I’ve wanted to do this for months (kind of eluded to it in my 12 Ways to Save Money post here) and haven’t vocalized it because I’m afraid to fail. More like I KNOW I will fail, and so I’ve been choosing to ignore it, avoid the feeling of failure altogether, and pretend the thought doesn’t exist.
Well it exists, and it keeps venturing to the front of my mind no matter how far I try to push it back. Confession: I am a horrible financial steward. I do not know how to save money. There, I said it. And with the last almost 2 years of blogging about fashion, the shopping habits are out of control – where no, I don’t look at my statements because I don’t want to face reality of my spending habits.
With the new year, there’s no better time to make a resolution –be better financially responsible and actually save money, instead of spending it on the new jacket I NEEDED for a trip. There’s so much pressure to always feel like I NEED something new, to share the latest trends, etc – but in reality – it’s just not possible to “keep up” and actually save money.
And if I’m struggling with the concept of saving money, I think some of you are too. I’m with you in the same boat.
We live in a world of consumerism, surrounded by purchase temptations daily with a simple scroll through IG.
A study from Red Crow Marketing in 2015 determined that the average consumer Is exposed to 4,000 – 10,000 ads (WHAT?!) I was thinking about 250 but when I googled it that fact came up so…..take it or leave it, the point remains the same that we see TONS OF ADS DAILY.
There’s no place I can hold myself more accountable than stating my intentions with you. To jumpstart my savings plan in 2020, I have to stop spending. I’m participating in a “No Spend January Challenge” – and you can do it with me too! I actually found an accountability group with other girls who are doing it too – you can request access to the Living Light Facebook Group here.
To get a better idea on what “No Spending January” means – it’s more about cutting out all the extra “fluff” purchases. You define your own rules. Below is a “starting point” – you can customize it based on the needs for your current month. It’s not cutting out EVERYTHING – if you have a planned event like a birthday party, you can still budget to purchase a gift.
Download the worksheet here: No Spend Month Budget Worksheet
For me, the area I really want to target is stop spending money on clothes. That is 100% going to be the hardest category for me! Here my “rules” for January – and you can customize them based on your needs!
No Spending on:
- Clothes // Accessories // Shoes
- Eating out unless it’s a gift card
- Extras at the grocery store – stick to list
- Target (I’m just not going, I can get necessary items from other retailers)
- Random Amazon items
- Coffee out unless it’s a gift card
- Makeup and Skincare (I have enough to last years right now)
- Home Décor (no I don’t need that new pillow because it’s a new season)
- Home Organization (yes this has to be a specific category bc I love storage baskets and they are on sale rn LOL)
- Candles (yes has to be a specific category bc I love new candles)
- Nails / Spa Treatments
I can Spend on:
- Rent / Utilities
- Hulu / YouTube TV
- Insurance / Car / Gas
- Dog Food
- Pure Barre Membership (Workout is important to me)
- Chiropractor / any other necessary medical expense that pops up
- Necessary Blogging Expenses (examples: yearly domain renewal / Apple Storage and App subscriptions)
- Amazon Subscription related to cleaning supplies needed
- Grocery Store – only if it’s on the list
- Anywhere I have a gift card – I have TJ Maxx and Kirkland’s right now 🙂
Extras I can Spend on since they are planned Events:
- Trip to Whistler – hotel, food, checked luggage are the only things left to pay for
- Hampton Social Date with Kelsey – new restaurant in town I want to blog about
- 1 Food Delivery Subscription -technically blogging expense bc its for a blog post/research
- Hair Cut/Color Appointment – extended for as long as I can already, appt has been on the calendar since early December!
- Titans Playoff Game at the Bar – Oops. Added this one on when it wasn’t in the original plan.
That’s my list, and I’m sticking to it! I’ve already browsed online shopping and closed all the tabs, I’ve seen all the amazing after Christmas sales happening, and I am *trying* to stay strong. It’s already Day 5 and I’ve been *SO* close to ordering clothes and shoes (especially new boots for an upcoming trip to Whistler).
I’ll keep you updated on my journey on Instagram daily, so definitely follow along there! I’ll need your support when an online ad pops up (like 30% off activewear at Target right now) to ignore the temptation – I don’t need it just because it’s on sale. Wow. That just might be my new mantra:
“I don’t need it just because it’s on sale!”
And one more thing I want to touch on before we dive into this no spending journey together. As a fashion blogger, a main part of my job to bring you new trends and inform you of the latest sale. I’ll be the first to admit, it seems weird, unauthentic and counterintuitive to be doing something personally (not spending money) then sharing new outfits (aka spending money) on my feed. I don’t want you to feel deceived, or be alarmed if you see me posting a new sweater or shoes. I have outfits that haven’t made the gram yet.
And because I can’t just not post all month, I’m changing the direction of my content and blog posts to focus more on my CORE, staple items in my closet. Things I wear over and over. Or styling the same skirt 6 ways. I plan to really focus on recycling my current closet and getting creative with styling.
I will have a few sponsored posts as well, and that’s to keep the blog up and running. 95% of my content is fueled with my personal income from my corporate salary, and eventually, I’d like to make 100% of my income from blogging – and the way to get there is through brand partnerships.
This hopefully inspires you to work with what you have, or give you an idea on nice items to invest in (once it’s not January). So, who’s in with me?! Who’s ready to not spend in January and start saving more money?! If I can do this, ANYONE CAN. Trust me.
Comment below if you are in, or if you have done a challenge like this before! And if you want more money saving content check out my 12 Ways to Save Money this Month here.
