October 2014 No/Low Buy: Hugs, Commiseration, and Confessional

[3Babydolls]

Hey girls

I have tried posting on no buy threads before and have always failed. But it's getting way out of hand now. I'm out of control with my beauty spending. If I want to give my kids a nice Christmas in 2 short months I need to knock it off now. I'm going on a beauty no buy starting today. Ipsy will still be coming but that is it. I also starting a project pan to use up the thing I don't want to expire.

I'm going into my email now to take myself off all the stores email lists so they can't pull me to the dark side.

 

[3Babydolls]

So I guess today is my day1!! I think it's really going to help to have a group to talk to about it /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[[email protected]]

I've been sticking to my low buy pretty well for 3 weeks. Right now Im focusing on using up some things that are about to expire.

 

[Jenn10]

Hey girls

I have tried posting on no buy threads before and have always failed. But it's getting way out of hand now. I'm out of control with my beauty spending. If I want to give my kids a nice Christmas in 2 short months I need to knock it off now. I'm going on a beauty no buy starting today. Ipsy will still be coming but that is it. I also starting a project pan to use up the thing I don't want to expire.

I'm going into my email now to take myself off all the stores email lists so they can't pull me to the dark side.

Try "use up these 5 things in my stash and I can get this 1 thing I am dying for"-- that may help? /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />)

 

[Kristine Walker]

 Yesterday was my 50th Birthday! I was going to skip getting myself a gift, but my Momma insisted since I have given others big 50 Birthday Blowouts. The good news is I had a budget of $50, but only spent $38.67.

   Details will be in a different thread to avoid triggering.

 

[BSquared]

^^ happy birthday!!!

6 days in and doing well! Successfully avoided any makeup at walmart and haven't avoided some temptation for some lotion!

This is the easy part though, end of the month is always when I crack.

 

[3Babydolls]

de cluttering my closet and burning my Fall candles I hoarded LAST year so didn't need to buy any more /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[BSquared]

Update: well that didn't last long

Spoiler

perfume oil purchased but to be fair, it's haus of gloi autumn scents and this is their last restock so it was literally now or never, so I'm not too upset

 

[CurlyTails]

So far so good! No temptations for me yet, but I'm also an end of the month shopper. I've been making my way through my stash and trying to figure out how many backups I feel comfortable with storing in the long run.

 

[kira685]

i finally finished the first phase of my re-organizing project. It wasn't meant to be multiple phases, but I realized part way through that it would have to be if I was going to do it right. I threw out a bunch of old products and sorted the rest so I can start working my way through them. I think I uncovered all of my makeup and skincare type things, but I'll deal if any more come up during the next phases. I bought a few things to help with my project last month, but those were allowed and I did well by sticking with the dollar store. I also bought mouthwash, but that was something I was completely out of so it was also allowed. What I bought that wasn't allowed were 2 new sweaters.. but I also got rid of a few during the cleaning phase and they were from Ross, so not horrible on the wallet.

I'm sticking with the same rules this month:

- No new products unless I have no back-ups

- SS and SH are my only subs, but I can buy stuff with my saved BB points.

- No more clothes unless I get an interview or job that requires new clothes (I'm still assessing if I can pull together an interview outfit that fits with what I have).

 

[mauu]

Halp - Wantable subscription is TOO GOOD!

Last month, in a frenzy of makeup-buying, I signed up for several subscription boxes I can't afford. Within days, I'd canceled all but Wantable, though I will still be getting the first month of Goodebox and Untoxicating Beauty in the next few weeks. Anyway, when I canceled Goodebox they asked a lot of questions about how I liked it so I figured I'd wait to cancel Wantable until I had the box in hand.

Now I don't want to let it go.

I got four items: a Tarina Tarantino Jasper/Agate Eye Dream Highlight Duo ($19), a Vincent Longo Volume Plus Mascara ($25), a Liberty Republic Spellbound Nail Lacquer in Aura ($14), and a Mica Beauty Cosmetics lipstick in Coral ($25) - a total value of $83 for just $36! And they're a total surprise, and while I haven't tried them yet, they all look like things I'll love.

