What I Learned From My Spending Sabbatical

Have you ever felt like your spending was out of control?

That's exactly how I felt in January. About 14 months ago my life turned into a whirlwind of a shit show. I had a ton of debt, my 10 year relationship ended out of the blue (seriously, I never saw it coming), in a month I had sold all of my stuff, broke my lease & moved home. I was BROKE.

I've never been that broke in my life & it was scary as shit. 

Luckily, my mom let me stay with her rent free, I got a job my second week back & I started signing clients again. After a couple months, my bank accounts were once again in the positive. I was able to start paying down my debt & I paid off my car. I even had extra money to go out.

It felt good to have money again. It felt even better that everything I wanted wasn't an automatic NO. So I started saying YES.

At first it was yes to things I needed. Clothes for winter. A hair cut. Car upkeep. Then it was things I had been putting off. New bras, good makeup, glasses, jeans. Finally it was random things. New kitchen gadgets, luggage, jewelry.

It got to the point where I was ordering so many things, I would get packages & have no idea what was in them. Even worse, I'd use it once then stick it in a pile & move onto the next thing.

I decided I needed to take a break from spending.

The first week was hard. Of course, as soon as I decided I wasn't buying, it seemed like everything went on sale ( I love a good sale). But, I didn't buy anything. 

It got easier pretty fast.

Instead of buying new things, I started using the things I already had. I read books that had been sitting on my Kindle for months. Using the masks & lotions that I'd forgotten I owned. I finished some of the courses I had bought, but never had the time to do. I meditated more.

I had more time. I never realized how much time I spent scrolling through websites searching for things to buy.

What I learned
I buy things...
To reward myself.
When I feel like crap.
Late at night when I'm bored
When I feel stuck.
Sometimes, just because it seems interesting.

Retail therapy at it's finest.

I was also reminded that when I'm not in such a hurry to buy things, I kick ass at manifesting them.

This month I wanted a pedicure & a couple days later my mom asked me to do a mani/pedi day her treat. I won a free oracle card reading from one of my favorite people. One of the courses I own released new free bonuses that helped me solve an issue I had been stuck on. I've had drinks & dinners bought for me. And I wasn't even trying.

Is there something you do that you're pretty sure is holding you back? Take a break from it & let me know how it goes.