actyourwage | (no subject)

I used to overspend on books, music and DVDs, until I quit my job and had to live on a strict budget. This is what helped me curb my habits:

Books - borrow from my local library if they have what I want. If not, request it from paperbackswap.com or look for a used copy locally. Only buy new for certain new releases. Look for discounted or free (non-pirated) ebooks. Read a certain number of books before allowing myself to buy another one.

Music - shop the daily and monthly deals on amazon's MP3 store - often they have albums I want for $5 or less. iTunes has 90 second song previews, NPR.org streams whole albums before their release date, and I just signed up for Spotify which also lets me stream whole albums.

DVDs - again, local library and Netflix - I hardly ever buy DVDs any more.

I am also a compulsive wish-lister. It's cheaper than being a compulsive buyer! Every month or so I will buy $25 worth of stuff for myself from my wish list (that's the amount for free shipping from amazon). If something stays on the list for over a year without me buying it for myself, I probably didn't want it that much!

Cutting back on crafting supplies is harder if you're an active crafter. I spent a lot of money a couple of years ago on knitting supplies when I was learning to knit, and the year before that I spent a lot on jewelry supplies when I taught myself to make necklaces, and in both cases I kind of built a stash and then was able to stop buying everything that looked shiny (because I knew I had nowhere to put it!) Now I try not to go in craft stores at all unless I need something specific for a project, and I always make sure I have a 40% or 50% off coupon - all the big box craft stores put these out regularly.

Hope that helps!

I suspect going cold turkey on 'fun stuff' isn't likely to work out too well. Maybe try giving yourself $25 or 50 per month as an allowance (or whatever you can live with, but I'd go with less than half that $400), and sink the rest of it into the debt. Pull the allowance out as cash, and don't pay for anything that falls into the 'fun stuff' category except from that cash.

Also, make friends with your library and if you're anything like me, use what's already in your stash instead of buying new supplies (not that I'm very good at that one, either, but I try).

You could try automatic payments to your credit card company if you think you can keep enough in your account to avoid overdrafts. If you know the money already committed, you can't use it.

Another possibility is not carrying your credit card around with you or, if you need to carry it for emergencies, put it in a gift card envelope that you tape shut. The ten second delay as you work it open may give you time to remember why you don't want to impulse shop.

BTW, you should allow yourself some mad money, otherwise this will get too restrictive quickly and you won't be able to do it long-term.

What helped me was to figure out what I was actually doing. Now, it may be that all you're doing is having impulse-control issues, in which case maybe redirecting the impulses to other places? Like, when you have the impulse to buy something, go do something else you enjoy instead -- pick up one of the books you already bought but haven't read yet, or watch a favorite movie, or call a friend, or write a story, something like that.

For me, my impulse-buying was a control thing. There were things I wanted or needed that were out of my control, that I couldn't get, but buying something, that was in my control. I walk in the store, I pick something out, I give them my money, and the thing is now mine. It was like a drug, and also with the nasty hangover that drugs can give you.

I could never convince myself I didn't need the things I wanted. Either I knew I didn't need them but I couldn't stop wanting them, or I felt too strongly that I really did need them. In the latter case, once I could sit down and show myself how it was that I didn't need it, I still felt like I needed it.

So the only way I could stop was to find something else to focus on. For me, it was something I could control: I started writing stories. This gave me that same sense of control that buying things did. If your impulse buying is really about something else, figuring out what that is may help you figure out how to redirect it to something that doesn't cost money. If it's just about wanting things, then maybe just finding a way to distract yourself with something else you also want or enjoy, something that costs less or (preferably) nothing -- like reading, or movies, or calling friend, and so on. Think of it like breaking any other habit, like smoking or biting your nails. It takes work, and mindfulness, and also a great deal of self-distraction or redirection. :)

I'm sending you good thoughts!!

Focus on paring down rather than adding to. Every day, go through a drawer, a closet, a box, and get rid of some things. Setting a daily goal, like 10 things, or five, or even two or three, will get you started. If it's more convenient, keep a box to collect the outgoing items (if they're donatable) and drop them off weekly. Declutter the heck out of your home and your life. Some people I know have also made a rule that for everything new that does come into the house, something they already have has to go out. Those are all ways of dealing with clutter, primarily, but I've found that when I'm working at getting rid of things the urge to get more things decreases. You'll also come across things that still have more value to you than you realized, like shopping your stuff. Set goals to use what you have before you can get any more, especially with crafting supplies (you should see my fabric and pattern stash!) And organize things so that you can see what you have. You'll be more likely to use it and maybe less likely to buy something you already have enough of.

Kareila is right about the merits of compulsive wishlist-keeping. I have a Delicious tag called 'shopping' in which I bookmark everything have a passing urge to buy, as a surrogate for actually buying it. When I have the money and want to splurge, or when someone asks me "what do you want for your birthday?" I then consult the shopping tag and see what still appeals to me and is within the budget. I also keep a wishlist at the Book Depository.

