February 2018 No Buy, Low Buy, Project Pan

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I am committing to another strict No Buy for the month of February.
 
BEAUTY GOALS 

  1. Begin working through Glossybox filled with deluxe size skin care samples​. These are samples I've collected between November 2016 and December 2017. I am going to try to use them based on the date they were acquired. I believe my oldest sample is a L'Occitane Ultra Rich Face Cream with Shea Butter - I think it is left over from the 2016 L'Occitane Beauty Advent Calendar. I also have a L'Occitane Dry Skin Foot Cream with Shea Butter that I believe is also from the calendar, so I'll use those first. 
  2. Hair - use up conditioner foil packs (4).
  3. Use up travel size shower gels (5).
  4. Work on Glossybox containing sheet masques and masques in sachet pouches. 
  5. Continue to use Borghese mascara mini almost every day. I believe this is my oldest mascara mini, and I have been using it for about three weeks. 
FINANCIAL GOAL

First half of February - pay off debt with remaining balance $60.01. 

LIFE GOAL

Have fun and relax, and enjoy the peace of mind that a No Buy brings. 

 
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I have completed the first week of February on my plan, and I am doing really well. I have already finished paying off my debt that had a balance of $60.01 left. [I made my minimum payment of $25, and two extra payments of $17.50].  Next, I will begin working on a credit card that has a balance of $221.86. My goal for the rest of the month is to make my minimum payment of $23, plus two extra payments of $25, so that my balance will be down to $150 by the end of the month. 

I continue to work on using up my deluxe samples. I'm glad I'm using things up little by little. I don't want to run out of things and have to shop again any time soon.  I think when it comes time to buy replacement items, I will try to get things that come with samples or free gifts, to keep replenishing my collection with minimal cost and effort. I don't miss shopping, because it's overwhelming to choose from all that is on the market. I love the feeling of having things that I can live on for a long long time with no buying effort or spending while paying down debts. I'm not depriving myself of my favorite foods and drinks, but I try to stay away from dinners at restaurants. A little lunch at a restaurant is okay. I try to find free entertainment and go to the library rather than buying books I want on Amazon. I'm finding my project really fun and not hard in any way. The hard part is working every day to earn the money! 

 
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I absolutely love this @EdithS2! Congrats on your amazing process! and a huge thank you for being such an inspiration to others myself included! I thought no buy was going to be hard for me but I've also found that it's really rewarding to use up the samples. I also happen to have some luxury samples so it makes it nicer. I haven't had any temptations to buy anything. It's actually really relaxing knowing I can't and as a result I don't even want to. I'm finding other things to fill and feed my mind that brings me joy other than shopping. I've been doing a lot of self reflecting and starting each day thinking about the things I'm grateful for and it has really made a difference.  

 
After today, I'll be halfway through my February No Buy month. I've been a litte bit bad. I made a beauty purchase. I rationalized it so that I felt I was not breaking my No Buy, but I could have done better.

All of my wristwatches died, and I really needed a new watch, so I decided to get an Elizabeth Taylor White Diamonds Valentine's Day set at Macy's, because they have a free watch as GWP. I told myself this was not breaking my No Buy, as I was getting something I needed, and it was efficient to get some other things at the same time. I could have done better--I could have had a new battery put in one of my old watches, or I could have purchased a ten dollar watch from Avon or Wal Mart. But I'm happy that after I competed this purchase, I felt satisfied and did not feel the need to buy more. 

I'm getting more and more organized. I looked up and printed out my free credit report. I organized my Glossybox of face cream minis. I went through my diaries, order histories, and beauty sites to try and figure out when I had acquired each one, so that I can use them in order of oldest to newest. That took some doing. I have 26 face cream minis. I'm almost finished with the first one (my L'Occitane Shea Butter Face Cream from the brand's 2016 Advent Calendar). In the second half of February, I'll be using cream number two, my Organic Pharmacy cream, which I received in the December 2016 Birchbox. I'll also soon be finishing a St. Ives travel size body wash, and in the second half of February, I'll be using my PLANT Apothecary shower gel sample from October Petit Vour. 

For financial goals, I only have $33 left to pay to get my credit card down to $150 by the end of the month. If I do this, I'll easily be able to pay the card off in full by the end of March. That's a payment of $16.50 for each of the next two Fridays. I love paying things off and I am very motivated. I'm excited for the second half of this month! 

 
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Consider the beautiful Elizabeth Taylor Valentine's gift to be your reward for how well you have been doing @EdithS2. Keep up the amazing progress!! I've been using up my samples too and can surf online without feeling like I have to get something. I look at new palettes and think oh that would be nice to get but then I distract myself with other things that bring me joy and the "need" to purchase something goes away. It's amazing how it works once you change your mindset around it. I used to get angry going on no buy and now I'm feeling great satisfaction and happiness. I don't feel like I'm being deprived of something. If I start to feel like I really want to buy something, I go look at my organized boxes with samples and realize there is absolutely no need to buy anything and it's so fun using up all this stuff. I've used up Clarins cleanser (mini size), Rituals body wash (mini size), Amika hair mask (mini size), 2 Chanel serum packets (foils) and I'm currently using up a Tatcha moisturizer which is really nice. It feels like a total luxury item every time I use it.

 
Consider the beautiful Elizabeth Taylor Valentine's gift to be your reward for how well you have been doing @EdithS2. Keep up the amazing progress!! I've been using up my samples too and can surf online without feeling like I have to get something. I look at new palettes and think oh that would be nice to get but then I distract myself with other things that bring me joy and the "need" to purchase something goes away. It's amazing how it works once you change your mindset around it. I used to get angry going on no buy and now I'm feeling great satisfaction and happiness. I don't feel like I'm being deprived of something. If I start to feel like I really want to buy something, I go look at my organized boxes with samples and realize there is absolutely no need to buy anything and it's so fun using up all this stuff. I've used up Clarins cleanser (mini size), Rituals body wash (mini size), Amika hair mask (mini size), 2 Chanel serum packets (foils) and I'm currently using up a Tatcha moisturizer which is really nice. It feels like a total luxury item every time I use it.
Thank you so much for your kind words. I have a little Clarins, Rituals, and Chanel to use up too! I love it when I finish something because I get to open a new treat from my box. 

 
I am happy that I made it through a second month on my No Buy! Overall I had a very good month. I only spent on food, gas, and bills, except when I bought myself a perfume set with a free watch GWP. I paid $85.00 extra debt (not including minimum payments), and had some empties to list on The Official Used It Up Thread. I'm still motivated and going strong. I am coming back with another month of No Buy for March! 

 

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