March 2014 No/Low-Buy! Support, Advice, and Free Hugs

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Quote: Originally Posted by magicalmom /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
I saved and photographed my beauty empties one month... but then realized I was contributing to my own anxiety by keeping a bag of trash around!  Now I keep a running list of empties in my iPhone's notepad so I can throw the items out right away, but still see my growing "pile" anytime!  I know a lot of the ladies here do a great job of photographing empties, but it just made me crazy!
i have a box of empties, and my boyfriend thinks i'm crazy... and asked for an explanation just to make sure i'm not indeed crazy. haha! i'm even thinking about getting a nice box/basket from crate & barrel to put my empties in! i guess i am a bit crazy! 
roflmao.gif


 
Failed in February, here I am to try again in March!

I'm aiming for a no-buy again! (Except for replacements of needed items).

I think it's going to be hard because I have just discovered what lipstick and lip gloss can do to brighten and awaken my face! I want to get myself a nice cruelty-free lipstick, but I cannot choose colors worth crap. :( /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Most people try to put me in apricot/peach colors, but I don't think it flatters my skintone. I like berry tones, like Clinique 'Surprise' and Maybelline baby lips in 'grape vine'. It's also going to be hard because I'm extremely stressed right now with work and school, and also I'm going through a divorce, so it's really taxing on me physically and emotionally. But I'll try my best!!!

So here's what I'm going to allow/avoid this March:

1. Subs: I only have ipsy, and I just got it. I think I'll cancel, but I'm trying to decide if I should let my March bag come first. So hard to decide!!! ETA: I Cancelled! (Thanks Meganola!)

2. Sephora: Avoid at all costs. Don't check promo codes, and if there are any, IGNORE THEM!

3. Ulta: Get my reward gift (Tier 3, baby, and now I'm on the point system!), and while I'm there I can swatch to my heart's content. I can try to find a lipstick color that suits me, but DON'T BUY! (If I cancel ipsy before I get charged for the March bag, I may buy myself a lipstick under $10).

4. Skincare: I should be good for the rest of the month as I just replinished my AM and PM moisturizers. May run out of eye cream, in that case I can repurchase- I'm going to try Acure Organics eye cream. Actually, Paula's Choice reps say you don't need a separate eye cream and that their PM moisturizer is fine to use, so I may just do that.... we'll see.

5. Urges: If I get the urge to purchase something, put it in my Polyvore 'wanted' list and on my listography wanted list. Maybe if I keep track of it I won't feel the need to purchase it right away, and can wait for 30 days to see if I still want it.

In mid-April I'm going to Chicago for a long weekend, so I want to have some money to spend while there.

 
I'll treat this thread as a talk-me-down thread: If you're thinking about canceling ipsy/Birchbox/Julep/etc., cancel! Don't debate it! Your subconscious knows it needs to be done, which is why you're thinking about it, so just do it! My sob story before the month even starts: The good news is that I don't need a root canal! The bad news is that I *do* need to see an endodontist. I'm terrified to find out how much that's going to cost, but it *has* to happen.

 
Quote: Originally Posted by BSquared /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Oh gosh. Ok so after a half successful January, February was a complete disaster. Like bad. So my rules for March:

NOTHING. No beauty products or makeup. None. Zero. There is nothing I could possibly need or run out of in the next month. Nothing .

On the plus side, I think I've convinced my husband to join me. His vice (ahem...hoard) is video games. Part of my issue is he'll spend money on video games and I think "well why am I saving money then?" And then I go ham at sephora. So no makeup for me (or skin care. Or lotion. Or candles. Or hair products). No video games for him. We are each allowed one lunch out a week, and we'll go out for dinner once a week. And no casino! We tend to go to the casino and gamble when we're bored and this is clearly not a good investment of funds lol.

I think we both want to see how much money we end up with when we don't spend it on dumb stuff. I am holding faith we can both keep it up!
Hopefully, you and your husband do well.  It might be easier having a partner! 

 
I am keeping Birchbox, Ipsy and Lip Factory subs. This month I am giving myself $25 to spend as a reward for slipping only twice since October. I'll probably get some new brushes.

   Other than the $25, no buying anything that isn't basic hygiene supplies. If a circular swap pops up I'm allowing myself to participate.

