I can be...

Preview of tomorrow's post: Day 14

A smart shopper.
Mindful of money.
Appreciative of what I have.
Thankful.
Environmentally conscious.
A good providing mother.
An investor.
A person who does not shop.

I can be stylish. Just you watch.



So today started out amazing, and is turning out to be horrible. I got some bad news today. A person who I love dearly had their house broken into last night and a lot of things stolen that were worth a lot of money. Did I mention that this person doesn't really have the money to go out and replace the things that were stolen? Why does this happen? I hate to ask the stupidest questions today, but I'm so angered by what happened. How can people steal from the nicest people and wake up and look in the mirror the next day? I am speechless; I am mad; I don't know what to do. I just get so frustrated. This person was just saying to me how I waste my money on clothes that I don't wear.  She said I have too much, I don't need anything else and that I have a shopping problem. No one wants to fight over money, and I don't want it to get to that point, ever. I agree wholeheartedly, and that's why it's stopping right now. Plus, when I stop and think, it's just ridiculous! I decided that cutting out shopping altogether is unlikely, but I can do it until we go to Florida. After Florida there will be a limit that should be for if I ever need anything, not an excuse to spend. 

Another thing that I'm ashamed of is that I said I was going to stop shopping when I started my 30x30, but I haven't been doing all that well. Until now. I need some support, so I've been reading through Kendi's blog, because she's the only blogger I know with an open shopping addiction who has risen above it. I read last night that she recommends you start a want list and a need list. It starts with closet inventory; a purge of your closet in which you take note of all the things you own. I think doing this alone will make me realize some important things. 

On another note, my little girl deserves more than what I've become. I'm being wasteful. I don't need anymore clothes. They are purely just cravings, almost like some sort of drug addiction. All I can think about right now is "because i'm addicted...", great title for a blog, and so true... Well, I can say no. And little girls follow their Mommy's footsteps. I don't want to raise my baby to be wasteful. I want her to be thankful for the things we already have. That starts with me.

I'm going to put out there that I haven't ever put my baby in danger or state of neglect because of my shopping. She is always very well taken care of, and she is very spoiled. This post exists purely because I'm not being smart with the money that we work for and this is changing right now. I'm sure if everyone did a little inventory on what they spend, everyone has something that they could do to change their financial situation. For example, the person who spelled out my problem smokes a pack of cigarettes every two days. Add that up, and that's a nice chunk of change that she could have in her own pocket. We are who we are because we wake up in the morning and decide to be that person. I'm just taking the first step to change that.

This is a short excerpt from Batshite's post, "The Seven Habits Of Highly Batshite People", that I find very positive and inspiring:

3. Buy second-hand. Whenever possible, shop at flea markets, yard sales and thrift stores. This encourages the recycling and reusing of materials and discourages needlessly extracting new ones.
6. Resist fashion. Don’t get rid of an appliance just because it looks like it’s from the eighties! If it works, keep it and use it till it no longer does. Likewise, wear clothes because you feel comfortable in them. Don’t throw them out just because they aren’t currently trendy.

I agree with number 3 wholeheartedly, but number 6 is not going to work for a fashion blog. We can take something from it though. We can give away the clothes we no longer use, to loved ones or thrift shops. We can look for alternative ways to have the latest fashion trends, like buying second hand or inventing DIY projects. We can work with what we have to be fashionable. I believe that it's possible to be stylish without blowing your whole paycheck: I saw brightly colored pants on the Fall/Winter runway and lo and behold, I found a pair of purple skinny jeans in the thrift store yesterday for 1$. I also see that cozy knits are coming in. I got a beautiful green cozy sweater for 1$. I got a teal pencil skirt for 5.99$ that would've cost at least 40$ to buy new. Great finds, if you ask me.

Goal: No shopping until Florida. Make want/need list. Closet inventory. Be thankful for what you have.


Wish me luck,
I'd love to read some comments on how you deal with some of these issues,
xo,
Courtney