Death of a Shopaholic

I have been hearing about how irresponsible I am with money since I was old enough to have any – mostly from my dear old dad. At 21, I understand the value of a dollar…. I just choose to spend mine in ways that are less than necessary

Wouldn’t it be great to live in a world where that didn’t matter? Where I could buy ANYTHING I want and go ANYWHERE, ANYTIME? *Clicks heels hoping to go “home” to Paris Hilton’s life. * Well this is reality, where my soon to be bachelors degree has left me with nearly 200k in student loan debt. Fun Right?

Considering graduation is only 5 months away and that those lovely people at Sallie Mae will be barking up my tree in about a year, I figure it is time to start living on a budget. One of my new year’s resolutions is to “declutter my life,” and that clutter I am talking about is primarily the fruit of my online shopping habit. I took a close look at my spending in the last year and the amount of $50+ charges from Forever 21 (online of course) is actually embarrassing.

Because when I shop, the world gets better.

So here it is folks, the challenge of this post. NO MORE SHOPPING! I do not need anything other than bare necessities, i.e. shampoo, toothpaste, groceries. Obviously, I am not going to stop applying deodorant or eating Greek yogurt in the morning in hopes of expanding my savings account.

I broke down a little budget for myself based on stretching a paycheck that I got for a week of work put in before Christmas. My birthday is April 1^st, and the next time I will be allowing myself to shop frivolously.

Discounting the spending on things I cannot change (those necessities) stretching that budget out the next four months equates to spending…. *drumroll* $30.60 a WEEK!

For a girl who likes happy hour and going out to eat, this is going to be a tough one.

Wish me luck!

Sincerely,
Journey as Janelle