 
So I am joining for March.  I really need to go on a no buy.  In February I was so bad with spending.  I really am not even sure why.  I made so many purchases it is seriously stupid.  Next to my bed I just have boxes and boxes from online orders with all the products still in them and then bags and bags of stuff from in store purchases just piled up in the boxes.  I'm buying so much it's making my room a mess.  In this last week, I made two large purchases at Lush and three or four purchases at Sephora.  Honestly, that is way too much.  I would like to buy a car in the future and I'm never going to be able to save up money for a down payment with my current spending habits.

My rules/plans for March

1. I will have Birchbox as I have an annual sub so it's already paid for.  Try to use up at least 3 of the products from my March box in March.

2. No purchases at Sephora, Ulta, LUSH, or any indie nail polish sites.

3. No purchasing of new shoes.  I bought two pairs this past week so I honestly don't need to buy shoes for a bit. 

4. I can get a Stitch Fix this month and buy something(s) in the box that I like, look nice, is/are good quality, and that I honestly believe I will wear often.  Honestly, I probably (DON'T) need this at all but I don't want to deprive myself completely because I feel as though that is setting myself up for failure.  In reality, I can't even fit any more shirts in my shirt drawer in my dresser.  Yet, I feel like a lot of the clothes aren't necessarily things that I like anymore.

5.  The Philadelphia Flower Show starts this Saturday.  I hope to go but don't know if I'm definitely going yet and there are always a lot of nice vendors so I can buy a few things there if I make it.  However, I am to keep it under $75.

6.  No buying of nail polish no matter how cheap or cute.

7.  Resist the urge to buy a Wantable Intimates Box.  Never bought one of these but I always check out the thread and like what everyone receives.  If I stick to my no buy (except for Stitch FIx if I want it) I can buy one of these boxes in April if I still want one.

Edited to add.

 
It's my birthday month! This will be rough but I have a lot of work to do (school and work work) so I gotta focus on the task at hand and not reward myself with snacks or random make up things! I've been pretty ok. I've been selling or giving away things that have been hiding on my makeup shelf. Allowed: work clothes, work shoes if I'm traveling. Birchbox. Birchbox orders with points. Must reevaluate if I want birchbox for real or not!

 
Despite my "I'm quitting my low buy" post last month, I'm not. I need to keep myself accountable. When I got my tax refund, I used it to pay my credit card balance and make bigger payments to my student loans. It felt SO GOOD to pay more towards my loans, and then I started thinking: if I stopped buying random makeup and clothes and getting takeout all the time, I could probably cut off a year of payments on these damn loans. So, here are my goals for this month: - keep ipsy bag - bring lunch to work EVERY DAY; this could save me about $100-200 for the month. - I will allow myself to buy a couple things from the sephora 15% off sale (whether its in march or april), but so far I only want a ysl lippie anyways. - Pay $1000 to my loans instead of the usual $800 - Save $300 instead of the usual $200 I also recently switched banks to avoid rediculous fees, and to have an actual interest rate on my savings. My year long goal is to have $5,000 in my savings. So far I have about 1,400. So we'll see; that will be a bit tough.

 
february was mostly a success for me. on ebay, i sold a total amount of $716.30 for 47 items. factoring in the shipping and eBay and paypal commission, i estimate that i actually made (recouped) ~$500! not too shabby. i kept a tally of how much i spent for february and that was close to $150...i can do better but this is a great improvement. i keep on listing on eBay (especially now that they're giving me 60,000 free listings! lol) right now i have 45 items listed amounting to $650. i'll list more. i have SOOO much stuff that's just sitting in my drawers, unopened and such. i know i don't need them because i'm not really missing any of the stuff i just sold. so..i'll keep selling til i have a normal collection. there will always be good deals in the future and i don't need to take advantage of it all right now! i have plenty already, and $1700 of selling later, i still have a lot! (sorry, just kinda talking to myself. haha)

so for march, here are my goals:

- sell, sell, sell

- no buy until march 15

- i only have one sub, birchbox, so i'm keeping that. oh yeah i have glossy but that's paid for til march. i'm not renewing glossy.

- after march 15, i'm giving myself a $50 budget (cash and gift cards included)

right now, i'm struggling not to make a purchase at ulta.......... help!! (i saw a couple of sale items, 50% off, that i want but afraid that they won't be on sale anymore later.. one of the items, i don't need but it'd be nice to have, and the other, i need for the summer.. i also can't find anything else on the website that i want, so i might just have to pay for shipping..) waaah!

