How to go on a shopping ban

The moment I stepped out of an optical shop with a pair of gorgeous cat-eye frames that cost P4,000, I knew it was time to put a temporary stop to my spending. Compared to most “shopaholics,” I actually have fairly healthy spending habits. I’m not in debt, I rarely ever drop more than a thousand or two per shopping trip, and I make sure to find bargains or alternatives before making a hefty purchase. However, it’s also easy to go crazy on cheap thrills, and there are times when I end up spending more than I should.

So I’ve decided to put myself on a shopping ban once again. A shopping ban is an almost-total ban on buying unnecessary things in order to save money – and 99 percent of my clothes, shoes and accessory purchases are totally unnecessary. I’ve done the ban for about two and a half months last year and was fairly successful at it, but I think whatever money I saved in those months ended up going to my post-shopping ban shopping sprees this year.

Today, I’ll be showing you the tricks that worked on my shopping ban, as well as the steps I plan on taking. Writing this down here also makes it Official Serious Business. I am really doing this.

Make your goals clear

To undertake a project like this, you need to be able to answer the question, “Why am I doing this?” It helps to have a goal so you feel motivated to stick to your guns and follow through the ban successfully. Last year, I had an abstract goal of saving money but now, I have something more specific in mind – I want to save up for a new laptop. Technically I already have the money for it in my savings account, but I’d like to be able to slowly replenish it once I make this purchase.  

Establish a time frame

How long do you plan on staying on the shopping ban? Give yourself a realistic time frame, long enough for you to achieve your goals, but short enough so you don’t go completely crazy. I need my laptop within the next month, but it’s going to take me longer than that to replenish my savings. I think three months should be a decent enough time for a shopping ban. Today’s date is May 25, 2011 – come August 25, I can decide to resume my normal spending habits or continue the ban.

Decide your rules

The beauty of the shopping ban is that you’re free to make your own rules on what you can and cannot do. Here are mine:

1. I am not allowed to buy new shoes or clothes in the next three months.
2. I am allowed to accept gifts/gift cards and use them, but I have to stay within the allotted amount.
3. Clothing swaps are most certainly welcome.
4. I am allowed to give myself a small reward every week (see below).

Avoid temptation like the plague

The mind is willing, but the wallet is weak. It helps to avoid all sources of shopping temptation during the duration of the ban if you can’t say no to pretty things like I do. For me, this means no malls, no bazaars, no eBay, and no reading certain blogs. I cleared my Google Reader during my last shopping ban because when I fall in love with an item on someone else’s blog, I end up hunting it down obsessively or buying a similar alternative. A month later, I realize that I don’t care for this item anymore. So aside from avoiding malls, I will be decluttering my Google Reader for the duration of my ban. The blogs I’ll be keeping are the ones with more substance than “This is what I wore today!” and “Look at my expensive new shoes!”

Give yourself a small reward

So that I don’t go crazy on the spending as soon as the ban is up, I will allow myself a P500 weekly shopping allowance that I can spend at thrift stores or on new accessories. If I don’t use my P500 in one week, I can use P1,000 for shopping the following week. But I can’t spend P600 one week and then use P400 the next. That’s cheating. :P

Ask for the help of your friends

Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes the help of supportive friends to get a shopaholic through a shopping ban. Friends who insist on taking you to places of temptation are not the people you want to be around at this time. What you need right now are friends who will give you words of encouragement and believe that you can make it through without buying anything. Bonus points if you have friends who offer to hold your wallet hostage, should you happen to be at a mall together.

The shopping ban starts today, and I can already feel the withdrawal symptoms like a junkie without crack. Wish me luck! I’ll update you all on my progress in a month’s time.