The buyer's archive: February

Elise did a great post recently comparing her fashion buys from last January and this January, and being a right nosy so-and-so I loved reading it (it is also from Elise that I've nicked the title of this post/series). I particularly liked the idea of tracking the items coming into my wardrobe and being able to see, a year down the line, what is still well-worn. So here I am with a Buyer's Archive for February.

After finishing the four month spending ban at the end of January, suddenly having license to buy sent me over the top in the shopping stakes. Not helped, of course, by the fact that a lot of places were still having sales. That being said, a lot of what I bought this month went straight back to the shop, however the following managed to make its way into my wardrobe this month:

H! by Henry Holland for Debenhams navy skater dress, £27 (with 10% discount code)
I'm still somewhat unsure about this dress. It should be an instant winner as it ticks SO many of my boxes - Peter Pan collar, daisies, skater shape, navy blue - but on, it's not entirely 'right'. A bit too long for my tiny legs, for a start, but I think it'll be better without tights in the summer.

Striped Boden jumper via charity shop, £7
I actually might have bought this just at the tail end of January. I'm not crazy about the colours, but the cashmere blend is super cosy and comfortable so I've been wearing it around the house a lot.

'Riots Not Diets' Tote bag, £5
This had been in my Etsy favourites for a while, and when I saw it reduced to half price I immediately ordered two - one for me and one to send to Rebecca. I can't see it on there now, but it was from Tea Please.

Converse trainers via Very, £25
My beloved old Chuck Taylors are literally falling apart, so I grabbed a Groupon deal and got a brand new pair from Very for a lot less than their ticket price.

La Redoute collar top £9.50
La Redoute bird cardigan £14.50
I saw these items on Tigerlilly Quinn recently and fell in love - of course, it's a bird motif and a Peter Pan collar, fer crissakes - so I was pretty chuffed when the cardigan appeared in the sale, while I managed to pick up a discount code giving me 50% off the top. I have worn the top almost non-stop since it arrived last week and the cardigan is perfect with a navy skirt I bought for work and never wear, so hopefully these are two items I'll get a lot of wear out of.

ASOS blazer, £30
ASOS grey marl fine knit slouchy tee, £12
H&M skinny trousers, £25 (not pictured)
This outfit came about after attending a work meeting. 150 teachers from three local schools, and almost every woman - myself included - was wearing the same thing: a printed skirt or dress with a cardigan and a jazzy necklace. Now, there's nothing wrong with that at all, but I just felt so bored looking at us all! So I decided to hunt out a more chic teacher outfit for days when I feel like looking a bit smarter. Of course, the first time I wore it to school everyone commented on it - variations on "Ooh, have you got an interview or something?" - so I haven't worn it again since!

George at Asda striped crochet collar jumper, £14 (not pictured)
Have you ever seen a more Janet jumper than this one?! The combination of stripes with a crochet collar meant I snapped this up as soon as I spied it.

Total spend on clothes in February: £169, which is a fairly scary amount However, for what I got - two jumpers, a dress, one cardigan, two tops, a blazer, a pair of trousers, a pair of Converese and a bag - it seems relatively good value. Let's see, though, just how much wear I've got out of these items a year down the line.

Meanwhile, to make room for these ten things, I sent eight items to the blogger clothes swap (post to follow soon), and two dresses, four skirts and a jumper to eBay.

My goals for 2015

In the past I tended not to make resolutions or set goals at the start of the calendar year; as a teacher, September is much more redolent of new beginnings (and anyway, it's so much easier to make positive changes when the sun is still shining than in this dark, cold days of deepest winter). However, at the start of 2014 I wrote a list of 10 goals for the year as part of the #52lists project (which seemed to peter out halfway through the year) and it turned out to be the only list of goals I ever completed! Maybe there's something to this whole new year thing after all.

After the enormous adventures and changes of 2013, 2014 was an altogether calmer and more stable year. However, 2015 promises upheavals: at work, as my school merges with a neighbouring one; at home, as The Boy completes his PhD and begins looking for an academic job; family-wise, as my extended maternal family converge on Canada for a reunion (all 40+ of us). The goals that I've set, then, reflect the fact that this probably won't be an easy year. I'll need to make time for myself and the things I enjoy doing, ensure that we're in a good financial place to deal with possible short-term unemployment, spend time on the relationships that strengthen me.

