Before we start - Some Clarification
Yesterday I laid out the rules for my financial project for this year and mentioned that I would touch on each category and go over why they are problem areas for me. I did want to mention that I didn't say what would happen with any budgeted money that I have set aside each month as the month changes. I will be rolling any unused portion of my budget over into the next month. This will allow me to save up for bigger purchases if needed. I cannot, however, borrow money from my future budget for a current purchase.One other rule I forgot to mention is that any money from items I sell that I already own can be put into my makeup/stationery/clothing budget. This is to encourage me to get off my butt and finally list/post some items I have been hanging on to for a while that I want to sell instead of donate. I want this stuff out of my house and the financial incentive for selling it would be nice.
My Problem Categories
Skin Care and Makeup:
In the past couple of years, I have had a mind shift that a person of my age and financial status should probably invest in higher end makeup and skin care. Spending $100.00 for a serum is something that, up until about a year ago, would have caused my brain to melt down. This year, spending $100.00 on a serum has happened, and likely more than once, on products that I considered adding to my routine on a regular basis. I started browsing $200.00 plus skin creams.I do ok, but I do not do ok enough to spend this kind of money on skin care. There have to be options that will do what I need them to do without spending this kind of money.
I only just this year started watching YouTube videos of makeup reviews and tutorials. I watch a very specific selection of people and none of them are really "product pushers", but I have bought things solely based on their videos - a fancy hairbrush, so very many foundations that don't work for me, some lip colors that don't work on my skin tone. I think my interest in these types of videos comes from a combination of feeling like my wardrobe is in pretty good shape, I have started developing a sense of style and I don't want to "let myself go". I am ok with watching videos and ok with trying new products, but I have to keep in mind that I am a solid 20 years older than a lot of people I am watching and what they are using is just not going to work for me.
Perfume has been an issue for me for many many years. I have an issue with trying new Indie oils, purchasing a lot of them unsmelled and having only a few of them work for me. I have a huge amount right now and I don't need more.
With makeup, skincare and perfume, there really is a feeling that I am looking for the perfect product. The foundation that magically makes my skin look perfect, is the right color and then lasts for 12+ hours, the scent that makes people turn their heads when I walk in. I expect too much from some chemicals in a bottle. I need to learn how to be happy with something that works well enough and quit throwing money at things that are untested. I can watch all of the YouTube videos in the world and buy only things that have glowing recommendations from people I trust, and it isn't going to guarantee that that product will work well for me at all. In most cases, it doesn't.
Clothing/Shoes:
I have spent a decent amount of money and time curating a wardrobe that I am happy with. It works in a wide variety of situations and weather and it all fits me well. There are two issues here - I am so happy with my wardrobe that I want to continue to add pieces to it without having a good idea of what holes I am trying to fill. The second issue is that I am losing weight and some of the things are not going to fit well anymore and will either need to be replaced or altered, neither of which is free. When that time comes, I want to be in a position that I can make educated decisions about what I will replace and what I can let go. I also have a lot of fabulous shoes, but I don't have a lot of holes in my shoe collection. Any shoes that I do purchase this year will need to be careful considered.Board Games:
This one is a little sad, because the massive collection of board games that we have comes with good intentions. Playing board games is something that my husband and I do together multiple times a week and it is something that I feel brings us closer. I am sure my husband feels the same way and as a result we have accumulated a really large amount of games.This is a photo from about a year ago. There are no open spots now and the collection has oozed into the other part of the shelf.
I plan on making a list of games that I am particularly interested in throughout the year and I will visit that list when my game no-buy is over.
Monthly Subscriptions:
We don't have cable, but we do have a subscription to nearly every other streaming service that is out there. I have a bad habit of signing up for subscriptions to try things and then feeling guilty about canceling them later. Its like I think there is someone there watching the subscription base who then gets personally offended if I cancel. It is insanity.I have made a list of all of the subscriptions that I currently have and I am going to evaluate them to see if there are any that I can cancel, or potentially get for less if I subscribe for the year instead of monthly.
When I do subscribe to something for a year, or any time that I have to pay for something that is a little more expensive once a year (like our termite renewal), I make a category for it in You Need A Budget and then set it to have a due date. The awesomeness of You Need A Budget is something that could take a whole blog post by itself, but as you can see by the financial project I am doing right now, it isn't a solution to all problems. Setting a goal for a large yearly bill like this allows me to budget the correct amount each month so that I don't have to put it on my credit card at the end of the year.
Food:
Starting halfway through last year, my husband and I really started to get our food budget under control. We have split the shopping between one big monthly trip to Costco (His responsibility) and weekly grocery pickups (my responsibility). It is easier to go a little crazy on a week by week basis because it is multiple times that extra things can end up in the cart. It is also easy to add snacks and other junk we don't need. I just need to stick to my budget. If we don't have the money for two kinds of cookies, no one is going to be permanently scarred.
Stationary/Pens:
Oh pens and paper. I could buy every notebook, every type of fountain pen, every bottle of ink and I would still want more. I keep a paper planner which I love and I could spend hours on Etsy shopping for special stickers, brush pens and other add-on for this thing. I am also in school and I am really fussy about what I use to take notes with. I have a Rocketbook and that requires Frixion pens. I have tried every Frixion pen out there, the felt tip, the skinny roller ball, the fat felt tips, the color sticks, the highlighters. Because of school, I need a set of Frixion pens, but I am only allowed to buy the Clicker pens, and only if they run out, and preferably a box of refills instead of a whole new pen. These are the only ones that I consistently like, that write well on all types of paper and that don't look washed out. Today has been ok so far. I have unsubscribed to several marketing emails that are from stores that I am not interested in. I didn't really stop to check what Amazon's daily deals are. I didn't open the email from Woot regarding today's sales. I added one thing to my Amazon cart - a lap desk - as a reminder for my son's birthday next month. If I do decide to buy it, it will not be until right before his birthday. I didn't spend a large amount of time shopping for it either.
I will be back tomorrow and plan to talk about my empties from last month.
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