October 2014 No/Low Buy: Hugs, Commiseration, and Confessional

[bnicole]

Mind if I join? I'm going to be buying a place of my own soon (my very first!) and so money's going to be tight for a while... And my storage space is probably going to be considerably smaller than what I've got at my parent's house right now.

So far I've already gone through my beauty stash and gathered up an embarrassingly large box of stuff I don't want anymore that I'm going to take to work and let the girls (and guys, hey -- I don't judge) dig through it and take whatever they want and anything that isn't claimed will probably be trashed. Most of it is used and therefore not fit to donate or sell but I have no qualms about giving it away to people who know that it's used.

My goals:

--Use up as many products as possible to limit the amount of boxes I'll have to move

--No more beauty or skincare purchases unless I somehow manage to run out of something and have no backups. I don't believe that'll actually happen, but my stash is really disorganized right now, so...

--Cancel Graze.

--Cancel my Wantable Intimates subscription. This is one of my favorite subs, but it's also the most expensive and I can get some pretty cute socks and underwear at Target if I need to.

--Skip Julep. I've been doing this for the last several months anyway. I probably should just cancel, but I'm a bit telephonophobic.

Allowed:

--My single Birchbox. It's my cheapest sub and POINTS!!!

--I'm keeping my Dollar Shave Club sub as well, since I'll need to get razors somehow either way and the DSC ones are very nice and cheap.

--Buying house stuff. I've never lived on my own before so I literally have nothing. I need towels, dishes, etc. So that should keep my spending hand occupied for a while.

--I've already bought a few of the ModCloth stylish surprises. I usually have good luck with them and it's pretty cheap for a bit of fun.

Good luck, everyone!

 

[BSquared]

Through 3 days wooohoooo!

 

[tulosai]

Ugh I am tempted again, this time by a Memebox... it would 'only' be $20 but I know I don't need it and I'm kind of mad at Memebox anyway.... help!

 

[CurlyTails]

Ok, I've come up with a few simple goals/rules for the month:

- No new subscriptions

- Skip Julep for November

- No beauty related purchases except for true replacements

- No Memeboxes (I'm already waiting on 4? Maybe more?)

Exceptions:

- If there is a Memebox I really love that I can get for $15.00 or less out of pocket, I can buy it.

- I can buy whatever Halloween collection indies I want.

- If the new Lush near me opens this month, I can go to the opening and pick up a couple of things.

I think this will be very doable for me. It may not sound super restrictive, but my big weakness in terms of purchases is skincare over makeup.

 

[tulosai]

Good luck @@tulosai!  Wow, not eating out all month!

For me I usually think I won't buy anything makeup/beauty related for like half a year, but I end up buying things.  But it's okay, because I'm very frugal in other areas of my life so it's not a strain on my budget.

Honestly as long as I remember/find time to go to the grocery store, I find not eating out a lot EASIER than not buying random crap I know logically I probably won't even find time to use. Not just makeup either but any number of pretty shiny things are my downfall.  Like the Memebox that tempts me is the petit treasures one but I DO NOT need any more sample sizes no matter how cute they are... or more full sizes... or more cute things.  Like literally, there is NOTHING that I need... but I am so tempted to buy.

Sigh.

 

[miss lawson]

Less than a week into the month and I've already finished 4 full size products! 

Not much in the grand scheme of things since I have enough junk to open my own little beauty shop, but still! It's progress. It's especially exciting because some of those have been sitting around for months years an embarrasingly long amount of time, so I'm happy to toss them into my empties bag.

I'm going to use up more tomorrow - I'm going to use the box of hair dye that's taking up a lot of space as well as one of my bath bombs. 

 

[miss lawson]

@@miss lawson, wow 4 full size products.  do you mean shampoo?  I feel that makeup products are impossible to get through. well, except foundation and eyeliner.

Actually, no shampoo! Not yet. It'll probably be a while since the shampoo and conditioner I've got in there now is absolutely enormous and I've still got a third of each bottle left. As far as what I've finished up, a body wash, a face scrub, a body lotion and a package of makeup remover wipes. They were all products that I thought I was going to be done with ages ago, so when the last little bits came out, it was just like, FINALLY.

 

[BSquared]

Gah I have to go to the walmart today to get serum (this is an absolute necessity and a replacement item that my skin will go insane without, so doesn't count).....but that means I have to walk by the makeup aisle. I will be strong I will be strong...

 

[miss lawson]

My husband is out of town today, so instead of catching up on TV shows, I decided to purge my makeup collection and... wow. Just... wow. That's really all I have to say. 

Right now I'm trying to decide if I should share my inventory numbers now that I have four gallon sized ziplock bags full of stuff to go (yes, four) or if I should just go curl up in a corner and die of humiliation because that is a lot of wasted money and product. 

