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!