Shopping Ban || Month 2.25 Update

I'm supposed to be on a shopping ban... but of course I went into Winners to see what new galores they had. More marble decor? Some placemats for the dining table? The Le Creuset pot that I've had my eyese on since last week? Yes, yes, and yes. They still had the pot, and yes, now I am $225 short for my next rent cheque.

I also bought a notebook. After seeing the price tag of the pot, I said fuck it, what's another $10. Mind you, my shopping ban only gave me $25 a month to work with, yet there I was standing in the cheeckout line with $235 worth of items in hand. My justification for the notebook is the big black block of technology that is known as my outdated and dysfucntional laptop. I simply cannot lug it around anymore nor do I have the desire to now that I am not in school. It has outlived its lifespan and is as slow as a computer ccan be, with crashing features and an inability to blog. Hence, this $10 notebook is actually a small investment to the $300 I've already spent maintaining this blog. I will be writing in the notebook and then typing it up when my computer is in a good mood.

So this shopping ban - where am I at this point? I am 2 months and 1 week in. I cracked very quickly in month two, with purchases of books, plates, shirts, marble coasters... not under my leeway spending budget at all. Does this make me a failure? Yes, absolutely. Though, I can say that my thinking process changed after sticking to my ban for one month. Counting my clothes made me significantly decrease my desire to purchase more despite my countless visits to the thrift shops. My main reason for going on this shopping ban was to become a more conscious consumer and I can proudly say I accomplished that goal.

I'm not done with month three so I am not sure why I'm reflecting on this journey now, but I have some pointers for my future self and anyone else who wants to embark on a shopping ban. Firstly, ask yourself, why? In doing so, really think about what goals you want to accomplish and try to make quantifiable goals. This will allow you to visualize your progress. For me, this was how often I went into a thrift store and walked out empty-handed. Quantifiable and simultaneously breaking bad habits. Second, ask what you would do if you slipped. Will you stop the ban all together? Will you beat yourself up over it? What is a productive way fy for you to deal with a slip up? Lastly, sit down and spend time developing your exception list (what you are allowed to buy during your ban). The one I posted on the blog wasn't extensive at all and I had so many other things I was willing to purhase had the opportunity presented itself. The pot was one of them. It was a specific brand and model that my mom had raved about and a one-time investment of a lifetime. I think I would have had less slip ups had I put together a more thought-out list.

Almost 4 more weeks of August - here's to hoping I can finish strong. How is your shopping ban going?