 

[dellebelli]

miss lawson: you can always share! No judging here. Shame and humiliation don't energize you to move forward, but decluttering will! Think how much stronger your willpower is becoming and how happy the people who you share with will be (assuming you're donating/giving them away). It's worse to waste the space and have the continued headache caused by things you no longer want or need. The sunk cost fallacy is a hugely important concept from psychology that guides us to hang on to things we really don't need.

So, good for you! Give yourself a pat on the back and move on. We can't change our choices from the past - we can only make better ones in the future /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

An article you may find helpful: http://into-mind.com/2014/09/25/4-common-shopping-fallacies-and-how-to-avoid-them/

 

[tulosai]

miss lawson: you can always share! No judging here. Shame and humiliation don't energize you to move forward, but decluttering will! Think how much stronger your willpower is becoming and how happy the people who you share with will be (assuming you're donating/giving them away). It's worse to waste the space and have the continued headache caused by things you no longer want or need. The sunk cost fallacy is a hugely important concept from psychology that guides us to hang on to things we really don't need.

So, good for you! Give yourself a pat on the back and move on. We can't change our choices from the past - we can only make better ones in the future /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

An article you may find helpful: http://into-mind.com/2014/09/25/4-common-shopping-fallacies-and-how-to-avoid-them/

Exactly this.

To reiterate one part of what she said, assuming any of it is unused and unexpired, I really hope you'll think of giving it away to people who need it if that's something you'd be comfortable with.  In the alternative, you can always open a sell/trade list here /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[miss lawson]

miss lawson: you can always share! No judging here. Shame and humiliation don't energize you to move forward, but decluttering will! Think how much stronger your willpower is becoming and how happy the people who you share with will be (assuming you're donating/giving them away). It's worse to waste the space and have the continued headache caused by things you no longer want or need. The sunk cost fallacy is a hugely important concept from psychology that guides us to hang on to things we really don't need.

So, good for you! Give yourself a pat on the back and move on. We can't change our choices from the past - we can only make better ones in the future /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

An article you may find helpful: http://into-mind.com/2014/09/25/4-common-shopping-fallacies-and-how-to-avoid-them/

Thanks! I shared my lip product numbers over in the taking inventory thread - I just purged more products from each of those categories so the numbers are still high, but a little lower. Progress! Tiny bits of progress, but still.

That article you shared was a good read with lots to think about, so thank you for sharing. I'm definitely guilty of a lot of those things that were pointed out, but being aware of those behaviors is undoubtedly a step in the right direction.

I'm trying to not think about all of the money and resources that I wasted on all of that stuff because there's nothing I can do about it now - the money was wasted the moment I bought things that I didn't need, so that's done, nothing I can do about it at this point. But what I can do is pay attention to my shopping habits to ensure I don't make these same mistakes in the future. I think once I finish tallying up all the numbers of my stuff, I'm going to print out a list to put in my purse so every time I open my wallet to pay for something, I'll get a harsh reminder that I do not need more. 

 

[miss lawson]

Exactly this.

To reiterate one part of what she said, assuming any of it is unused and unexpired, I really hope you'll think of giving it away to people who need it if that's something you'd be comfortable with.  In the alternative, you can always open a sell/trade list here /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

There's a women's shelter nearby that said they would take a good chunk of it - anything else they don't want/can't take because it's open will go straight to friends and family. The only things I've been throwing away are items that are expired. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[West Coast Beauty Addict]

So I was both good and bad this weekend. I went to SF with some friends for the weekend.

 I exchanged thelipset that did not work for me for a lip primer and a eye palette. 

Spoiler

The UD Pulp Fiction Palette. I might get another one for my Mom for Christmas since it is only $16 and she loves  pulp fiction too and she like the nudes for eyes.

I also bought some Lush stuff and some fall shirts and flats.  And some B Day gifts for friends.

I am sticking with buying with the only stuff I will use and if the Lip Primer doesn't work I can always return it to Sephora.

I also returned a shirt for store credit.  

 

[eastofthesun]

Ok, we're at Day 6!!!  How's everybody doing?

This is my offician 1st month of the envelope method of sticking to my budget. So far so good. I got cash out and am keeping track of my spending.

I'm still trying to do a no buy this month- I haven't bought any makeup items yet this month, and actually am even returning something to Sephora that I bought in September. Yay!!!

What will be hard for me is when all the holiday deals start popping up. I have to steel myself for that.

There are a lot of helpful blogs on the psychology behind spending. For example, Recovering Shopaholic just published a list of links on her page recoveringshopaholic.com and there are a few others I regularly visit like The Nife en L'air that have some great tips. I find that the more you understand why you're doing it, the more you can do things to address it. Try to get at your motivations for shopping with your therapist rather than looking at the symptoms. Hope that helps!