I'm keeping this box for sure, but how do I make myself cancel the subscription? Other than reminding myself that I'm on a no-buy, and I don't have money for it right now, and...yeah. I've been going strong, but HALP ME PLEASE!

Did you cancel the subscription yet, @@dellebelli? You already gave a good reason to cancel it in your post: if you can't afford it, you don't really need any other reasons.

You can do it! I'm sure you can re-subscribe later when you feel that you can more comfortably afford it.

 

[TooMuchElectric]

The sunk fallacy is interesting in regards to cosmetics/beauty items, in that it's only sometimes a fallacy.

I have three eyebrow products that serve the same purpose. I should be reasonable and get rid of the one that fades quickly and the one that's not the right color. I'll never wear those two products again because I know they won't look as good as the third product that I love. 

I also have a bunch of shampoos/conditioners. I don't like the scent of several of them, but I'm still keeping them. The products work fine and the scent isn't bad, it's just not as good as other products. In this case, I think it actually would be wasteful to toss the products.

Agree/disagree? What do you consider worth saving? How do you decide to get rid of stuff?

 

[nolongerhere1723]

The sunk fallacy is interesting in regards to cosmetics/beauty items, in that it's only sometimes a fallacy.

I have three eyebrow products that serve the same purpose. I should be reasonable and get rid of the one that fades quickly and the one that's not the right color. I'll never wear those two products again because I know they won't look as good as the third product that I love. 

I also have a bunch of shampoos/conditioners. I don't like the scent of several of them, but I'm still keeping them. The products work fine and the scent isn't bad, it's just not as good as other products. In this case, I think it actually would be wasteful to toss the products.

Agree/disagree? What do you consider worth saving? How do you decide to get rid of stuff?

Very good point. I think for me the main difference is whether its an item that I'll reasonably get through my current stash on. Shampoo and conditioner? Absolutely, I use them a lot and they go relatively quickly for me. Eyeshadow palettes? Not so much. I'll never get through all of what I have for eyeshadow. So I don't feel guilty or wasteful giving away eyeshadow because that was probably going to waste anyway. Whereas shampoo and conditioner I would probably make myself use up because otherwise I'll have to buy new ones pretty soon. 

 

[tulosai]

The sunk fallacy is interesting in regards to cosmetics/beauty items, in that it's only sometimes a fallacy.

I have three eyebrow products that serve the same purpose. I should be reasonable and get rid of the one that fades quickly and the one that's not the right color. I'll never wear those two products again because I know they won't look as good as the third product that I love. 

I also have a bunch of shampoos/conditioners. I don't like the scent of several of them, but I'm still keeping them. The products work fine and the scent isn't bad, it's just not as good as other products. In this case, I think it actually would be wasteful to toss the products.

Agree/disagree? What do you consider worth saving? How do you decide to get rid of stuff?

Yeah, I think the key questions as regard this are:

- Will I really use this product?

-Even if I will use it, will it make me actually unhappy to do so/is the product inferior to what it should be?

If the answer to the second one is yes I think it is a sunk cost and you should abandon it even if you might use it out of some sense of 'obligation'.  

 

[dellebelli]

Did you cancel the subscription yet, @@dellebelli? You already gave a good reason to cancel it in your post: if you can't afford it, you don't really need any other reasons.

You can do it! I'm sure you can re-subscribe later when you feel that you can more comfortably afford it.

Officially canceled!! And it's the easiest thing EVER - you just hit "skip" or "unsubscribe"; when you do the latter the button changes to "resubscribe." There's no quiz or trying to convince you to change your mind, or anything. I'll definitely be coming back to Wantable in the future!

 

[mauu]

Officially canceled!! And it's the easiest thing EVER - you just hit "skip" or "unsubscribe"; when you do the latter the button changes to "resubscribe." There's no quiz or trying to convince you to change your mind, or anything. I'll definitely be coming back to Wantable in the future!

Yay! Go @@dellebelli! Well done.

I had a small victory today, too. I had filled a cart with LE indie Halloween pretties but when I was getting ready to hit the check-out button, I started second-guessing myself. I googled some swatches, thought about how long it'd take to use up a single eyeshadow and ended up just closing the tab. So proud of myself! 