 
@Jen283 those are some awesome goals!  My husband and I are trying to achieve a lot of the same goals right now!  At the end of last year, we realized how much money we were spending on unnecessary things (makeup/eating out/electronics/etc) and we made a pact to stop.   There have absolutely been failures by both of us, and I find it incredibly useful to be able to come on here and confess when I mess up - I feel more accountable and less likely to mess up in the future.  

Since the hubs and I started this year, we've been able to save money from each paycheck and actually grow our savings account.  We filed taxes early and put the whole refund towards our largest credit card.  And in the upcoming months, we're looking forward to paying off the credit cards and starting to heavily tackle our student loans.  I do slip up occasionally - but now it's just $10-15 a few times a month, instead of "Well there's a great Sephora GWP and I should really just buy $50 worth of stuff so I don't have to pay shipping, oh and there's that great deal on Urban Decay's site, and yes, I really do need a $50 palette even though I have enough eyeshadow to last me my whole life!"

I guess what I'm trying to say is that yes, your goals are going to be rough, but ATTAINABLE.  You can do this!  And we'll be here with a new low-buy thread every month helping to keep you motivated!  Good luck! 

 
@magicalmom Thank you for the support! I'm tracking all my expenses on mint, so I've been more aware of my spending habits and how much I really CAN spend/save with my current income.

@saku: I'd be interested in you starting a thread on how to sell things on ebay! Can you only sell unopened/unused items? Do you sell anything besides makeup? Other tips for how to get started with that would be very helpful!

 
Quote: Originally Posted by Jen283 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  @magicalmom Thank you for the support! I'm tracking all my expenses on mint, so I've been more aware of my spending habits and how much I really CAN spend/save with my current income.

@saku: I'd be interested in you starting a thread on how to sell things on ebay! Can you only sell unopened/unused items? Do you sell anything besides makeup? Other tips for how to get started with that would be very helpful!
that's a good idea! i'll get on it later today! but to answer your questions... i only sell makeup and skincare on ebay, and once a bottle of perfume. i don't think you're supposed to sell used makeup on ebay, but i have listed some used products which don't have an applicator that comes into contact with body (this is listed as 'restricted' on ebay's policy, which basically means allowed. they have 'allowed', 'restricted', and 'not allowed'. used perfume is also under 'restricted') i've also sold some limited edition items that i listed as collectibles, clearly stating that it is used (swatched or opened, but not used, etc) in the listing condition AND description.

i'll post the thread link here (in this post), and tag you later :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 
I'm continuing on my low buy. I plan to do one more stash toss/give away in March and hopefully get my stash down to a size I'm happy with. I used up a lot of items last month and this month and I didn't add anything other than one replacement item and a couple of items from a sub. Oh, in a moment of weakness I did purchase one deeply discounted hair styling item and I hate it. I've tried it three times and all it does is weigh my hair down and make it look blah. I plan to give it to my sister this weekend; maybe it will work for her. 

Good luck to everyone on their goals! 

 
Quote: Originally Posted by meaganola /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I'll treat this thread as a talk-me-down thread: If you're thinking about canceling ipsy/Birchbox/Julep/etc., cancel! Don't debate it! Your subconscious knows it needs to be done, which is why you're thinking about it, so just do it!

My sob story before the month even starts: The good news is that I don't need a root canal! The bad news is that I *do* need to see an endodontist. I'm terrified to find out how much that's going to cost, but it *has* to happen.
You're right- THANK YOU! I just cancelled my ipsy account thanks to you. It was hard, but I did it. I'm supposed to get a confirmation email with a link to click before it's officially cancelled, but it's not here yet. Anyway, AWESOME! I think because your support and honesty, and my own rule for myself that if I cancel ipsy I can get a lipstick under $10 this month, I found it easy to cancel. Or easier than it normally would be. YAY!!! This makes me hopeful for March!

Also, I'm glad you don't have to get a root canal! But an endodontist.... I hope it isn't too much money. I agree, it has to happen, even though I don't know your full story. The reason is for 4 years I didn't have health insurance and I never saw the dentist. I brushed and flossed regularly, but when I finally got insurance and went in, I had tons of cavities. Now, after seeing the dentist for regular cleanings, I never have cavities. It's just important to have these things done. Preventative healthcare, etc.

Anyway, good luck!

