No Spend Year: January Recap
I’m 36 days into my year without shopping. January definitely had its high and low moments, but overall the process has been a lot easier than I thought. I wanted to take the time to reflect on what I’ve learned during the past month.
1. The purge was emotional, but the process has been meaningful
I spent most of January going through my belongings and purging what no longer serves me. I’m still working through some areas of my home, but I’m almost finished. After 6 years of homeownership, I realized I collected a lot of STUFF. It was an emotional purge because it brought up old memories. But memories are good to have and will always be there regardless of where the things go.
2. Having an organized closet is life changing
The first thing I decided to do when I set out to go a year without shopping was to reorganize my closet. It was an unorganized mess before and things were everywhere. I took everything out of my closet and sorted through all of the clothes. After sorting through the clothes, I reorganized everything into categories. Pants on one side and dresses on another. Being able to walk in my closet and know where everything is has been life-changing. My mornings are less chaotic and I’m more stylish because I’m working with what I have.
3. I’ve learned to love and work with what I have in my wardrobe
One of the biggest takeaways from January was appreciating and cherishing every piece of clothing in my wardrobe. I have over 300 pieces of clothes in my possession that are great and that I’ll still get a lot of wear out of. Not buying clothes for the year has really allowed me to tap into my creative side. I’m mixing colors and patterns that I may not have thought to put together before. I’m also using neutrals and solids to create mini capsule collections.
4. I’m shocked at the amount of money I saved in January because I stopped shopping
Shopping was a big line item in my budget because I like to shop. I easily spent a couple of hundred dollars on clothes a month. Cutting shopping out was a significant lifestyle shift last month. I deleted all paid subscriptions, unsubscribed from direct mail campaigns, canceled my Amazon Prime account, and avoided big box stores like Target. At the end of the month, I saved a thousand dollars.
5. I am also shocked at how much money I spent on food in January.
I use an app called Clarity Money to track my spending habits on a weekly and monthly basis. I love it because it keeps me in check with areas I need to improve in on my budget. If you follow me on Instagram Stories, you'll know I have a slight obsession with grocery shopping. I love the grocery store and step foot into Whole Foods 365 and Publix at least twice a week. It's a problem because I'll forget an ingredient and have to go back to the grocery store. I'm also still tackling bringing my lunch every day to work. Eating out for lunch is easy, but it adds up. My budget has started to notice. I'm ashamed to say between grocery shopping and eating out last month I spent hundreds of dollars on food. Yikes. In February, I'm hoping I can cut that in half and if not more.
6. The devil will try to tempt you during your journey to success
In January I had several people in my friends and family circle send me sales ads, invite me to shopping parties, ask me to support their small business. I said, ”nope, not today Satan.” I had to fiercely remind them of my goal of no shopping for a year.
I wanted to say thank you all of my cheerleaders rooting me on in during this process. Having the support has been fun.