 

[DragonChick]

The sunk fallacy is interesting in regards to cosmetics/beauty items, in that it's only sometimes a fallacy.

I have three eyebrow products that serve the same purpose. I should be reasonable and get rid of the one that fades quickly and the one that's not the right color. I'll never wear those two products again because I know they won't look as good as the third product that I love. 

I also have a bunch of shampoos/conditioners. I don't like the scent of several of them, but I'm still keeping them. The products work fine and the scent isn't bad, it's just not as good as other products. In this case, I think it actually would be wasteful to toss the products.

Agree/disagree? What do you consider worth saving? How do you decide to get rid of stuff?

I tend to go through shampoo/conditioner fairly quickly, I'll just suck it up and use them, even if I'm not fond of the scent. I find it to be wasteful to just toss those unless there's something fundamentally wrong with them .

As for makeup and date sensitive items, I need to accept the fact that if it's past date, it's just not good to use and toss it. I could sit there and beat myself up over it, but really should be using this as a lesson on learning that it's okay to not get caught up with the thrill of buying in the first place.

 

[eastofthesun]

Day 7: So far, still going strong.

 Yesterday was my 50th Birthday! I was going to skip getting myself a gift, but my Momma insisted since I have given others big 50 Birthday Blowouts. The good news is I had a budget of $50, but only spent $38.67.

   Details will be in a different thread to avoid triggering.

Happy birthday!!!!! That's awesome!

i finally finished the first phase of my re-organizing project. It wasn't meant to be multiple phases, but I realized part way through that it would have to be if I was going to do it right. I threw out a bunch of old products and sorted the rest so I can start working my way through them.

Congratulations on finishing your re-organization project! Your rules you posted and the plans you had are inspiring, I hope I can do something like that soon!

 

[miss lawson]

The sunk fallacy is interesting in regards to cosmetics/beauty items, in that it's only sometimes a fallacy.

I have three eyebrow products that serve the same purpose. I should be reasonable and get rid of the one that fades quickly and the one that's not the right color. I'll never wear those two products again because I know they won't look as good as the third product that I love. 

I also have a bunch of shampoos/conditioners. I don't like the scent of several of them, but I'm still keeping them. The products work fine and the scent isn't bad, it's just not as good as other products. In this case, I think it actually would be wasteful to toss the products.

Agree/disagree? What do you consider worth saving? How do you decide to get rid of stuff?

Interesting - I do agree with all of this. When it comes to products like shampoo/conditioner, body wash, lotion, those sorts of things, I tend to go through them much more quickly. Unless it's a product that I just absolutely loathe or it causes some sort of allergic reaction, I'll just plug through them because it feels wasteful to me to get rid of that kind of stuff.

Makeup is the opposite for me, though. It feels wasteful to have a dozen champagne colored eyeshadows. It feels wasteful to have several blushes that are identical once they're on the cheeks. It feels wasteful to have those kinds of things to be sitting around, so I've found that I'm much more likely to let go of makeup because of those reasons.

It's funny how brains work, haha.

 

[3Babydolls]

Giving this issue a lot of thought today, so this will be long.

I have set my goal at a reasonable 3 months. This means no beauty buys until the second week of January (which happens to be my birthday week). I felt a larger goal will discourage me but I can most certainly behave for just 3 months, right? This will free up a lot of Holiday gift money.  At the 3 month mark I'll set another goal. 

Two things really were uplifting to me today. First I played a little game in my head all day. Each time I reached for something to use like hair product, perfume, even deoderant, I took a good look at my stash of that item. and in my head I did a mental "check! won't need THAT for 3 months for sure..."  It made me see that thanks to my shopping and beauty hoarding I DON"T NEED ANYTHING! I have all that I need ht here in my happy little bubble...for 3 months at least certainly. B)

And second, as I walked down the beauty isle in my grocery store today, (which I did on purpose to prove to myself that it wasn't scary) each time something caught my eye that I'd been meaning to pick up and try, I just said to myself  "Someday...not today." This makes this whole thing seem more reasonable. I'm not saying never again, I'm just choosing to say not today and not till next year. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

hope your day is great ladies