Tuesday Update: Still spending, not saving.

In case you need a refresher, I listed my goals here. I’ve attempted to update on Tuesdays, but it doesn’t always happen. Sometimes I’m lazy. Sometimes I forget. Sometimes I’m just ashamed at how little progress I’ve made.

This is one of those times, except that I’m posting about it. Last year when I started this blog, I really, truly believed that I’d visibly see $500-1,000 go into a savings account every month if I could just stop buying whatever I felt like buying. It was a huge effort to not buy clothing and shoes. I meticulously planned any clothing purchases. I whittled down my wishlist. I switched to a smaller closet so that I’d be physically limited by space. And it did no good. Not one drop saved. Why? Because I didn’t stop spending across the board. Groceries, gadgets, and eating out continued to eat at my wallet. Those items might have even increased. I’m not sure.

I know I shop for clothing much less. UPS and Fedex rarely show up anymore. I went for a month without setting foot in Target. So why are there no savings? I have to go back to the drawing board and see what I am still buying.

On the clothing front, I am DONE buying anything for myself in my new size. I stored some favorite items that outgrew me and donated the rest, only to quickly fill the void. Shopping was different this time, because I did some research to make sure I was avoiding problematic fast-fashion brands. That’s a first, but I plan to continue with that. It makes it much easier to resist the call of the mall sales and TJ Maxx. Secondhand stores are still on my radar, but the ones around here aren’t very good. I don’t want to buy a fast-fashion brand secondhand. I’d like to know where the other people like me donate their better brands. Where I live, secondhand shops are Sag Harbor city.

My immediate goal for this week is to look into all my non-clothing spending and see where I need to cut back. It’s time for my unshopping to have a monetary impact!

One thought on “Tuesday Update: Still spending, not saving.

  1. egfr says:

    You know I was in the weight is changing, can’t buy much in the way of clothing, but then there were shoes, and even when I cut back there I found I was redirecting my spending on housewares. Now it’s time to cut that out too, and “borrow” things from other rooms when I feel a “need” for something different.

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