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What I have learnt whilst being on my spending ban

LeahXL/ Makeup

Spending ban

At the beginning of this year I spent a lot of money on beauty products. So much so that I decided to go on a spending ban from the 16th February to the 23rd March (payday to payday) without buying any beauty (apart from essentials).

I know what you’re thinking? Why are you doing this? What are you trying to prove?

Well, I am in London on the 23rd and I wanted to make sure I wasn’t in a tight spot for cash. It’s always hard to be in London with no money.

Also, it’s Claires birthday and I really want to treat her to a nice meal and I hate worrying about money. I have already bought most of her presents too with a couple to pick up.

So I have a reason to save a little bit of my expendable cash flow.

The other thing you’re thinking is ‘Leah, it’s only makeup, can’t you just not buy makeup without making a big deal of it’ and actually, the other reason for doing this is because I wasn’t sure I could. There have been other times I have said I was on a spending ban and I couldn’t do it. I actually thought I might have a spending problem to be honest and even though we own our own  home and we can go out for meals and enjoy life together we don’t have a huge amount of money for luxuries.

I thought I would struggle so here is a run down of each week, how I was feeling at the time and how it feels now with only 3 sleeps to go.

Week 1) Usually this time it would be fresh payday wants. I would be looking for new beauty products to buy and making impulse buys. I noticed that Ofra was released on Beauty Bay so I definitely would have bought that in this week. I resisted, it was only week one and I was quite ok with my new amazing products so I didn’t have too much of a yearning.

spending ban 1

Week 2) This week wasn’t too hard. I was so very busy with work and I had no let up. It was difficult to get anything done. Also, an order I made before the ban came from TAM beauty so I didn’t feel like I was missing out so much on spending money.

spending ban 2

Week 3) I had run out of micellar water so decided to pick a new one up. I found one in Tesco for £3 and so far it’s been quite nice. It is unfortunately near the makeup stands in Tesco which I love to browse but luckily Claire was with me so I was able to keep moving to get the shopping done. It was the only thing I bought this week. I couldn’t believe I had made it through this week. I was over half way through. This really gave me a boost – 3 weeks was a record for me.

spending ban 3

Week 4) This was the week that the Style XL awards happened. I admittedly ordered some new clothes but that was ok due to the event and also with this being a makeup spending ban I wasn’t including the items of clothing. This was also the week that the Androgony palette came out from Jeffree Star and I was ready to buy it – it was in my cart and I knew I would miss out but I didn’t need it. So I closed the window on my macbook and walked away.

spending ban 4

Finally, week 5, with 3 sleeps to go) I am so pleased I did it. I thought I would crumble. I think I might try another non spending month after April’s payday up to our Anniversary – we are going away for a romantic weekend and I want to have enough money to enjoy a nice meal out and possibly go shopping so will set some time aside for that.

Anyway, for me, I think these are the tips I would give you if you want to try a spending ban:

  1. Keep yourself busy – I have such a full on job at the moment it really helps
  2. Shop your stash – go through the stuff you already have and start to mix it up a bit
  3. Find something else that grabs your attention – I have refreshed my instagram and it has really been a great focus for me
  4. Keep checking your bank account – seeing the money physically still there is great for motivation
  5. Remind yourself it’s just things – there is so much more important things happening in your life, things can take a back seat for a while

As for content for the blog – I have not been lacking. It’s actually made me really think about what I want on my YouTube channel and my blog and how to really invent good original posts.

Have you ever gone on a spending ban?

 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Megan at Lush to Blush says

    March 20, 2017 at 11:44 pm

    I totally need to go on a spending ban..for clothes and shoes! Lol. Good job!

    Reply
  2. Melanie says

    March 21, 2017 at 1:33 am

    Totally understand this!! For me keeping busy is deffo key. Thanks for sharing hun 🙂 x

    Reply
  3. Sarah Bailey says

    March 21, 2017 at 5:54 am

    Good on you for sticking to your ban, I’m sure it feels fantastic when you see all of the money still in your account. I think the idea of shopping your stash and finding something else to concentrate on are great tips x

    Reply
  4. Rachel Butler says

    March 21, 2017 at 7:58 am

    Well done on resisting!! I need to do this when it comes to candles and home fragrance! I have a proper addiction! Lol….my house smells like a Yankee Store! Xoxo #LeahXLUD

    Reply
  5. Stephanie Merry says

    March 21, 2017 at 9:56 am

    Well done on sticking to the ban – I’ve done a few in the past and they’re really tough! x

    Reply
  6. Harriet from Toby & Roo says

    March 21, 2017 at 9:56 am

    I’ve done a spending ban before and it’s amazing what you can save!

    Reply
  7. Ashleigh says

    March 21, 2017 at 2:21 pm

    Ahhhh I need to go on one of these spending bans soon! I can’t stop buying clothes on Depop!