This was posted in the September thread, but I wanted to thank you for it! I'm definitely visiting that shopaholic page. You're right- we should find the causes, not treat the symptoms!

Enough is enough.  Over the last year I have had various beauty subscriptions and have enthusiastically purchased cosmetics and beauty items - now I have an accumulation that is excessive.

Today I spent a bunch of time organizing my cosmetics which is something most girls would have fun doing.  Though I found this depressing.  

.  Unless I am ill I will wear makeup because having it and not wearing it is silly.  I am going to build a small kit of essentials including a few brushes, makeup wipes, makeup remover, and of course makeup to take to work so I can touchup mid-day or on an as-needed basis.  As time passes, I will keep posting on my progress and keep track of empty containers on a monthly basis.  It feels good having said this!!!

I'm sorry going through your stash was depressing for you. But it sounds like you're motivated and have an awesome plan, so it was for the best. I think your plan is awesome.

And I want to say I have the same problem- I have lots of makeup, but I hardly ever wear it. Why do I keep buying it? I just don't understand!!!! I also want to put together a little kit to keep at work so I can apply it when I get here on days I'm rushing to get out the door!

Mind if I join? I'm going to be buying a place of my own soon (my very first!) and so money's going to be tight for a while... And my storage space is probably going to be considerably smaller than what I've got at my parent's house right now.

Good luck, everyone!

Hey glad you joined! We could always use new people posting their goals and progress, it helps us too!

Sounds like you have some really good goals!

 The sunk cost fallacy is a hugely important concept from psychology that guides us to hang on to things we really don't need.

So, good for you! Give yourself a pat on the back and move on. We can't change our choices from the past - we can only make better ones in the future /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

An article you may find helpful: http://into-mind.com/2014/09/25/4-common-shopping-fallacies-and-how-to-avoid-them/

This post was awesome and extremely helpful. A lot of the reason I have junk lying around is because of this sunken cost fallacy that I've never heard of before! THANK YOU!

 

[miss lawson]

One purchase for October so far (and hopefully it'll be my only one) - a Z palette from Sephora. I found a couple of palettes that have great colors, but the packaging is so bulky that I don't keep them nearby, just because they take up so much space. I feel proud of myself, since I usually cruise through the new and sale sections whenever I'm on their site. Nope, not this time. I made a virtual beeline for the Z palette and immediately checked out. I also didn't save my payment info, since I thought that little roadblock might help prevent me from making future purchases. 

 

[dellebelli]

Halp - Wantable subscription is TOO GOOD!

Last month, in a frenzy of makeup-buying, I signed up for several subscription boxes I can't afford. Within days, I'd canceled all but Wantable, though I will still be getting the first month of Goodebox and Untoxicating Beauty in the next few weeks. Anyway, when I canceled Goodebox they asked a lot of questions about how I liked it so I figured I'd wait to cancel Wantable until I had the box in hand.

Now I don't want to let it go.

I got four items: a Tarina Tarantino Jasper/Agate Eye Dream Highlight Duo ($19), a Vincent Longo Volume Plus Mascara ($25), a Liberty Republic Spellbound Nail Lacquer in Aura ($14), and a Mica Beauty Cosmetics lipstick in Coral ($25) - a total value of $83 for just $36! And they're a total surprise, and while I haven't tried them yet, they all look like things I'll love.

I'm keeping this box for sure, but how do I make myself cancel the subscription? Other than reminding myself that I'm on a no-buy, and I don't have money for it right now, and...yeah. I've been going strong, but HALP ME PLEASE!

 

[tulosai]

Okay so I am on day 6 and actually doing well. I haven't purchased any makeup or beauty items and I haven't eaten out. 25 days to go.

 

[Margiee]

Day 6. I bought my little sister a birthday present that was make up but in order to get up to free shipping i was tempted to throw a little something for me in there but i DIDN'T, instead i threw in a little extra for her. I am super proud of my willpower and how much i think she will like this gift

 

[DragonChick]

Jumping on this this month. The two definite subs that I'm keeping are A Box Indied, and Square Hue. Birchbox doesn't count since that's a yearly sub and isn't up until the middle of next year. Julep's in perma-skip mode until I decide to actually cancel the account. Square Hue is back on the fence after the lackluster October box. I've got one planned polish purchase for the month and then I need to be on the ball about sticking to that one purchase. I'm not counting essentials, but I'm stocked up on those so I shouldn't be buying any of those this month.

My goal for this month is to sort through the several Glossyboxes full of samples I've accumulated and toss what might be bad then use what can be used.  Wish me luck!