Hi! Thank you for starting the No Buy thread.
My categories: Regular grocery spending is ok.
I have one prescription to fill, so a drug store trip is ok.
Gasoline is ok.
Regular bills are ok.
Goal category: cut recreational spending for the month. I have just caught up on my hobby needs, so my plan is to eliminate shoppertainment at Target, Walmart, Kmart, and the mall. Reality doesn't always match up with my plans, but I am going to give it a try!
My next Disney trip is this October, so I am going to try to Stay Strong all the way to time for my trip! My goal is to report once a week.
Sept 7 report: Compliant in not going to Target, Walmart, Kmart or the drug store this week. Today was very tempting. I was feeling the need for a Perk Up, and Target was near by, but I managed to Stay Strong, at least for today lol. I have encountered other temptations this week. I am hoping to continue the September No Buy through mid-October, so I have started my After Oct 15 shopping list. By the time I get to October 15, it should be time when it is ok for me to start buying things again, although I may want to spread out purchases to make the thrill last longer lol. My next goal is to continue another week of not going in Target, Walmart, Kmart or the mall, to Stay Safe on my No Buy plan. This challenge is Very, Very Exciting for me!!!!!
Sept 14 report. Compliant in not going to Target, Walmart, Kmart, or the mall this week. I did go to the drug store, but only got the prescription I was picking up. Saturday I had some temptation, but settled for getting some needed items at the grocery store. Sunday morning I felt some temptation, but kept my foot on the gas pedal and didn't take the exit for the store. The upcoming week looks good. Dad said we may need something at Walmart, but said he might be able to pick it up himself. 31 days until my Disney trip, yay! I am going to try to Stay Strong until then! This challenge really helps motivate me!
Sept 21 report + 2 Lessons for me. Compliant in not going to Target, Walmart, Kmart, or the mall this week. Lesson learned that for next Sept, I need to pre-plan a shopping day at the fabric store(s); it's a time of year that I feel like sewing and seeing what's new. It's not totally bad because sewing is a creative expression of my personality, but this year it wasn't planned so it felt kind of like messing up on my No Buy/ avoid recreational shopping plan. Lesson 2 is I have observed that most other people allow 4 or however many shopping days (+ budget) within each month, so I will have a more realistic perspective on participating when I try it again in the future. I will count this week as a success, as I enjoyed my fabric store trip, and I'm already sewing up fabric that I purchased.
Sept 28 report + Continuing Lessons. Compliant in not going to Target, Walmart, Kmart, or the mall this week, so I have met my technical goal for the month. Lesson continued for next Sept, the preplanned fabric store shopping may also extend to Ebay and Etsy. In other words, I did have some Ebay/ etsy fabric purchases this week. Even though there is nothing overly wrong with that, there are some elements of recreational shopping; next Sept by having purchases preplanned, the purchases can be in the Appropriate preplanned category. Continued Lesson #2 is to have a realistic inclusion of shopping days as part of the plan. Buying some dog food at Tractor Supply was not a slip, but then the day included buying some plastic horses -- that really blends over into the recreational shopping category, even though it wasn't at Walmart or wherever. So in Oct, preplanned shopping days will hopefully be flexible enough to allow the purchase of reasonable unexpected finds.
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