Oooh I love this idea! Way to keep us accountable, @
@eastofthesun !
Successes: Over the first part of 2014, I became unhappy with the marketing/ad techniques of major corporations. I hate having my insecurities played on to sell me more crap. I also have been really fortunate to find a bunch of awesome indie companies, and I've decided to start throwing my money at *them* instead! I also FINALLY organized my collection, and was immediately dismayed to find I couldn't even fit skincare and perfume samples into the flippin 5-drawer organizer. (Currently, the drawers are Eyes, Face, Lips, Palettes, and Bath/Shower stuff).
My under-sink area is still overrun with hair care, shampoo/conditioner, perfume, and lotions (yes, I now have a separate gallon-size ziploc for BOTH hand AND body lotions. Oh the shame)
BUT. I've been very successful in the past two months of avoiding the little pick-me-up drugstore purchases like nail polishes and WnW eyeshadows. One slow, torturous step at a time!
Failures: Succumbing to all the good deals. Do I need two Birchboxes? Even if I get $15 in store credit *and* a box of samples for the $10 I spend each month (total $20 for 2 boxes)? NOPE. It took a box of utter abject failure to get me to cancel Ipsy. I've bought 2 PopSugar boxes JUST because they were 1/2 price. I joined Sample Society, which I didn't need to do, even though they're sending out fabulous stuff now! Aaaaaand last of all, even though it's indie, I really shouldn't have joined Notoriously Morbid's Vanishing Cabinet (their new sub, and this month's shadow collection is based on Neil Gaiman's work. So yup, there went my money!)
Goals for the rest of the year:
- Cancel 2nd BB after Sept (I'm paid through then). Get my reviews in, use my 400 points to fill out my Secret Santa gift.
- Cancel 1 of Birchbox, Sample Society, OR Notoriously Morbid. I do NOT NEED THREE SUBS. Hell, I don't need any. But it does keep my spending in check.
- Start channeling the time I spend looking at stuff online into something useful. Volunteer more in my sons' classrooms. Update my blog with reviews of items I ALREADY HAVE. Actually get my application in to be a substitute teacher.
- Don't ask my husband for makeup for Christmas. He loves supporting my pretties habit, which is sweet, but after seeing the handful of times I've actually used the Vice Palette/Book of Shadows/Tarte Lip Pencils/insane amount of samples the Ulta ladies threw at him for being a hot dude buying makeup for his wife, I want us to focus more on buying meaningful things for each other. I'm going to suggest our gift to ourselves be a new set of bedroom furniture. We worked really hard to buy a nice house, and I'd so love to have nice furniture to match.
And lastly:
- Keep it simple. Take it one day at a time. If I make it through the day without buying something, then that's awesome, go me, high five! If I buy something, then I need to stop and consider. Do I REALLY need it? If not, can I return it? (If I can't, I will gift it rather than letting it sit in my stash). If I'm getting to a point where I *have* to buy something, I'm keeping a wishlist of indie items from Shiro, Geek Chic, Glamour Doll Eyes, and Fyrinnae (among others) and will disperse small orders between those companies. That way, at least if I spent money, I helped pay someone's electric bill/rent/mortgage/etc rather than contributing to the bottom line of a huge company.
In the end, it is just money, and just makeup. I enjoy using it to make myself feel pretty, and should not be making myself feel guilty and stressed every day over it. I want more days like this :luv: and fewer days like this! :wacko2: