A Year Without Shopping

Chaucer wrote something like "all things have an  end, even the good things".  Then
again, Mae West remarked "too much of a good thing can be wonderful".  Well, I say that too much of a good  thing can be expensive so I'm siding with Chaucer.  My shopping habits (addiction) must come to an end.


 First, let me state that I have an addictive personality. If I  find something I love, there is no such thing as too much.   So, with that said, I have found shopping to be a harmless way to
distract me, lift me up after a bad day, encourage me, motivate me, give me joy
and comfort.  Shopping truly does  all these things for me….until it doesn't.  
 
Once I binge and binge on clothes, shoes,  accessories and makeup for too long, shopping stops making me feel better.  And that sort of coincides with my  credit card statements coming in. 
So then I stop shopping and purge my closets, giving tons of well-made, barely worn items, some with tags adhered, to Goodwill. 
And then I buy some more.

 So a few years ago, I instituted my Year Without  Shopping.  I pledged to stop
shopping for everything but necessities for 365 days.  Things went well for, well – not a year. I began in June and was shopping on  Thanksgiving. My rationale was that I bought tee-shirts that were necessities.   Other necessities included  replacing my Calvin Klein Boyfriend jeans, a few tops, some jewelry and a  handbag or two.  In other words – I
relapsed.  After the year ended, I  celebrated with a trip to New York City. 
To shop.  What  else?

 But I'm feeling the same despondency that  occurred a few years ago and I know that dealing with my issues instead of  shopping will help tremendously.   So until November of next year, I will not  shop.

 And this year, instead of focusing on lack, I am  going to try to devise ways to save money throughout the year. I have invited a  good friend and stellar coupon guru to write some guest blogs on how she makes  coupons work for her. Seriously, she saves so much money, it is
unbelievable.  And we can too –  with her help. I'm sure I will find some other interesting ways to save a buck  or two and I'll pass those on to you.

 Finally, I plan to investigate a theory of conscious  money.  I read an article by
Patricia Aburdene in Spirituality &  Health and the concept is intriguing to me.  Live, create and invest with your  values.  I like that a lot.  So I'll share what I learned here too.
And, with the money I save, hopefully I will be able to contribute to important
causes more than I currently do.  Because, I do feel called to contribute more and be more charitable than  I have been in the past. Especially when I am fighting crowds on Black Friday
 for that perfect pair of boots on sale for $49….ah, the good ole days :)

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