1. See more of my mum, and my family generally.
Both this goal and #3 reflect the fact that 2014 was mostly about one person - The Boy. After a long time in a long distance relationship, we made the most of living in the same place last year. 2015 needs to be the year I reach out again to see more of the people I'm closest to.
2. Swim and walk more.
My natural state is one of extreme indolence interrupted by bursts of energy, which I tend to channel into doing things around the house (baking, tidying, making stuff). I always feel amazing when I get some 'proper' exercise but yet I'm terrible at actually getting myself out of the house to do so. I walk a lot to get me around, but I want to do more 'proper' walking in the countryside this year, which is a hobby that's fallen by the wayside in the past couple of years.
3. Dedicate time to friends, both old and new. 
See #1.
4. Continue the spending ban.
At the moment I have four major life goals, and all of them involve money:
- Become debt free;
- Have a lovely wedding to The Boy;
- Go back to university to study for an MA;
- Pay for my mum and I to visit South Africa together in 2018, to celebrate my 40th (gulp) and her 70th.
The only realistic way to achieve any of those goals is to save, save, save instead of spending all my cash. So the spending ban continues until the end of January, after which I'm going to tweak the rules slightly but then continue with it in some form for the rest of the year. Char is doing a complete spending ban this year, which is amazing!
5. Have one night a week that's gadget- and TV-free.
Self-explanatory really. Both The Boy and I love to draw, read and play games but - reading aside - we rarely make time to do so. Having one 'switch-off' a week will give us time to do the things we enjoy without the lure of "just one more episode of Buffy...".
6. Write a will.
Although we're planning a wedding we have no desire to get legally married, which makes it all the more important that we have wills. I also want to set up power of attorney; after seeing the chaos lack of it can cause when a friend of my mum's had a stroke this year, I'm all the more determined to get it sorted.
7. Look into becoming a Nightstop host.
Nightstop are an organisation that provide short-term emergency accommodation for young people who have been made homeless. I'd first read about them in The Guardian last year and thought, "I've got a spare room - maybe I could do that in future." When, this weekend, I saw on Twitter the story of a young trans teen who'd been thrown out of home just for being trans, I became all the more determined to do something. Luckily The Boy is completely on board and so we've just started the process of volunteering.
8. Finish the zine I started working on last year.
I was so excited to get this started and then my enthusiasm sort of fizzled out. Definitely top of the list to do on one of our switch-off evenings.
9. Go to a clothes swap.
Self-explanatory this one. I had a few planned to go to last year and it never happened. The Wardrobe Angel and I are also considering trying to set up an online bloggers clothes swap - give me a shout if you're interested in being involved.
10. Make more.
I want to take part in more craft swaps (I'm starting with Hannah's #DICraft Swap this month) and do another Week of Making, as well as doing more sewing on my days off. I've also promised Sarah something for Baby Rooftops... better get sewing!

Spending ban update: month three

If you recall, I ended October bemoaning the fact that every month seems to bring a new and unexpected expense. And lo and behold, just 3 days into November our washing machine broke, so it was goodbye to £90 for my share of a new one. Other than that, though, I had a really successful month.

When I started the ban, I made a short list of clothing items that I needed and would allow - winter shoes, a jumper, a new bra and a black skirt. I'd put jumpers on my 'allowed' list because incredibly, I only owned one (and live in a cold house). So, when I sold a few bits on eBay at the start of November, I decided to spend some of the £80 profit on buying the clothes I needed. I got two jumpers for £31 (hooray for discount vouchers, an H&M giftcard found at the bottom of my purse, and an ASOS code) and also bought a bra for £28, leaving me with a tiny bit left over in my PayPal account.

