If you have been following along with my blogging journey, then you may know that I have given up shopping for 6 weeks. Along with a few other influencer friends of mine, I have given up shopping for Lent 2021 (meaning the 40 days between Ash Wednesday aka the day after Mardi Gras and Easter). Currently, I am a month into my no shopping spree. While it has been tough not to shop, it has also been refreshing and allowed me to truly reevaluate where my money is going and my financial priorities moving forward.
Ever since I was a little girl, I have been a mega lover of shopping. In high school, I used to shop ALL THE TIME. I was known in my high school days for coming into school with a brand-new find each day and as someone who never repeated outfits or even clothing pieces. When I studied abroad in Italy, London, and Belize, I shopped til I dropped. The same went for when I was back at home and at college. In fact, I would buy a t-shirt during every single t-shirt fundraiser at Meredith. However, my shopping addiction took a whole other level when the COVID-19 pandemic began. I knew that I needed to change my shopping habits.
Shopping has always been a stress relief for me and an outlet. Fashion, indeed, is my outlet. My sophomore year of high school, I took my first AP course – World History – and spent hours a day studying away, so fashion was my way to stress down through planning my outfits and *of course* shopping. In fact, throughout high school and into college a bit, I would easily be found shopping/browsing on the internet during class *sorry not sorry*. When I studied abroad, I never turned down an opportunity to shop, as I was only abroad for a fixed period of time in each place. Once I got back to the States and into my college life stateside in North Carolina, I started to plan my outfits accordingly and dress up, most specifically for Instagram shots and photos with friends. I wanted to document EVERYTHING when it came to fashion, from my clothes to trips to shopping finds. It most definitely became an addiction.
Like many others, most of my shopping purchases were impulse buys. Impulse buying is so easy to get into, especially with the digital world that we live in today.
Since giving up shopping, I have now created a spreadsheet, in order to map out purchases that I would like to make in the future. Over time, I have removed certain items off of that spreadsheet, like impulse buys and added some and all over again. This process has helped me to truly realize what I do truly want/need and what I don’t. In the future, I am hoping that this process helps me save money.
Giving up shopping has been a relief mentally and financially. While I do love to shop and still will, I am happy that I am able to lay out my priorities financially and personally. I have always been a big traveller and would love to travel more and more moving forward, especially with COVID-19 limiting us all from doing so. So, I would like to put some of that money that I would have put into shopping towards future travels along with savings.
Overall, giving up shopping has been a major relief for me. I am, in fact, happier without having to feel as if I need to purchase everything and anything that I see. Although I shop less and will be moving forward, I am also in a much better place to be doing so!
XOXO – Katie <3