WholeLottaNothin
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Post by WholeLottaNothin on Sept 28, 2016 11:17:09 GMT -5
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2016 11:47:10 GMT -5
Shit. I've done that out of necessity plenty of times. Basically from 2004-2007!
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Sept 28, 2016 11:59:03 GMT -5
I wasn't impressed with the article. Because it's been a way of life for us.
But shopping for the fun of it hasn't been fun for me since I was 15.
We've been operating on the one in-one out method of keeping stuff down in our house since #2 came along. At that point, we were living in 850 sq feet (4 rooms, total) and didn't have room to keep acquiring. My kids weren't fond of the thought sleeping on the porch.
Now I've got three kids and bigger house. But no time to maintain our stuff. So, I'd just rather not bring it in, because I need to be doing other things with my time, like preparing to go back to school.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2016 12:10:52 GMT -5
But, I did not "throw out" 75% of my belongings. I mostly SOLD them.
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WholeLottaNothin
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Post by WholeLottaNothin on Sept 28, 2016 12:20:01 GMT -5
I wish I had the patience to sell my stuff. When I decide I want something gone, I want it gone immediately.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Sept 28, 2016 12:31:52 GMT -5
Yeah, I did something like this back in the early 2000's - when I was trying to get a handle on my finances (with the goal of retiring 'early') I didn't have much debt and I was saving (not particularly aggressively) - I just had no idea where my money went. I, too, didn't throw stuff away - when I was clearing out my stuff - I used up what I could. I didn't buy new clothes for more than a year - I had TONS of barely worn clothes. I went a year without buying 'personal beauty products' - I had all sorts of new or partially used stuff that I used up!. I didn't buy many cleaning products either for almost a year - I had all sorts of new or partially used products that I worked to use up. If I couldn't use something - I either tried selling it or donating it or finding a friend who wanted it. Stuff did hit the trash but not much. It was a bit bumpy - using up something I only kind of liked (if I really disliked something I could toss/rehome it after 3 'tries' of using it). It was an interesting long term 'project' -- basically examining my 'values' and making sure I was spending money on the things I truly valued. It was well worth the time (a couple of years) and effort (sometimes making due or just doing without) as it set me up financially for a pretty good future. My today self deeply thanks my past self for time/effort.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Sept 28, 2016 12:37:48 GMT -5
It really depends on how much stuff you actually have on hand. I didn't buy much in the way of clothes or household products or health/Beauty stuff for about 2 years. I had closets and bins filled with clothes (that fit and were appropriate for work) and I had a bathroom vanity and closet filled with new or partially used (but forgotten) HB stuff... and then there were all the products under my kitchen sink and in a cabinet by the washer/dryer.
I couldn't do this at this point. I've kept the sort of minimalist approach to clothes/products - I could get thru the next 6 months without running out of stuff but I couldn't go the 2 years.
One decluttering rule I try really really hard to maintain is that if something new comes into my house - something old (of the same type) MUST leave my house. If I buy new work clothes - then some old work clothes need to go...
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Sept 28, 2016 12:40:51 GMT -5
Meant to add, I think the article writer is simply marking a milestone - that point when you go from building your "pile of stuff' because you literally don't have much stuff to "geez! I need to maintain this pile of stuff! I don't need it keep getting bigger!"
I would think that most people eventually go thru this - even if they don't have a financial crisis to start it.
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WholeLottaNothin
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Post by WholeLottaNothin on Sept 28, 2016 12:43:12 GMT -5
That is true. I am at the "I don't need it to keep getting bigger" phase.
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yogiii
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Post by yogiii on Sept 28, 2016 12:51:29 GMT -5
Some of it is also personality. I'm sure there is a segment of the population out there who would think my whole life is a spending freeze. I don't get joy out of buying things and I'm cheap. However if there is something I need, I will buy it. I give nice gifts to others and I don't feel like I am denying myself anything but I hate shopping so I only go if I must.
For someone who does not have this personality, I'm sure two years is difficult.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2016 12:57:39 GMT -5
Some of it is also personality. I'm sure there is a segment of the population out there who would think my whole life is a spending freeze. I don't get joy out of buying things and I'm cheap. However if there is something I need, I will buy it. I give nice gifts to others and I don't feel like I am denying myself anything but I hate shopping so I only go if I must.
For someone who does not have this personality, I'm sure two years is difficult. This is me. I don't get the shopping love at all. I work next to a girl that heads to the stores every day at lunch just to peruse what's out there. I'm baffled by her and she can't figure out why I want to puke at the thought of shopping for something to do. I've actually given her money and told her what I needed before. LOL We both are happy with this arrangement.
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Sept 28, 2016 13:04:07 GMT -5
I went shopping yesterday.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2016 13:04:43 GMT -5
Weirdo.
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Anne_in_VA
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Post by Anne_in_VA on Sept 28, 2016 13:05:13 GMT -5
Some of it is also personality. I'm sure there is a segment of the population out there who would think my whole life is a spending freeze. I don't get joy out of buying things and I'm cheap. However if there is something I need, I will buy it. I give nice gifts to others and I don't feel like I am denying myself anything but I hate shopping so I only go if I must.
For someone who does not have this personality, I'm sure two years is difficult. There was a time when I liked going into stores just to see what was there. As I've gotten older, I simply don't enjoy doing that. I get too tired and my feet hurt. When I do go shopping, it's usually because there's something I want or need, not just to "window" shop.
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MJ2.0
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Post by MJ2.0 on Sept 28, 2016 13:09:58 GMT -5
I only like shopping if I know exactly what I'm looking for and it's not too difficult to find. I went out for a girls' night the Saturday before last and I needed something appropriate for a night out drinking/dancing... ugh. I hate shopping for nightlife wear. I settled on some faux leather leggings. From Express. For $49.99.
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jeep108
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Post by jeep108 on Sept 28, 2016 13:21:03 GMT -5
Amazon is my go to for shopping, I always look there before having to go to the store. If I can't pick it up while grocery shopping It gets put on a list and I may end up at a store 3 to 6 months later. I use to love to window shop but not so much anymore.
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NoNamePerson
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Post by NoNamePerson on Sept 28, 2016 13:25:09 GMT -5
If it has to be dusted I don't want or need it
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Sept 28, 2016 13:54:57 GMT -5
OK. I'm going to amend my statement about not enjoying shopping.
MIL gave me a GC just because. I took the girls shopping and we picked out a few things for Halloween decorations. It was fun.
I also sometimes have fun shopping with DD1. Sometimes.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2016 13:57:35 GMT -5
I need to put myself on one as soon as house is finished. Not just because I've done enough buying stuff to last a lifetime, but because I'm all skewed. Writing multiple k checks multiple times makes that 100-200$ thing seem like a steal... I need to regroup.
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Sept 28, 2016 14:01:51 GMT -5
Amazon is my go to for shopping, I always look there before having to go to the store. If I can't pick it up while grocery shopping It gets put on a list and I may end up at a store 3 to 6 months later. I use to love to window shop but not so much anymore. and Amazon has that nifty wish list thingy too. I put all kinds of stuff on there (most of which gets deleted again) and wait before actually buying something. I also put things like printer ink on my wish list → when I need it, it goes straight into my basket and I'm done
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2016 16:38:28 GMT -5
I need to put myself on one as soon as house is finished. Not just because I've done enough buying stuff to last a lifetime, but because I'm all skewed. Writing multiple k checks multiple times makes that 100-200$ thing seem like a steal... I need to regroup. I had a variation of this when I worked retail. I was in Fine Jewelry at Macy's and Ralph Lauren at Parisian's. So my sense of cost got distorted. I could buy my son and SIL RL shirts for $49.99 . . . what a steal! Except when I was married to my ex, we never spent more than half that on a casual Polo-style shirt.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2016 17:56:33 GMT -5
I used to go shopping on my lunch hour all the time when I started my first job- and the malls on the weekends. It was partly building up a work wardrobe, partly enjoying seeing what's out there and planning what I'd buy next time there was room in the budget. Even in my 30s and early 40s, I'd go to the semi-annual "Wardrobe Sale" at my favorite business clothing store (Wallach's) and add a few items.