Apart from that, I managed to limit my spending to Christmas gifts and a few meals out with either The Boy or friends. I've done most of my Christmas shopping, spending about £80 in total plus £50 more from my Nectar points. However, as we creep ever closer to Christmas it's becoming harder and harder to stick to my rules. Although in theory I was always allowed to spend money on gifts, once I start splashing the cash on one thing it gets more difficult to put my wallet away when I see something I want. It's also been hard to separate actual essential spending (do I need Christmas craft materials? What about if they're being used to make presents?) from discretionary spending. So I'm going to suspend the ban for the month of December. I'd intended to finish at the end of the year, but will instead start again in January and continue for at least another month into 2015.

Overall, and even accounting for washing machine breakdowns & gift buying, I still managed to put £400 into my savings, which is an amazing result. I also got a surprise £195 cheque (relating to an old loan I used to have with Tesco Bank) and have put that straight into my savings account too, rather than splashing the cash like I usually would. As much as I do enjoy shopping, it's nice to see my savings growing so after break in December, I'm keen to get back to the ban and see if I can add to my current total.

Spending ban update: Month two

Can I just say that month two hasn't gone very well, and leave it at that? No? Damn.

October was always going to be a tough month, for a variety of reasons. Firstly, this was the first pay cheque since I reduced my hours at work (from 0.9 to 0.8), so I had less to spend in the first place. Secondly, October is the month that both my car has a service and the biannual payment for my water bill comes out of my account. And finally, it was half term and, in the original rules of the spending ban, I'd cheekily given myself a week off as I knew I'd be going away.

So now I've given my excuses, shall I go onto the hard sums?

At the start of the month I went to Nottingham for a blogger meet-up. All my spending was 'legal' (secondhand goodies or food and drink) but put together with the cost of the train ticket, I spent £32.60 in one day.

The Boy and I had three date nights (two cinema trips, plus an evening in the pub for our anniversary). We also ate out a few times when we were in Norfolk, which brought the total damage to £108. Ouch.

I spent a total of £56.50 on birthday and Christmas gifts, plus an extra £18 of vintage homewares shopping in Norfolk.

At book group I paid £9 for my pub meal and drink.

I bought a pair of new winter shoes, using a 20% discount code at Office, for £38.40. I'd written into the rules that I could buy a new pair of shoes or boots, as my need for something that could withstand icy pavements was pretty dire.

And finally, in my week off the ban I treated myself to two ASOS dresses, both in the sale, which were £25 and £15 respectively.

Bringing my total spend for October to £284.50, which really doesn't sound too bad.

However, add in three tanks of petrol for all the driving I did, plus £239 for my car service, plus another £100 for my water bill, and that was all of my disposable income for the month. So, total saved last month was a big fat ZERO.

It's hard not to feel a bit disheartened when, after trying really (well ok, pretty) hard not to spend too much, you can't save a penny. And the problem I seem to have is that ok, the car service and the water bill are not monthly occurrences, but every month seems to have one of those big expenditures that I don't necessarily plan into my budget. Last month it was my gym membership renewal, now my phone has broken and needs replacing. Then December and Christmas, January brings three big family birthdays... and so on and so forth!

I'm still not prepared to cut spending on going out for cinema dates, meals or drinks: those evenings keep me sane when work is crazy. But looking at my expenditure for October, and realising that by justifying the dresses as being "just £15" and the shoes with "well, I have a discount code", I've spent almost £100 that could have gone into savings. 

So, this month's goal is: absolutely no unnecessary spending whatsoever.

Spending ban update: month one

Surprisingly, a month into my spending ban and things aren't going too badly. I've found sticking to the rules pretty easy this month (with only one wobble, when I put some dresses into an online shopping basket and then quickly turned my laptop off without spending a penny!).

Allowing myself a bit of spending - on a weekly date night, on secondhand stuff, and on Christmas gifts - was a masterstroke. During previous spending bans I've struggled with the lack of social life and have missed the Saturday trawl around charity shops. Making sure I can still do the things I enjoy has made it tons easier to stick to spending nothing elsewhere.

