How much money would you save if you didn't shop for a year? Next to "Are you crazy?" and "What will be your first post-rehab purchase?" that particular question is always part of any conversation involving 365 Fashion Rehab. We actually started our "Lust-Have" list to help us cost out what we would have spent if we had been shopping. Truth be told, who knows if we really would have made those purchases? We certainly don't! But fear not, we will be doing a "Lust-Have" tally at the end of the project and we will update you on what things we actually do buy!
So where do I stand financially right now? Well, first of all I have absolutely no retail debt on my credit card. I have really been able to see how the little things can add up. Lipgloss here, t-shirt there, handbags everywhere. Those things can go from an innocent $10 purchase to well into the hundreds on any given day. Our family budget was tight before Fashion Rehab began. To be completely honest... one of the reasons I was attracted to the idea of "going without" for one whole year was to try and create a diversion for the life I should have been already living (although maybe not as extreme). Once I stopped working we could no longer afford to indulge every whim. My man and I each used to earn a decent living, a combined income that I can now say that I took for granted. When our baby came along, my former career in sales, which involved working weekends and traveling every other month, did not bode well with a busy husband and breastfeeding infant. Someone had to stay home.
The expenses were fairly minimal at first with a newborn but now, as she is just months away from her second birthday, everything has changed. Baby E now requires sturdy shoes, meals fit for a queen, and has a social calendar that is more full than mine. So where has the "extra" money gone? Well, it has all gone to her. If I had been shopping over the past ten months would I have been able to resist Pierre Hardy shoes in the Gap while passing through to the baby side to buy onesies? I hardly think so. Will I be able to resist it in the future? I dare say I will be a tad more conscious of the lure to shop out of boredom/greed/instant gratification/self-esteem boosts etc. but not all of the time! It is amazing how someone so tiny can cost so much! And how deep (way deep) down you don't really seem to mind. I am happy to share with my little munchkin, I just look forward to that day in the near future when there can be a little more in the budget for me. Like 10% maybe? I think she would be okay with that, after all there will be a point when she will want me look the least embarrassing as possible. I fear for the day when she tells me I am too old to wear skinny jeans, but that is a whole other story.
Baby E and I on the beach last summer
So how much have I saved? Let's just say that the student loan is fait accompli, the credit cards have been reduced to next to nil, the baby is wearing sensible shoes, the husband is outfitted in proper Brooks Brother's shirts (bought at sale time, of course), and I have survived. At this point I guess that is as good as it gets.
Love, A
6 comments:
As I got up this morning and reached over the night table to get my blackberry... I opened up your fashion rehab blog of the day, and I can honestly say that I felt a sensation of tingling going through my body. I've read this blog with a sense of hope and a realization that Life Does Go On just because you are not shopping and accomplishments do EXIST if you are determined and stay focussed. Thanks A for this one because this will be my inspiration when I want to falter and break and go shopping.
Thanks again...this means alot...!!!
I love it Ali....(it's anja:)) It's what we do know because we are moms and they are all that matter!
If there was ever any fear that this whole experiment would be in vain, today's blog is proof that it most certainly won't be. To go to such extremes for the better of you and your family, there is little doubt in my mind that after this is all over you won't be a more conscious shopping version of your pre-rehab self. You've already decided what's most important to you and shopping isn't at the top the list anymore. You are an inspiration to fashionistas everywhere, but even more so, you are an amazing mom!
Love K xo
Thank you everyone for your support! It is true that life does go on without shopping but it can be hard coming to that realization (especially when the sun is shining and spring dresses and shoes are everywhere!). The reality of this project coming to an end, and the fact that we have made it this far, is truly one of the greatest triumphs of my life! Love, A
I really enjoyed this post! I enjoy watching What Not to Wear, and in the majority of episodes Stacey and Clinton are dealing with mothers who totally let themselves go while caring for their families - making sacrifices for everyone else. My own mother did that as well and has only in the past ~5 years started to rediscover her personal style. And I'm happy for her! It's great that you're learning new spending habits (and forcing yourself out of shopping is a great way to do so) so that you can take care of your family, but I'm confident that after rehab is over that you'll find that 10% in your budget that you can spend on yourself!
Thanks, Adelle! My mom was the same way. She always put her kids first and really only since I left home has she been able to spend money on herself and feel stylish (that is why I haven't minded "shopping" with her over the past year- she deserves it!).
I always said I would never be a mom that lived in her sweatpants 24/7, something I now know is way easier said than done. Cheers to our moms and our own very fashionable futures! Love, A
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