    Reply
  8. StressedMum says

    March 21, 2017 at 5:18 pm

    Well done on your ban and hope you can keep it up, it is amazing just how good it feels when you see your savings start to grow x

    Reply
  9. Healthy & Psyched says

    March 21, 2017 at 7:25 pm

    Great idea!! I really need to go on a spending ban for food! I’m always buying things I don’t need!!
    I think keeping yourself distracted is a biggie for staying on track as well 🙂

    Reply
  10. Nital says

    March 21, 2017 at 8:11 pm

    Hi, it’s great to see I am not the only one. I am going to try and not buy skincare or makeup for the whole year. I have so much I need to use up. I will get something if I actually run out but that’s it. I do use my make up before the recommended months but I am loathed to through half used things away. I have had some lipstick for years and they are still fine!

    Reply
  11. Ana De- Jesus says

    March 21, 2017 at 8:17 pm

    I think the idea of a spending ban is something I need to do myself as I do not have any money and it would be nice to not be broke for a change lol. Well done you xx

    Reply
  12. Jodie Whitham says

    March 21, 2017 at 9:45 pm

    I’ve always been a saver and try to budget a lot. I can be bad when go shopping but don’t go a huge amount. I love buying makeup but tend to only buy what i need x

    Reply
  13. Helen says

    March 21, 2017 at 11:06 pm

    Well done on keeping up to your ban. I put myself on a spending ban last year, after realising I could do it it really changed how I spend my money now. Shopping my stash is one of my favourite things to do it’s amazing what you can find that’s been forgotten!

    Reply
  14. Rhian Westbury says

    March 22, 2017 at 9:31 am

    I’ve never been on a spending ban but I really think I should do one and either buy no beauty and clothes, or just limit how much I can spend a week to something small as I do spend a lot. Well done for getting through it x

    Reply
  15. Ladies Pass It On says

    March 22, 2017 at 9:57 am

    Funnily enough i have been curbing my cosmetic spending too and trying to make the most of the mountains I already have!!!

    Reply
  16. Becca says

    March 22, 2017 at 11:59 am

    Well done on not spending! I could do with taking a leaf out of your book!

    Reply
  17. anna nuttall says

    March 22, 2017 at 1:34 pm

    I’m on a spending ban at the moment. Just spent £70 on a dress. Haha so well done on your spending ba. xx

    Reply
  18. Jemma says

    March 22, 2017 at 1:56 pm

    Wow well done for sticking to your spending ban! Great tips too!

    Reply
  19. ERFmama says

    March 22, 2017 at 2:14 pm

    Some great tips! 😀 Sticking to a spending ban can be really hard – so well done!

    Reply
  20. Ciara says

    March 22, 2017 at 2:50 pm

    Haha I loved this post,I’ve never read a post like this before.Well done on not breaking your spending ban!

    Reply
  21. Tanya Brannan says

    March 22, 2017 at 5:19 pm

    Wow! Well done you as I know how much you love your make-up! I need to have a spending ban for the next couple of months as I really want to go away at the end of the year, Hope I am as successful as you have been xxx

    Reply
  22. MELANIE EDJOURIAN says

    March 22, 2017 at 8:48 pm

    Wow you did well lasting that long but it goes to show you that you can do it. I don’t buy anything very often other than food for the family so don’t need to worry about any bans at present.

    Reply
  23. Emma says

    March 23, 2017 at 1:31 pm

    Wow that’s willpower – to have something already in your shopping cart and then walk away from etc computer – I think this is a really important exercise – shows us just how impulsive impulse buys are and how we can live without them!

    Reply
  24. Rachel says

    March 23, 2017 at 4:19 pm

    I am quite good at spending bans I have to admit, but you do learn just so much x

    Reply
  25. Louise says

    March 23, 2017 at 4:59 pm

    Well done! I always take on similar challenges like this but I’ve never done an actual spending ban before – perhaps I should… x

    Reply
  26. Bsby Isabella says

    March 23, 2017 at 7:22 pm

    We had a spending ban before we were due to go on holiday as we needed to save for spending money x well done on getting through the last month x

    Reply
  27. Whatlauraloves says

    March 24, 2017 at 2:37 am

    I absolutely LOVE shopping my own stash as I always end up finding fabulous products that I hadn’t used in AGES!! xxx

    Reply
  28. angela milnes says

    March 24, 2017 at 4:05 am

    Money is emotional and it is very easy to let our emotions guide our decisions, which often leads to poor choices where we buy things to appease our feelings and to feel good.

    Reply
  29. emma white says

    March 30, 2017 at 3:57 pm

    I often put myself on a spending ban and it happens to be an ebay one at the moment as can be a little ott with clothes

    Reply

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