I've tried putting myself on spending bans multiple times, and I always fail. This time, I'm getting serious, buckling down, and saving money. Going through my makeup and skincare collections this past weekend made me realize I really don't need anything else for quite awhile. I had gotten into the habit of buying things for the sake of just having them, always justifying the purchases with "but I can write about it." I have plenty of makeup and skincare to get me through many many months of posts.
Actually Have No Money to Spend
I'll admit, the reason I'm finally getting serious about curbing my spending habits is because I'm literally going to be draining my savings account very soon - we're in the process of buying a house! And planning a wedding! And all of those things really add up. Now that I'm in full-on saving mode and feel like I literally cannot afford one single thing, I really haven't even had the urge to make a Sephora order - who knew?
Delete Saved Card Info
This will definitely help me if/when those urges to place spontaneous orders come back. If you need to go find your card to put the information in to place the order, that gives you crucial time to rethink and re-evaluate if you actually need the products in your cart. Plus if I'm vegged out on the couch looking around on Sephora's website, nine times out of ten I'm going to be too lazy to get up and get my card out of my wallet. Impulse buys - vanquished.
Clear Your Online Carts
Going along with the point above, another thing to do to curb impulse purchases is to clear out your online carts. I used to just keep things I wanted in my Sephora cart, and it just made it easier to order at a moment's notice, even if I didn't need the products. Instead of keeping your carts full, try writing down a wishlist instead - this is what I've been trying to do lately. Then I can check back over time and see if I still want what I had written down. My wishlists are full of crossed-out items I decided weren't really necessary.
Unsubscribe from Brand Newsletters/Unfollow Beauty News Accounts
This is a big one for me - if I see an email pop up about a sale or special gift with purchase, it would be so easy for me to justify making an order just to take advantage of the sale. But as my dad tells my mom when she gets 30% off Kohl's coupons in the mail, "you're still spending 70% more than you were originally planning." I've also unfollowed account like Trendmood - seeing the latest releases and knowing exactly when they're being released was just too much of a temptation for me - I was becoming obsessed with being one of the first to get a new product to review on the blog. Now I'm blissfully unaware of most new releases, and I don't just buy for the sake of having the newest thing.
Allow a Little Wiggle Room
Ok, so this would make it technically not a spending "ban," but I've learned going cold turkey just doesn't work. I'm still working out a budget, but for now I'm allowing myself one new product per month. Being able to pick up something new here and there will help me not go on a huge buying spree the second I decide my "ban" is over.
Have you ever done a spending ban? What are your tips?