So, what have I spent this month? Leaving aside the normal bills and grocery shopping, my total is £112.69. Here's my spending broken down:

£5.50 on secondhand books from charity shops
£8 on Christmas gifts
£20 on a brunch cinema date
£18 on a ticket to see Robin Ince and a cheap burrito meal with my mate before the show
£16.20 on prescriptions
£7 for a cute skirt from the excellent Sue Ryder vintage shop in Leicester
£25 for a dinner date with my boy
£12 for an evening at a pub quiz with another couple
99p for a new phone cover, as the old one had fallen apart

As you can see, I've hardly been suffering a Scrooge-like existence. I'm still spending a bit of money and having a social life. Unfortunately my gym membership was renewed this month, so with the addition of that £190 expense I haven't quite managed to make the savings I would have liked. However, my overdraft has been completely paid off and I intend to start on the credit card debt next month. Wish me luck!

Yet another blogger spending ban

My name is Janet, and I'm a spendaholic.

I love to shop. I love the thrill of finding a dress that makes me look good, or the feeling I get when I walk out of a bookshop with a bag full of new things to read.

I work really hard at my job and it pays me a decent wage in return.  You'd think, to look at my pay slip, that I couldn't possibly have any money worries, but of course it's not as simple as that. I'm terrible with money - slightly less so now than in my twenties, but still pretty bad - and I have a lot of debt. Come the end of the month, I'm always short on cash. And sometimes, if some miracle has occurred and I'm not counting the pennies, instead of trying to save what's left I embark on a mad spending spree.  As if it's a requirement to have an empty bank account come pay day.

How many times do we say to ourselves, "I need this bag/that top/a new cake tin," when we already have bags aplenty, a wardrobe that's so full it won't close, and plenty of old cake tins? We have become very good at convincing ourselves that without stuff, our lives won't be as good.  That the pretty dress will make us happy forever and ever, rather than ending up in a charity shop donation pile a few months down the line.

The idea that, "I work hard, therefore I deserve a reward," is what I often use to convince myself that spending money is not just my right, but a treat. I almost never stop to think that maybe, if I didn't spend so much on 'rewards', I wouldn't have to work so hard.  That perhaps happiness comes not from staying on the consumerist treadmill of work-buy-work, but from calling a halt and seeking out experiences that enrich my life rather than buying products that don't.

I'm also concerned about the labour practices of major clothing retailers, about the amount of waste created by consumerism, and about how to reconcile my political beliefs with spending huge amounts of money in what is undoubtedly an unethical industry.

So, this autumn, I'm embarking on a new spending ban. I first tried this in the autumn of 2011, and it worked incredibly well.  In that instance, I imposed a total ban on all spending other than essential food and drink.  For a while I was able to really alter my spending habits, but as soon as I'd finished I fell back into my old patterns.  In autumn 2012 I tried the £100 Challenge, imposing no limit on what I spent money on, but spending no more than £100 a week.  Again, in the short-term I was successful but as soon as I finished, back I went to splashing the cash.  And so, as September begins, I'm going to give it a third go.  I have some new rules this time, ones which I hope will make it easier to maintain the ban for a longer period than previously:

My Rules

1. No limit on essential food & drink spending, but I'm nevertheless going to start looking for ways to reduce our grocery bill, such as shopping at Aldi more.

2. Spending money on a date night a week allowed, be it a meal or a trip to the cinema or a takeaway.

3. Any spending on secondhand goods is allowed. I hope this will allow me to scratch the shopping itch while keeping costs down and being kinder to the environment.

4. Buying gifts is allowed.  Previously, I found doing the Buy Nothing/£100 Challenge in the run-up to Christmas really challenging, as I like to spread my spending over the whole autumn.

4. There are a few essential items I am allowed to buy, if I can't find what I need secondhand: winter boots, a jumper (how can I have no jumpers? How is that a thing?!), new tights and a new bra.

6. The spending ban to last from 1st September until the end of 2014, with one week off for good behaviour during October half term.

Spending bans are pretty common in the blogosphere and I appreciate that they're perhaps not the most interesting thing to read about, but blogging about it is the only way I know I'll be held accountable and therefore stick to the rules - trust me, I know what I wily minx I can be!  So apologies if this gets boring, but fingers crossed this third crack at a spending ban means I'm able to cut my spending dramatically and get some debt paid off, while also being a bit more eco-friendly in my buying. Wish me luck!