Plans are afoot - shopping ban

Christmas.  So that was it was it?  Gone for another year.  Santa's been and gone too and I was right when i predicted he wouldn't bring me any bike stuff.  It is a shame as I was looking forward to it.  It seems he forgot where HMV in Stirling was too since i never got any DVD's or CD's (a usual guaranteed gift!).  What I did get though was a much need new purse (minus a shiny lucky penny though), slippers, a bright new diary with plenty room for my hand-written ramblings, facial and body products and my favourite perfume Eternity.  Amongst the gifts from others were jammies (3 pairs!!), more slippers, money and a HMV voucher (yay I can buy some stuff).  Oh and I nearly forgot... in place of my much needed bike gear I got a LCD tv.  Now this may appear to be a good present but 1) I have a telly, 2) I expressly told 'Santa' that I DID NOT WANT a telly and 3) I am never listened to...   I mean, I don't mean to sound ungreatful but the money that was spent on the pretty decent (and probably expensive) LCD tv could have got me a helmet, a lock, a set of lights (maybe) and a rucksack for using on my bike.  These are now things that i will have to go and buy - tut!!  I have toyed with the idea of returning the tv for a refund and buying the bike gear but then the VAT rises again in a few days time and such items as tv's will probably get hiked up in price by more than the 2.5% that VAT will rise by (heck i've even spotted on a online outdoor gear store that seems to have increased it's prices already!!!  crafty sods), but let's face it, was Marks and Spencer the only actual shop that gave us the 2.5% discount on marked prices??  Anyway I've not decided what to do with ths tv yet.  It's still in it's box in the spare room out of protest. 

All in all during this festive period, I've been doing a lot, no, I mean A LOT of thinking.  Thinking about lots of things!  I've been thinking that I need to start getting my life in some sort of order.  Start planning for my future! whatever that means.  Perhaps start saving for a house, but that'll be in vain because let's face it in the current climate and unless I win the lotto I ain't never gonna be able to get a mortgage but what I can do is be ready.  Have some savings for a rainy day.  I spend too much money on what can only be described as shite.  I have a lot of 'stuff' that you accumulate over the years.  I'm kinda glad I didn't get a lot for Christmas this year.  It would only mean I'd need to clear a space of which there is hardly any and find somewhere to stash this new 'stuff'.  So anyway whilst browsing the web at various blogs I came across one by a girl who stopped shopping for a year!!  Can you imagine that?!  But since I've found her blog I've sorta come around to the idea... slowly.  She saved loads at the end of the year.  I mean i'm not lacking in clothes, shoes, facial products, I have a box full of make-up, plenty books to keep me going, trainers, cd's, dvd's blah blah blah...

So that's what i'm going to do.  Stop shopping for things I don't need.  Only buy essentials when other things run out like shampoo or deodorant cos you can never run out of deodorant.  I'm going to try it for 3 months in the first instance to see how i get on.  Now as you know I have the bike coming soon (hopefully in the next few weeks) so the only things i will buy are stuff for that - helmet, lock, other essentials for it.  There will be no clothes shopping for shite, there will be no online browsing at lunchtimes and 'clicking here to buy' another shite thing I don't need, there will be no mid-week trips to Tesco and coming out with a bag full of shite when all I really want is a pack of bread rolls and a bag of salad leaves.  It is stopping.  Now!!  There will be no more trips to the shops at lunchtime and buying shite, shite, shite...  

This does not mean I am denying myself anything.  I rarely head out to the cinema etc so I am not denying myself these simple pleasures.  I really just want to stop buying things.  Unnecessary things.  Things that just clutter the place.  Things to hang in the cupboard only to go out of fashion as I haven't found the occassion to wear such things.  As far as kit is concerned - I still have my kit fund going and even managed to resist dipping into it over Christmas so i'm still keeping that going but it will only be for essentials.  Things I don't have and not a shiny new thing because the other thing might not be in the right colour.  

The reward i hope will be a little nest egg of some sort and also the self satisfaction of slowly decluttering my cupboards and also in turn decluttering my life and making it much more simpler.  Does that make sense?  I dunno but I'm going to try it.  In preparation for this clear out and save-athon I used some Christmas money and bought Foo Fighters greatest hits, Moon DVD, The Hangover DVD and some underwear in the Marks and Spencer sale!  That should keep me going for the next few months.  I have a supply of deordorant too, ha ha.  By the way the rules also state i am allowed to buy things for other people, for example i have a few birthdays and occassions in the next few months so I will be buying cards and presents for that but that's allowed eh?!

Sunday 28th March 2010 will be the end of my 3 month shopping (read: buying shite) ban.  I will let you know how I get on and if the experiment worked.  If you see me buying something stop me and say "Ange, do you really need that?"   Thanks.  That is all... for now.

Ange xx