What also helps me is to think of it as a fun challenge, not deprivation. I like to see just how cheaply I can get something. For instance, if I want a book, first I check the online catalogue at the two nearest library systems, then friends and family who could loan it to me, and if they don't have it I'll compare AbeBooks and the Book Depository and see which one has it cheaper, including shipping.

For CDs and DVDs, if the library doesn't have them, online is usually cheaper than brick and mortar stores, so I just don't browse in brick and mortar stores any more.

For craft supplies, how's your stash? Could you work on trying to use it up before you buy anything more? Or if that's too hard, make a rule that for every new project you buy, you have to complete two existing projects?

Dead comm is dead cause I went and got myself into debt after getting myself out of it! Feeling a bit sorry for myself, but I'm back and making an effort again!
My suggestions? First, stop spending. Take your credit card out of your wallet and put it somewhere safe. Personally, I keep mine in the freezer in a block of ice--if I really, really need it, it takes 24 hours to defrost (can't microwave it, it fries the card). I've never had anything urgent urgent that's come up that's needed more notice than that.

Secondly, give yourself some slack. You say you've got $400 spare. Maybe put $200 of that on the credit card (an automated transfer as soon as your pay comes in?), and then $125 in a high interest savings account where you can't access it immediately (I use ING, but whatever has no fees/high interest). I actually find the "1 business day" thing works well for me. I transfer money in there, then schedule it for transfer out two days before my bills have to be paid. That way I do pay things, but I don't spend the money on other stuff.

Use the remaining $75 for luxuries. But don't them impulse luxuries. What everyone else has said with the craft stuff is right--make sure you finish two before you buy another one. Make lists. Plan your next purchase--you'll get so much more enjoyment out of that!

I've found that translating prices into time helps. "I make the equivalent of $x/hr. This item costs $2x. Would I be willing to work 2 extra hours for this item?". It helps me shift the focus to what things actually cost as opposed to just paying attention to whether I have enough money in the account for it.

re: books--You could spend the rest of your life reading free, high-quality ebooks, either with an ebook reader (something of an initial expense; call it $75-$150) or on your computer.

Finding them can be a bit of a search (which, if you decide you like hunting down free good ebooks, can distract you from other online shopping that costs money), but there's plenty of resources to get started.

I've kept my online purchases down by mostly using PayPal--and I don't have it tied to a credit card, so it takes 3-5 days for a deposit to clear and get added to the PayPal. When it gets low, I can't just jump it back up. (May not work for you. However, having a PayPal account that I've tagged as "this is for online stuff only," that doesn't connect to money-in-the-bank or money-on-the-cards, has helped.)

I've used the "this will cost me 2 hours of work" method with some success.

The advice already given is really excellent. Direct payment on your debt and putting the card somewhere not readily accessible both work very well, as does schooling yourself to read the books you've already bought and use up craft supplies on hand.

I give myself some mad money for internet spending by buying a Barnes & Noble gift card for $25 and a Visa pre-paid debit card for $50 three or four times a year. The money to buy these comes out of my cash pocket money, and I tend not to blow them because of having to scrimp just a little bit to buy them. It connects credit to real money that I've handled, and that does make a difference in curbing wasteful spending.

Going to your favorite internet stores and changing your credit card information to what's on your pre-paid card will bring the internet impulse buying to a screeching halt. It's a pain to have to switch it back, and that few minutes of delay is crucial to thwarting impulse buying.

I sometimes pretend I'm moving. Helps me both let go of things I no longer like/use but have sentimental attachment to, and (even harder) the things I haven't yet read/used but am unlikely to get to within the next couple of years.

It helps that I really, really hate moving. And in 2000 I did it twice, and then in 2008 I had to clean out my mom's house, which meant making hard choices about what I could realistically keep and still have room in my own pad for the other things that matter to me. :-/

For real, I think a lot of people are completely mistaken about "etsy and other places to buymycrap will keep me wealthy/having a steady income/be an actual means of making serious money". Truly, it depends on there being tons of people with ready cash who are dying to buy that stuff, and frankly, if everyone makes the same/close-enough sort of knitting/necklaces/remade teeshirts/whatever, and almost no one has a bunch of cash to spend on these same things which etsy proves many people can make at home quite easily, then...no capitalism for you. *shrug* I think that's a harsh truth which people simply are not seeing clearly. It's turned into sort of an economy of wishful thinking, and no steady "I do five hours work and I get $73.00 guaranteed" or whatever. So, I believe that taking that "Hey, I *might* sell serious stuff on etsy/ebay/whatever today, without completely changing my view and approach" view is not a recipe for guaranteed success, *if* it gives you the mistaken notion that you do/will/might have more income than you reallyreally have. Just something that I have found people to get in trouble with--good luck!