Lately, I’ve been focusing heavily on the earn more money side of financial success. I feel like the flip side — saving more money — has been feeling a little neglected.
No matter how much you earn, learning how to save, need less, and live far below your means are all key factors in ensuring the wealth you build is wealth that will last.
After a what felt like a spendy June and July, I’m ready to get back in touch with frugality. Remember, “frugal” and “cheap” are not the same thing. Here’s how I define being frugal:
- Being more resourceful
- Being less wasteful
- Needing less to be happy (especially when that “less” refers to stuff)
Don’t worry, our frugal lifestyle didn’t get thrown out the window over the summer. We’re still investing about half our income, but we just haven’t been as careful with spending as we were in the first half of the year. We didn’t count every single penny that happily bounced out of our pockets.
Honestly, I thought it would be nice not to be so obsessive about tracking our spending. It’d be a nice little break from my constant refrain: “Did you get a receipt?”
(I was sure my spouse would agree that it would be nice, especially as that’s one of those things I get obsessive-compulsive about. Even if I see a receipt handed over from the cashier to my endlessly-patient husband, as we walk out of the store or get in the car I have to ask, “do you have the receipt?” I annoy myself sometimes.)
But it’s more than just spending money that started bugging me. It’s that we’ve consumed at a level that feels unnecessary.
Getting Back to Basics and Cutting the Clutter
I’m not a strict minimalist, but I do hate clutter. And most stuff to me qualifies as clutter. Anything that’s in my house and doesn’t have a purpose or function eventually starts getting on my nerves.
It’s not just stuff that annoys me. Anytime we spend money when we didn’t really have to, I feel a twinge of irritation. Don’t get me wrong — there are some things I leap at the opportunity to spend money on (like travel!).
But other things that I don’t value as highly? It bothers me when I get lax with spending and just don’t think when I make a purchase.
#Money mindfulness means being thoughtful about your spending. Do you think before you spend?
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Getting Inspired by Minimalism Again
And I’ve also been highly inspired by Cait over at Blonde on a Budget with her recent posts.
She’s working to embrace minimalism this year, and has been documenting her efforts at decluttering and sharing her plans for a yearlong shopping ban. Her posts have gotten me excited about going through my own home and giving away some of the things that have accumulated in empty spaces that we really do not need (and sometimes, don’t even want).
Cait’s done a good job of re-inspiring me to start thinking critically about my spending again, and getting back in touch with minimalism. Although I’m not ready to try my own total shopping ban, I do want to establish a challenge for myself that will encourage me to spend less and save instead.
This savings challenge addresses what has historically been my biggest spending weakness: clothes.
A Short History of Bad Shopping Decisions
In college, I bought whatever was on sale and ended up with a closet full of clothes I hated, were low-quality, and fit poorly.
The result was a lot of money wasted and a low level of confidence. It’s hard to feel good about yourself when all you have to wear are items that don’t fit and don’t express who you really are.
It took a while to gradually get rid of the crap and to learn to carefully select quality pieces that will last forever — that I actually like wearing. I’ve finally pared down my wardrobe to the good stuff and both me and my budget are much happier that for the last two years, the majority of my clothing purchases have been limited and well thought out.
Reaching that point did a lot to break my bad shopping habits. I don’t feel the constant need to buy new clothes. But I know it’s still my biggest frivolous spending temptation.
So it’s time to eliminate that need to spend on clothes once and for all!
My Newest Savings Challenge: Thrift Shops Only!
I’m doing that by instituting a “thrift shops only” savings challenge. And for me, that really means “local Goodwill store” only.
Part of the thinking behind this is that my natural tenancy to get bored with pawing through stacks of stuff will help me fight and break my urge to buy that stuff.
Specifically, the rules of this challenge say, from August 1, 2014 to July 31, 2015, I can only buy clothing if I buy it from thrift shops/Goodwill.
(I actually went ahead and started this challenge in late July, thus the dates in the rules. And the items in the picture above after a successful Goodwill trip inspired me to institute the challenge!)
For those of you who have been savvy shoppers (or hipsters) for a long time, this may seem really silly. “Some challenge,” you think.
But I’m looking at this from a few different perspectives. This challenge encourages me to:
- stand up to instant gratification.
- think before spending.
- consume in a more reasonable way (by purchasing used items).
- do something more productive and enjoyable than shop (because searching for something in Goodwill is usually not how I want to spend my free time).
It’s so easy to hop online and order a new outfit from my favorite shop. I don’t ever have to stop and think about my purchases if I can walk straight into a store, grab something cute, pay for it, and be back in my car driving away in 5 minutes or less.
But this challenge forces me to stop and think about the money I’m spending and the stuff I’m acquiring. Shopping for clothing is no longer a mindless activity but a very intentional one.
And I think that’s just what I need to get back to where I want to be with how I think about spending and stuff.
I invite you to participate in this challenge with me! If you’re interested in keeping up with the challenge, our progress, updates, and additional ideas for savings and ideas on how to be more mindful with your money, join us here.
The post My Newest Savings Challenge: Thrift Shops Only appeared first on Common Sense Millennial.
