How do you break your shopping habits?

[xokell2]

I find more and more lately I buy things not because I need them but just because I like getting new things.

I'm at a stage where I'm drowning in stuff I don't need.

My purchases are generally not overly expensive and I'm not hurting financially because of them (I pride myself on not carrying consumer debt, thanks MM) but I feel like I need to train myself to stop shopping. What do you do to break the cycle?

[luckyno7]

It's hard. For me it's like an addiction. I have to stop looking at all then email offers I get, stop looking at fashion blogs and then go through my closet cause I have everything I need and it helps remind me. Also, if I want something new then I force myself to get rid of a few old items. With the internet it's so hard, because it's so easy to order.

[magdala]

Having a baby convinced me of the ridiculousness of my shopping habit. My curves changed immediately after she was born so nothing fit the way it used to. She was a little spit up machine so I could only wear easy care clothes that would go through several wash cycles. I had less time to shop sales and I am too cheap to pay retail price.

I put on weight post baby because I was not eating right or sleeping right for several months. My feet grew 1/4 a size due to pregnancy so I had to go through my shoes and see what could be stretched to fit and what was a lost cause. If the bottom of the shoe is leather then leather and suede uppers will stretch while silk, wool and tweed uppers will not.

I have lost some weight and now fit into more of my clothes. I now look good and can find what I want in my closets. My actions so far

1. Stay out of stores
2. Unsubscribe from every catalog and email vendor.
3. Unsubscribe from every catalog and email vendor. I have had to do this several times to get rid of some vendors.
4. Stop buying fashion magazines. I was just torturing myself with what I would want even when it did not fit my life or my curves.
5. Organize the hell out of my closets so that I could out what I have.
6. Try on the clothes from my closet to see what looks great on me and remove what does not fit either my body or my life with baby.
7. Sell my designer clothes and shoes. Some of these were new with tags so I had never worn them. I used some of the money to treat myself to a babysitter so that DH & I could get an adult dinner out.

I now need to stay away from fashion blogs, shopping sites, magazines on line and pinterest. I am still working on this. Since I started this plan in June, I have only purchased two pairs of shoes. This is major for me as I was purchasing a couple of high end outfits a month. I only purchased these shoes to replace professional shoes that had worn out. I work full time and need to look professional for work.

[kris356]

I have been trying really hard to only buy pieces that I will wear a lot and that I love. i have stopped buying things just because they are on sale and only if they fit into my wardrobe. This is why I all my flats are terrible, I haven't found anything I love to replace them. I am okay with only doing one splurge piece a season. This year it was new grey booties that I seriously wear every day. I am going to buy myself the new stewart plaid button down that comes out today at J.Crew because I missed it three years ago and it still haunts me.

I really need to go through my closet and get rid of the stuff I have been holding onto that is in disrepair or just need replace or that I have replaced but still have the original. I also need to sell some of the crap that is in my closet. I have shoes for days that I never wear. I never wear heels anymore and they are just taking up precious real estate in the closet.

I totally agree about unsubscribing to emails. It drastically reduced my extra shopping.

[treedimensional]

Crunching numbers. Seriously. You need to think about a financial goal, and focus on how long it will take to achieve, and how much money you need to make, or save, and by when. I promise, it really helps. You start to rethink even your pocket change.
When I was trying to lose weight, I thought about my goal. What I wanted to weigh, what size I wanted to fit into, and by when. I measured and counted what went into my mouth and how many calories I thought I was burning. It really, really helped stop my mindless snacking, because I focused on how much I was setting myself back.
I think thinking about a goal help you avoid things that set you back.

[ilovebed]

I agree with treedimensional about just looking at your long term and short term financial goals and seeing how your spending affects that. Now, many people may have plenty of disposable income so it makes it really hard to be motivated by a budget...because you just don't have to! In my family. we have a strict budget (we also have very high, and climbing, daycare costs) so my H and I only get a total of $200 a month we get to spend on purely fun items. That's it. That's how I have controlled my spending for years. I literally don't have the money and if I can't pay cash for it, I don't buy it. I refuse to maintain a balance on any credit card. I also place a heavy weight on my saving goals and my vacation goals, meager as they may be. I always think...I'd rather go to Hawaii next fall then have these booties, which look exactly like the other pair of booties I already have. That being said, when I really want or need something, I spend a lot of time thinking about it and I do buy quality that will last me a long time.
I'm struggling with this right now with maternity clothes. I don't NEED anything because I have plenty of hand me downs. They aren't my style and I don't feel like I look like the super stylish Mama that I want to be but it's also not worth it to me to spend big $$ on a maternity wardrobe when I could be saving money so I can take a longer unpaid maternity leave.
One day I won't be under such budget constraints but right now my decisions are purely budget based. I also have an H who is NOT OKAY with overspending. Like it would not fly with him at all if I just went out shopping all the time. He's a CPA and pretty financially conservative.