Edited to add: I got my confirmation email from ipsy, and I got a cute little message: "Thank you for being an ipster! We are sorry to see you go." Hehehe, 'ipster' is hilarious!

Anyway, it's done and I actually feel glad about it. It's freeing knowing I don't have to figure out what to do with a bunch of samples. I only use 2 of the 5 things I got this month...

 
Okay I'm actually going to set a plan for March! (as opposed to generally just saying "stop buying things"). February went reasonably well--one small planned order from Sephora, and then a second smallish unplanned one to celebrate getting my bonus (woot!). I'm putting the rest of the bonus towards a new laptop and then savings, so I consider that a big bonus-using win! 

Here's my March plan:

Allowed:

-Birchbox - just one (I cancelled the second account that I had had since the holidays after last month). This is prepaid on an annual.

-Pulling the trigger on the Ulta cart I've had for a while (featuring Lorac Pro!) once a good beauty break or extra points offer comes around. I'm proud of myself that I've sat on that cart for a while to wait for a good extra!

-A money-free Birchbox order (I currently have 800+ points and $30 in gift cards from second account! I won't use it all in one go though). This will be used for a mix of essentials (shampoo + conditioner...and chocolate, obviously) plus a small splurge item.

-IF there's a good GWP I like (and will use), I can make a Sephora order for an evening face cleanser, since I'll finally be through my sample stash in a few weeks (woot!). If there's not a worthy code, then I'll wait for Chic Week.  

-I'm planning on doing a bit of clothing shopping at the mall, but this will be using gift cards from Christmas (BR and Ann Taylor). Clothing isn't really my trouble spot in terms of spending, so I'm not too concerned about this. 

Not allowed:

-Random makeup/toiletry purchases from Target.

-No Stitchfix -- I've been hankering to order another Fix, but I really should just use those gift cards mentioned above instead. I just love not having to do the shopping myself! Haha. 

-No in-store purchases at Sephora. I'm planning on visiting the store to do some swatching pre-Chic week during the aforementioned mall visit, but I really need to stick to my guns and not purchase! 

-Any other unplanned purchases! If I find something else that I want, it goes on the consideration list for April.

Phew! Feels good to actually articulate a plan, albeit a lengthy one!

 
I'm going for a low buy this month, so I won't feel like a failure if I break my no-buy.  Which I did in February, and once the dam was broke with the Maybelline Color Tattoos, I also got one of the Clinique Cheek Pop blushes.    I've got my eye on a few other items, but will probably wait until the Sephora sale begins, whenever that is.

 
I have to try not buying anything at all this month. February, I made a few mistakes and made a few purchases. I don't want to purchase anything at all this month. I'm going to try extra hard.

 
Oh my god you guys I am SO SO SO TIRED AND SICK :( /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> :( :( /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> My lungs feel like they're on fire. Unfortunately, when I get sick, I start looking at those things that feel like "comfort things" - things that make me happy and take my mind off of how sick I am. guess what one of them is? Yeah, you guessed it...makeup.

The other is disney movies.

Sigh. I just need to figure out new looks to do with the stuff I have. Need to stop buying stuff. 

 
Quote: Originally Posted by jaylilee /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Oh my god you guys I am SO SO SO TIRED AND SICK :( /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> :( :( /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> My lungs feel like they're on fire. Unfortunately, when I get sick, I start looking at those things that feel like "comfort things" - things that make me happy and take my mind off of how sick I am. guess what one of them is? Yeah, you guessed it...makeup.

The other is disney movies.

Sigh. I just need to figure out new looks to do with the stuff I have. Need to stop buying stuff. 
awww! feel better. i feel like everyone keeps getting sick with this weather!

my suggestion is to just watch disney movies instead. ha!

 
Oh my god you guys I am SO SO SO TIRED AND SICK :( /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> :( :( /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> My lungs feel like they're on fire. Unfortunately, when I get sick, I start looking at those things that feel like "comfort things" - things that make me happy and take my mind off of how sick I am. guess what one of them is? Yeah, you guessed it...makeup. The other is disney movies. Sigh. I just need to figure out new looks to do with the stuff I have. Need to stop buying stuff. 
Click to expand...
Ditto. I'm so sick but also incredibly bored. I've spent almost all day looking at makeup blogs and watching makeup videos. I could easily make some very informed purchases right now! Trying to distract myself with other stuff but its not really working
 

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