longest i have gone without buying a clothing I item I needed was probably 7 months.
Whenever I go out and something catches my eye, I immediately ask myself, " Do you NEED it or do you WANT it?" That way, it helps me take a step back if my answer is, I just want it. When my eldest was still in his toddler years, I was on a shopping spree for toys and books. I knew at the back of my mind that he can didn't need most of them. But I just couldn't stop. But now, 8 years later, and two more kids, I am more careful with what I buy. \ That's why the question " need it or want it" always pops out when I find myself again wanting to buy something. I guess, the longest time that I was on a shopping off mode is a month.
I don't really follow a strict schedule when shopping, like whenever I see something that I like, I buy it immediately, so like you, I think I really need to curb that tendency as well. I realized that I don't really need most of the things that I buy.