Although I'm not tempted by the emails and magazines, I just delete them or throw them away just to alleviate the pity party I have every time I look at something and know I can't buy it. It makes me feel depressed and there is really no reason to feel that way because really I have more than enough.

But man, the toy catalogs this time of year are killing me. I want to buy my 3 year old ALL THE THINGS!

[Deleted]

Have you read the life changing magic of tidying up? I don't buy as much because I have been getting rid of so much stuff that I wasted my money on.

I still shop but I try to make sure I really like something before buying it. I'm also trying a lot harder to use things up like cosmetics.

And this is semi a joke but I went to Walmart today to return something and did my grocery shopping. I find that store so unappealing I just didn't buy anything else. I should keep that in mind when I need something like toilet paper that traditionally I would buy at target and then spend a bunch. If I go to CVS or Walmart I probably will buy nothing.

[blondemoment123]

Staying off this board helps.

[ilovebed]

Lol @ the Walmart comment. We budget about $225/week on food which includes eating out once a week. It's really high but I have expensive tastes in groceries and it's not something I'm willing to give up. However, when I'm really trying to tighten the belt I'll do a couple of weeks of grocery shopping at Walmart instead of the gucci grocery store closer to home and you wouldn't find me wandering down the aisles looking for impulse buys.

[Champagne Supernova]

I used to be all about quantity and not quality but now, I just buy to replace stuff. I'm also really picky now. I now have to see something I want to buy in person before purchasing.

"Shopping my closet" really helps a lot.

[scout8]

I think that giving myself a budget helps. Even though I have more money available to spend if I wanted, I will work hard to stay in a budget. This way I still get to shop too, but I really think hard before buying something. I figure out what I want to buy and will spend a lot of time looking at my options before making a purchase. I rarely make a spontaneous purchase.

[fashionx]

- Re-organizing my closet, and re-evaluating what is truly "missing" vs. just splurging on something because it's cute and cheap.
- Use Pinterest to get ideas to re-work things I already own, so I'm not bored
- Setting a budget for the season rather than for the month, I will buy less because I'm thinking longer term for "fall" and not just for right now.

[pooh8402]

I had a baby.

Now I just shop for him instead.

[fashionx]

Nov 10, 2015 12:39:10 GMT -5 pooh8402 said:

I had a baby.

Now I just shop for him instead.

Haha yes and this too!

[pizzapizza]

I need to work on this as well. I am currently working on "redefining" my style so I can remove things in my closet that no longer work with my preferred aesthetic. But being pregnant and having a 22 month old makes it difficult.

I have also been buying some things that I am hoping to replace some of the old things that I no longer like. But overall, I have WAY TOO MUCH STUFF.

I have sold some but I really need to do a complete purge. It will be nice to be not pregnant as then I can get a better feel for if an item really fits.

During the holidays I hope to donate a ton. I need to really refine my wardrobe to all things I LOVE. And I need to really pull back on the shopping. I am trying to focus more on quality versus quantity.

I probably should also go back and check in Mint.com what I have spent so far. It is probably way too much. For a while there I was doing very well and while my spending has no negative impact on my financial situation as I am still pretty frugal, I am still spending more than I should/need to.

I would suggest signing up from something like Mint.com and tracking your monthly spend and seeing if what you are getting are things you actually need/really want and how that fits in your future financial picture.

The blog Frannish has a section on budgeting bloggers that put aside a monthly amount to spend on clothing - I may need to do this to manage what I have spent better.

[MDmomof2]

Each season when I go through my closet I make a list of items I need/want up to 5 items. Right now on my list: replacement black pumps, oxblood pumps, replacement black flats, red leggings, replacement Columbia-type winter coat. Three items are replacements for items I have but are worn out and two are things I want to spice up my wardrobe. I look for these items (and these items only!) and it keeps my shopping in check. I might spend $500 to get all these items, but I won't feel guilty about it because they were items I really thought about and needed (replacement) or wanted.

[hz80408]

I have a budget and try to stick to it. It helps me think about prioritizing what I want and how much use/wear I'd really get out of it.

I also try to think of what I'm spending in terms of my other interests and financial goals; like a pair of $100 boots I would wear a few times a month, is that worth it instead of a $200 domestic flight to go somewhere for a long weekend.