WHAT HAPPENED WHEN I TOOK A SPENDING HIATUS

Last year, I took a spending hiatus in January.

In the week between Christmas and the new year, I started on this list of things to clean and organize. On the surface, none of these items were budget breakers, but collectively, I had a lot of products and office supplies in reserves.

While I cleaned my cabinets and drawers, I found the following everyday objects

• hair ties in the double digits
• travel size toiletries
• facial cleansers and moisturizers
• Costco size toilet paper bundles
• Bobbie Brown eyeshadow sticks
• bags of cotton balls and Q-tips
• sticky notes, file folders, Sharpie fine point black pens.
• antibacterial hand wash in my car and anything with a pocket
• handbag size tubes of hand lotion
• a dozen pairs of readers in my car, handbag, office, kitchen drawer etc
• bottles of sunscreen

All of these are essential everyday items, but at some point, I went from ” I need” to “I will need at some point.”

I purchased the multi-pack sticky notes at Target, knowing I would use them at some point. It was the “I will always need them later” mentality.

The amount of unopened or half-used everyday products is what triggered my buying break.

The evidence of my slight online shopping addiction is evidenced in this entry closet. Did I really need a dozen foam soaps shipped for future holidays and seasons?

SPENDING HIATUS

On a whim, I decided to participate in a self-imposed spending hiatus. It was my version of Dry January, but a break from the $5 Target section (remember when it was the $1-$3) was where I convinced myself I needed a ceramic trivet for five dollars- so I bought two.

My spending hiatus started as a 30-day detox. I was on board after clearing out the must-have purchases of the past five years. Over time, I developed online shopping habits on daily deal sites like Jane.com and the eight-hour window for Amazon deliveries.

I found myself ordering items on Amazon before I went to bed. There are two things in that sentence that are bad habits: Amazon at bedtime.

My goal was to use what I had in my drawers and cabinets.

Visiting Homegoods in between showings or meetings had become routine. My goal was to avoid the familiar discount stores like Homegoods or TJ Maxx.

The places where I always dropped a “must have” item in the cart, the way Mary Richards tossed a pound of ground beef in the opening credits of the Mary Tyler Moore series.

Sidenote: I know my audience is split on the moms who know the MTM reference and the daughters who are like Mary who? My dad and I share a love of classic comedies. He watched the originals, and I caught up on the Peacock and Hulu.

I spent $35-$55 on items I deemed essential, like a second hair-drying towel in case my other one was in the wash. Or, the travel size hair products at TJ Maxx.

Or the rationale for a dozen low-ankle socks at Costco. Even though I had a dozen pairs in my sock drawer.

Not one to set goals and fail, I decided to break my goals into a manageable timeline. I started in the first week of January. I decided to curb my enthusiasm for Homegoods and TJMaxx. Here is what worked for me!

THE BENEFITS OF A SPENDING HIATUS

It turns out the opposite of spending on non-essentials is saving money. With a more robust checking account, I moved the difference into my everyday savings accounts to track my savings The savings are not life-changing or retirement money. But it was noticeable. And I loved tracking my savings.

What habit do you want to kick? Here are a few of mine from previous years:

How I kicked my soda habit.

How to lose those those love handles

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