I'm not necessarily a fastidious Rule maker. That being said, I am in Aristotle's camp when it comes to habits: we are what we repeatedly do. I have made these rules for myself not as a black-and-white absolute dogma, but as suggestions for habit-forming.
I haven't included rules that are un-doable, and everything has a reason. I went through my own life with a fine-tooth comb and worked out where my own spending pitfalls are.
I really like Gretchen Rubin's 4 Tendencies: I am undeniably a 'questioner': I resist outer expectations without reasonable justifications but satisfy inner expectations as long as they are logical. (The 4 Tendencies idea is so interesting, I would recommend clicking here to do the quiz to see what you are!).
Without further ado, here are the rules for my 12 Month Shopping diet:
Why am I going on a shopping diet?
To save as much of income as possible in order to be financially secure, and to be able to Purchase property in the long run. It is my nature to have an abundance of things (not quite hoarding, but similar), and I am trying to rid myself of this. I think in order to do this I have to re-wire my brain-find a new reward system. I currently find joy in buying three bars of soap at a time, a box of tea even though I have a cupboard full, going on Amazon and ‘wishlisting’ endless items, or buying a new t-shirt whenever I want. I need to teach myself that using up what I have is satisfying, and buying less is better; better for the environment, for my wellbeing, for my bank balance and for my future self.
For 12 months:
No clothes items to be purchased. Including but not limited to: shoes, tshirts, dresses, bags, scarves. If some unexpected issue arises (which is unlikely), only second hand purchases to be made.
Use up every single cosmetic and toiletry I own first before replacing, and then replace only with multi-use, bulk purchase or self-made products.
No more teas to be purchased until every box has been finished, and replaced only with ones I really enjoy.
No more stationery purchases. At all. Ever again. I own about 15 highlighter.
Avoid superfluous spends. Make a clear distinction between legitimate purchases (train tickets to the airport, teas purchased for respondents during course of fieldwork) and superfluous purchases (coffee from a Coffee shop, lunch items, non-essential calorie-laden snacks) made while ‘out and about’ due to poor planning
Make use of freebies i.e. cash in free coffee from stamped cards, use points accumulated from Clubcards, use gifting opportunities wisely (ask for something you need and has practical use value.
Avoid the tendency to ‘treat yourself’ in expensive ways where gratification is emphasised through consumption i.e. brunches or dinners out, cake from a café, 'treat yourself' non-essential items.
Limit eating dates with friends to once per month and put a price limit on that (£10/€15).
Take stock of the process by writing notes throughout the month, and write one sum-up reflection on the first of every month.