I'm over that now, especially since I retired. No need to buy another winter coat, more cashmere sweaters, another suit... I have plenty in my closet and I've maintained my weight so they all fit. DH and I have spent a total of less than $300 on clothing year-to-date. We never did buy stuff for the house unless something broke- what we have is fine. I've occasionally gone to the mall to get something I couldn't get elsewhere and have left without buying anything else.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Sept 28, 2016 18:20:46 GMT -5
Browsing and seeing what's around can be fun. I usually have better luck with work clothes that way. If I have a specific item I am in need of, it won't be found anywhere. I have so little time these days for that. Or anything fun. I'm currently in need of a dress for a November beach wedding, a new daily purse and winter work clothes. Oh and a wedding dress. And a dress for my grandma to wear to wear to the wedding.
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haapai
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Post by haapai on Sept 28, 2016 18:29:10 GMT -5
Wow, that's a skimpy article! I'm sure Cait had plenty more to say but either thought better of it (it's hard to throw 55% of income at debt unless you have a sweetheart housing arrangement), or said it in a way that made eyeballs glaze over. There's just not much to this article and perhaps the best parts are the bits at the beginning and the end that remind you that nobody else has to do it this way.
I've done the extended no-spend thing twice. The first time was back in the early aughts when I spent roughly a year digging myself out of scary debt and a year accumulating some sort of emergency savings. The second time was in the early teens right after buying a house that needed a lot of repairs. I was pretty happy with the results both times and even did a bit of purging at the end. If you haven't bought anything new in two years and you haven't used something up during that time, that's often a sign that you hated the stuff to begin with.
Going a little berserk after the fast is over is a definite issue. I avoided it the first time by making a list of where the money had to go and what needed to be replaced. I wish that I had done the same the second time. I can't think of anything that I have bought after the second fast that I actually like, and my house, garage, and basement are full of stuff that I acquired since then but don't actually use.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2016 18:43:46 GMT -5
I really need to do this. There are a lot of things I don't need to buy for at least two years . . . shampoo, laundry detergent, deodorant, etc. It would be good to get rid of a lot of it.
I am going to try this. She said she gave herself a list of stuff she could spend on. For me, that would mean vet care for the cocker spaniel, fresh food at the grocery store, and new athletic shoes every year. They are $150, but that is what I wear to work per my podiatrist's orders.
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haapai
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Post by haapai on Sept 28, 2016 20:32:27 GMT -5
FWIW, goggling Cait Flanders will take you to her website, which is much more fleshed out.
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resolution
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Post by resolution on Sept 29, 2016 6:25:53 GMT -5
My job is on very shaky ground and I would like to do this to save up for potential unemployment.
Unfortunately DH is having the opposite reaction and has come up with several expensive items that he wants very badly (for example a $3k HVAC system for the garage so he can putter around in there during the winter). I think he is trying to get all the spending done that he can before I totally clamp down on the budget, but it is really stressing me out at a time that I really just want to stop spending and stockpile money.
Projects like this seem so much harder when you have to get someone else on board.
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haapai
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Post by haapai on Sept 29, 2016 15:37:26 GMT -5
I have no advice for getting someone else on board. The first time that I did it, I did it solo and because I had to. I don't think that the second, proactive fast would have been successful without having gone through the prior one. The memory of how bleak things had gotten the first time was a strong motivator.
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movingforward
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Post by movingforward on Sept 29, 2016 16:16:50 GMT -5
I enjoy shopping SOME. I typically shop every spring and every fall (so about every 6 months). I may only buy a pair of shoes or a few tops but I like to have a few new things every now and then. It would be hard for me to go two years with absolutely nothing new to wear but I could do it. I did it in college when I flat broke, though I will say that my parents did buy me clothes for Christmas and my birthday so it's not like I never had anything new to wear ever.
My plan for October was to have a no spend month but it doesn't look like that is going to happen. The car needs a new battery and the tires are also starting to wear thin.
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haapai
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Post by haapai on Sept 29, 2016 19:39:22 GMT -5
Did any of you check out her website?
I'm a little surprised by how little it touched me and a little afraid to say so. I strongly believe that talking about money is a good thing and that thinking about money is a good thing and that we all have the right not to be over-sharing drama queens. So I feel like a heel and a hypocrite saying that I was largely unmoved.
She's quite reserved and I can't tell if that's her nature, the result of self-censoring while writing the archived posts, or the result of editing her blog after it was written. She talks about money in a way that baffles this accountant.
ETA: I started plowing through her archives from the beginning. Starting at the end might have led me to a different conclusion.
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