I started the finish 10 product before I buy something new at the end of December, when a combination of Black Friday Sales, Pre Christmas Sale and the beginning of Good Ol' winter depression took their tole and I just felt I was getting out of control with spending money on make up.
The project was a big failure, because I didn't stop shopping, not for a second. However, I did learn a lot about my shopping habits, pitfalls and how to do a shopping diet in a better way.
1) Finishing 10 products was a way way too large of a goal. It's lik saying "I'm not going to eat any cake till I loose 40 pounds" I think that the right way to do this is to set a time limit rather then a product limit (like a month or a week).
2) However, documenting finished product is great, not only cause it get me to review if I actually liked something or if it was just excitement of getting something new. Also, it got me to enjoy using products more rather then enjoying (just) the act of shopping.
3) I have a big issue about buying expensive products, while no problem what so ever with spending lots of money for many cheap products. This is something I need to pay more attention to. Right after I started the project I manage to order 11 different China Glaze nail polish bottles, The price was about 4$ per bottle, which was a great price. However spending 50$ on nail polish is a lot, and that money could have been used more wisely.
4) I finished more then 10 products, there were actually 18. However, out of those, only 2 were makeup, the rest was skincare. So, though buying makeup is a lot more fun, I guess this means most of my cosmetic budget should go on skincare.
5) Sales would be the death of me! I can go from not wanting anything to wanting 2 things in a minute, if the second is 50% off. If anything is 50% off I want it right away, no matter what it is. I have to stop getting stuff just because it's on Sale. There will always be another Sale.
6) Same goes with online shopping! I have a hard time spending more then $10 on emotional drugstore shopping sprees to cheer myself up, but spending $40 online (or even worse, $50 so I can get free shipping...) is much much easier.
7) Same with all type of Add-Ons! yes, I'm talking mostly about you Julep... $20 feels like a fair amount of money to spend on nail polish per month, in the shape of an awesome Julep box, however, they keep having sales, secret stores, adds on etc. And Spending another $10, $20, $30 is way too easy and somehow doesn't register with me as a real expense.
8) There's nothing wrong with emotional shopping. If it's done with awareness and a set budget. Buyers remorse is the stupidest thing to feel. Getting a $10 lipstick to cheer myself up is healthier then a pint of ice ream, Cheaper then going out to dinner and a lot less self destructive then 4 glasses of Whiskey.
9) I need to learn how to tell the difference between: Need, Want and Feel like shopping. those are 3 totally different urges that can be satisfied with totally different methods of shopping. If I either want or need something, there's usually no need to lay full price for it. I can either order online or wait til there's a sale or something. Feel like shopping is a craving that can totally be satisfied with $5 and a trip to Duane Reade, where I'll buy something that is full price but very inexpensive. Need and Want items can and should be grouped together for one big online order from a less expensive supplier or free shipping on larger orders.
10) Having a list is good. Not a shopping list, but a wish list. First of all because making it is almost as satisfying as shopping and second because it makes even random emotional sprees a little more effective and a lot less randome. It's also totally OK to dump the list and buy something totally useless and strange, as long as it is within budget.
11) And last - This is not such a huge deal (at least for me), yes, I enjoy shopping, and yes, do spend money on stuff I don't really need and stuff I'll only use once or twice and stuff that's a total dupe of something I already have. However, I'm not spending a staggering amount of money on this. It's OK to spend some money on stuff for me even if it's silly stuff.
So, what next?
A second shopping challenge. hopefully this would work better then the first.
Combining everything I learned those is my new rules:
I'm setting a budget of $10 for buying something every week, this would cover emotional cheer up buys. If I have to go a little over that's OK, lets say up to $15, but I am going to try and cap it at $10.
I can save a week's budget to spend $20 the next week, but I can't spend $20 and say I won't shop the week after.
Being that I also have a lot of new unopened products or stuff I used once and then just forgot about it. I'll open \ use something new or almost new every week. This will help with not feeing like I'm stuck in a rut and bored from all the stuff I already use.
I can order next months Julep Maven Box if it's absolutely spectacular, but no add ons.
Stuff I really need like Nail polish remover or cotton balls are OK to buy, but only if I don't have any left.
I'm going to try this for 6 weeks and if I manage to keep it up, I'm going to reward myself with something I really really want.
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