Fashion

[chrystaltree]

It's a no brainer. Everyone cuts back on spending when they are in financial trouble or suffer a loss of income. It's just common sense.

[Meowingkitty]

I got laid off in July and I could not be happier. My husband told me I didn't have to go back to work if I didn't want to and I don't. I have so many purses shoes and clothing that I don't know what to do with. But not having to go back to work means more to me than a new pair of shoes, a new purse or more clothing. It's only been a couple months and the urge is still there but I try to take it one day at a time. Now I take the time to really think about "do I really need that?"

[Puppy Lips]

Thank you for starting this thread. I have been on a buying streak for the last year or so. I am not a hoarder or even close, but I definitely have more than I need. For me it is just watching QVC. They make every want into a need. I DON'T NEED ANYTHING -- and I too have clothes and shoes I have not worn. Jewelry too for that matter. I was starting to feel guilty about is because we should be saving more. Then every order, I would think to myself, "okay, that is the last one." Then I would order something else. But I am over it now. Being in Florida, and also not being a huge fan of Christmas, there is less to tempt me. I need to find something else to do instead of watching QVC. It is not too often I go online to look for something to buy.

[Puppy Lips]

I have a saying posted on my monitor:

Use it up

Wear it out

Make it do

Or do without

I think it may have been a motto from the depression era.

Anyway, I am hoping it will sink into my brain!

[FunkyHulaGirl]

Kjohnson, I saw so much of my (old) self in your post it's scary! I suspect the majority of my clothes have never been worn and still have tags on them; some are over 15 years old! (They're classics, so are still good to wear.) I have seven closets in my house - two are room-sized, and often when I go through the bins in the large closets, I find things I could swear I'd never seen before, and some items that make me wonder what the heck I was thinking when I bought them! In fact, if anyone remembers when Maggie Sweet was going out of business a few years ago and everything was marked down to $5 on the website, well...I found an entire box filled with 20 or more items that I had purchased, and not only never wore, but they're still nicely folded and in the plastic bags that they came in - they've never even been opened.

I remember years ago, at the height of my addiction, I was in Gimbel's, and had my arms full of clothing that I was taking to the register, and I thought, "Dear Lord - please stop me - I don't need any of this!" I also had the thought that, "Gimbel's must really love me...they let me put over $7,000 on my credit card!" (That was about 30 years ago...so imagine how much that is at present dollar value!) Same with Lord & Taylor, Bloomie's, Bergdorf's...and it took me a while to realize the saleslady from Saks didn't care about me when she'd drop everything and come running when she saw me...she knew she was going to get a nice commission! There was even a boutique where I'd buy so much I couldn't carry it, and the owners would pay for a cab to take me home.

Anyway, you have to think about why you're buying as much as you do - there's obviously some sort of void in your life you're trying to fill. In my case, I didn't want to go home to a lonely apartment, or I'd buy things for the lifestyle I wished I had, rather than the one I did have.

You can also come up with tactics to keep yourself from buying. I have one that's kind of silly, but it works for me - I anthropomorphize the things already have (i.e., imagine they have "personalities"), so when I'm tempted to buy yet another sweater, for example, I think of the ones that I have at home and really like, and imagine them crying and saying, "You don't love us! You never even wore us and now you're replacing us with that new sweater!" That gets me to thinking of all the unworn things I already have...and that if I buy the item I'm looking at, either one of the "unhappy" sweaters at home will never get worn (and be more unhappy), or else the new item will sit in the closet and never get worn until I give it away, so I imagine the new item telling it doesn't want to be locked up in a closet as if it were in jail. (I told you it was silly - but it works! )

Sometimes it's just the desire to wander through a store and buy something...anything. Maybe it's just the sight of new and different things, or just the "need" to have the pleasure of buying something...anything...just BUY! (It's especially tempting for me, when I have extra money, to not just blow it; from my disastrous marriage to an abuser I know all too well what it's like to not have a single cent with which to buy something I really want - after having made big bucks and being able to buy anything I desired before I married him - and I had to learn to not go hog wild when I do have cash as if I'd never have any again.) When I feel the "need" to shop I'll go to a place like Dollar Tree, and look for cute toys or things throughout the year that I can set aside and put in the Operation Christmas Child boxes, or I'll buy snacks and toiletries to send to the troops I support. That more often than not satisfies my need to shop (I think these days it's the knowing that I do have the money to buy something, and that buying something "proves" it), and I have the added pleasure of knowing that I'm going to make someone else happy with my purchases.

Anyway, you need to sit down and think about why you buy as much as you do - and what you could do with the money you're wasting on clothing you don't need or use. Is there someplace you'd like to take a vacation to? Maybe a big-ticket item you'd like to save for? I have no doubt that most of the clothing I've bought throughout my life was given away new - I could have my house paid off if I had that money, and a nice new car, and....

One thing I realized recently was this: often I'd see something that I just couldn't live without, bring it home, put it away...and then forget I even had it. I purchased a cute top in Goody's a couple of weeks ago; it's just the right color and weight for this transitional time of year. I wore it the next day - again a couple of days later - and will wear it again this week. I love it, and am really getting enjoyment out of it. I've made the decision that when I buy a new item, if it doesn't get worn within 30 days of bringing it home, well...back to the store it goes!

You CAN get a handle on this. Come on over and join us in the Shopaholics thread - we've all struggled with buying too much, and Jean (KonaKat) in particular always has good advice.

[peachesncream]

Very thoughtful post, Funky.

One of the questions I ask myself before buying something is: Is this better than what I already own - or is it just different?

Sometimes the answer is "yes" - the item fills a void in my wardrobe, or it's a much better fit or quality than an item it could replace.

But a lot of times it's just "new," not better. Sometimes, it's inferior to what I already own and love! That can stop me from making a reckless purchase.

[morganjen]

Good post Funky! At the height of my addiction, I had so many boxes delivered to my P.O. box (I had 2, different locations!), I couldn't fit them all in my car to drive home (including trunk). Not nearly as bad now, but I will certainly try your anthropomorphize technique. Sounds interesting!

[lavendar]

I spent the day going through m/u, organizing it. Little things create messes. Only need mascara (I pitch it every three months) and eyeliner. So I will order them tomorrow. Guess I'm breaking my rule. However, I know I don't need anything else. Haven't gone through lotions and potions yet.

[lavendar]

Crash! LTS on waitlist went into processing. I'm still a sucker for LTS, especially a dress. Didn't order three LTS's I was considering.

LTS's seem to be my downfall. Shouldn't click them on.

[kzjohnson]

On 10/2/2014 lavendar said:

Crash! LTS on waitlist went into processing. I'm still a sucker for LTS, especially a dress. Didn't order three LTS's I was considering.

LTS's seem to be my downfall. Shouldn't click them on.

Look away and stop clicking those evil nasty little links!

I always checked the LTS's...just a habit as I sat down to have some lunch. I have stopped doing that...I actually stopped looking at the QVC site altogether (just come right to the forums) and all my other favorite online goto places for just over a week.

I won't to say that the habit is super easy to break...honestly right now I hate it, but I know in time I won't think anything of it especially as I start seeing the money that will be saved by not impulse buying just about daily.