Addiction, something you would, or I would anyway, would be an addiction to drinking or drugs. But a person’s addiction can be to absolutely anything. I follow self care daily and I love my hobbies and things I love. The thing is you can get self care wrong and the things you love can become a self-indulgence. You begin to indulge in things you think will and are helping you. Mine happens to be fashion.
We are about to wrap up month 3 of myself fighting my addiction to buying the latest fashion trends. It came to the point earlier in the year where I was spending and wanting to shop all the time. Really with a car, mortgage etc I really need to be careful with my money. As I mentioned we are wrapping up month 3 and I do and can still spend a little money on fashion, but I carefully document my money etc.
This month I have been busy, I hosted a birthday party and so my money was being spent on the supplies I needed to host the crafternoon tea. Budgeting is really hard for someone who likes to buy. So, though I agreed to this and getting paid after which is a bonus because I gave the money straight to my mum to look after I had to be careful on what I brought myself.
People will think I am mad because I still managed to buy 3 items of clothes this month. My camouflage jeans, my you do you girl top and some summer pyjamas. A £50 total spend over a god knows what spend before is a good achievement. I also always wait or depending on the store wait for the sale. They run all the time or bonus offers and discounts. I tried on my camouflage jeans when they were full price £39 but when I look at the tag, I really wasn’t sure on that much of a higher amount for 1 item. 2 weeks after they went down to £14. What a difference. Ordered them online paid just under £20, including delivery and saved £20 at least.
There are also things to look for as well, like the different colours or themes the same set come as. Some were £18 and some were £12 and in my opinion the colour theme I went for were the better colours. But even so for pyjamas it really doesn’t matter, they are just to sleep in. This is where I am learning to save money and spend efficiently. Every little saving helps along the way.
Tops for me cost around £20 each. That would be my cost allowance per t-shirt. So, as I hadn’t spent that much I went for this top. They were on limited addition which means if you didn’t buy quick you didn’t get any. This was £17.99 so I was happy with this. I love the phrase across it, and it would work well with many of my trousers I have already.
It is all about the way you think and how you rely and use your money. I hadn’t checked my money before I went food shopping on Sunday. (This week is payday) I thought I had been good, and I didn’t want to use the money I got from the party. I am saving that for something extra special. I have been self scanning my food shop weekly. I swapped from Marks and Spencer’s to Sainsbury’s. It was a bigger shop this week and by that, I mean I had my biweekly shop of frozen fruit and packs of dates. I even bulk brought yoghurts because they were half price, with a good date. My total was £20.70 and that’s pretty good for a bigger shop. I panicked when my card declined at the self-checkout. Luckily my mum was with me and my Grandma had just given me £20 pocket money. So, with the pound in my purse I was good to go.
Straight away when I got in, I checked my online banking to find that yet again for the 2nd month BT had charged me incorrectly and my electricity had doubled without any notice. This is when I made a list of calls to make this week. And fingers crossed next month will run more smoothly.
I have to fight my addiction, get some kind of savings behind for the mishaps of the bills that randomly change before you are told and for me to work on my money flow and learn that, that dress is better to stay online or in the shop. I am getting better though. I do go to the shops most weekends, but I don’t buy as much, or anything compared to before.
Next month maybe more of a struggle for me because I am going away on holiday in September and I do need new clothes for evening outfits and a few bikinis. The only benefit of August is that I have no floristry school and no Pilates so that is an extra £80 to spend on holiday clothes. I found a box full of summer clothes in my parents loft at the weekend because I wanted a dress for Nellie’s crafternoon tea. I found loads of nice clothes as well as some that I would no longer wear. Bonus of Facebook selling sites, I can sell some to give me money to buy new ones. Maybe not the full price back but some money over none is good.
Fighting my addiction is going well. I would love for a no spend month, that would be really good. Maybe that could be August with my Pilates and floristry money for the clothes. Technically that is still the money I would use monthly on them costs but on something else. I can easily leave things behind and I rarely look online for outfits for myself. There is definitely more for me to work on and improve. I really want to have a month where I don’t go shopping. A month where my money and all my money go on other things.
Do you have an addiction? Or do you over indulge?
