Yes, I'm still playing at my wardrobe numbers This is budget related, not item amount, so a little different lol. I had been trying (unsuccessfully) for the last 2 calendar years to get my shopping down to 2 items a month. This was supposed to both slow the growth of my closet size, and, more importantly, to allow me to spend more per item. Trying to change my bargain hunting ways hasn't proven as easy as I thought.
Now, I'm not saying a deal is bad, or that spending more means you're shopping smarter, just that, for me, scrimping is something I need to keep an eye on. I thought I was doing better. And then I looked at this year's numbers so far. For the 30 items I've bought (no gear or underwear included) here is how it breaks down:
- $5-12: 10 items
- $12-27: 11 items
- $27-58: 5 items
- $100-120: 3 items
- $320: 1 item
It's worth noting that two of the three $100 items were birthday gift money purchases and the $300 item was a delayed x-mas gift of sorts (when I couldn't find the DVF wrap dress intended, I declared these fancy pants as my substitute gift!). So, I clearly still have some issue spending more per item and feeling okay, or justified, with it. I admit I still feel a bit uneasy about the $120 bathing suit and have only worn it on my birthday so far, truth be told.
The reason I counted these numbers was that I had an idea in my mind of how I could break down my budget to get down to roughly 24 items a year comfortably. My idea of how I bought (or want to buy I guess) in contrast, was this:
- five $10 items = $50
- six $25 items = $150
- eight $50 items = $400
- four $75 items = $300
- two $100 items = $200
- one $200 item = $200
For a total of $1300 for the year and average mean of $50 per item. I thought I was allowing enough for my small purchases but the reality of how I shop shows that I'm spending a lot more time in the lowest $$ brackets instead of more time and money in the middle ground, where I'd like to be.
This may bore some of you to tears, and I get that. For me, it's helping me not shop and also opening my eyes to my true habits vs what I think I'm doing out there with my dollars. I keep telling myself to buy less, buy better but it's slow going actually getting there. I do consider my few $100 purchases progress, because although I fretted and hemmed and hawed, I did it in the end. I am worth it. Less. Better.
