The Completely Crazy 2013 Clothes Challenge

medsdemon

I can't believe I keep going into shops, picking things up then thinking, No, and putting them back. Long may it continue.

I'm up for mini challenges.

Freedom Friday tomorrow guys. What are you freeing up?

KT2802

Hi all - I am new to the forum and would love to join this challenge.
I have a shed load of debt and have decided this year that it is time I sorted it out.

Most of my debt has been racked up by shopping for clothes and shoes :embarasse

I have so many clothes that still have the label on and I dread to count how much underwear and pairs of shoes I own.

With this in mind, I am going to go extremely cold turkey and set my budget for the year at £120 i.e. £10 a month :eek: + any gifts for birthday/Christmas etc.

This will be incredibly challenging but I really don't need to buy anything - I have more than I need. I am going to put the money that I save into paying off my debts, plus I won't be getting into anymore debt from shopping!!

How is everyone getting on?

Mags30

I'm thinking that for a mini challenge we need to cut back on the underwear shopping (especially you CK!)

I'm thinking a possible reason for this habit is that underwear is very difficult to keep tidy/organised, therefore we tend to keep buying more instead of sorting through the mountains of it we already have.

I know I've been doing this with black opaque tights, I keep buying new and fresh pairs instead of sorting the tangled up mess that the pairs from the washing machine have become. Of course I should only be buying new pairs when I've thown out old pairs, a "1 in, 1 out" system.

Underwear is also a cheap and cheerful buy so I can understand why people buy it so much (that and socks) but we have to stop!!

KT2802

Mags30 wrote: »

I'm thinking that for a mini challenge we need to cut back on the underwear shopping (especially you CK!)

I'm thinking a possible reason for this habit is that underwear is very difficult to keep tidy/organised, therefore we tend to keep buying more instead of sorting through the mountains of it we already have.

Sounds like a good idea to me. I keep my underwear in a big box under the bed, which is overflowing :eek: I threw a bit away a while back but there is still an awful lot in there and I just seem to wear the same pairs repeatedly as I can't face rooting through it all!!

his_missus

Freedom Friday - well I tried and managed to find a bright, beaded necklace I've not worn for a while to add some colour to my black polo-black trousers combo. I was going to wear a pink and blue scarf I've not worn in ages but it seems one of the cats has been sneaking into my wardrobe and sleeping on it as it was covered in cat hairs.

fedupandskint

Not much of a Freedom Friday here due to the weather conditions - thought I'd better dress very sensibly today.

Took back the sale clothes for a refund so spends so far this year are

2 x jeggings £14
necklace and bracelet £2
necklace £2
necklace £2
Total £20

citizenkitten

his_missus wrote: »

:eek:173 pairs of undies???? You've enough for almost half a year without having to wash any. Imagine just doing an undies wash twice a year :rotfl:
.

+ Mags30 yeah i am not very proud though it is now quite funny, i had quite a lot to start then i put on about 2 stone in 6 months (hello depression!) part of it was i refused to acknowledge how big my boobs got because i have always been self conscious about them. like i kept buying bras in the wrong sie as if to convince myself they hadnt changed. then i accepted that fact, then i lost 2 stone gradually over a few years. ego 5 drawers of undies later...

they havent gotten back to their previous size but i cant bear to throw any of it out as I have literally worn them once or twice.... and HOPING that my boobs will shrink now i am losing the weight and getting back to excersizing.

GUYS ?? AM I DELUDED???

miss_empty_piggy wrote: »

Hello, I was wondering if I could join. I absolutely hate shopping.

I was hoping that I could join you guys and was wanting to set my budget at £200?

MORE THE MERRIER! i will add you tomorrow.

hermyam wrote: »

I've been thinking about trying to declutter/make some money by ebaying some stuff, but for some unfathomable reason I decided to search for my favourite brand of shoes. :drool: There are four pairs for sale in sizes that might fit me. Four!! :wall:

oo what is your fav brand??

on a different note, time for my first confession.....

I have bought the first item that I needed which was a very warm coat. I needed one that was a little beyond usual warmth as i work in a very cold environment and i go to work at 6am and come back 7pm ish. so unfort i was always going to need to spend some serious money. so i found a brand that was going to meet my needs, been sharking ebay.... found one....and bought it for

£210 inc post packaging !!!!!!!!!!!!:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

okay new they are around 450 quid, but still!

210/500.

oh well for once at least it was an item i needed. I hope it is money well spent.

i supose i should say there was one in my favourite colour (red) for 275 and i went for this one instead as cheaper. so does that make me good???

Blogger

Hello Everyone!

I had been reading this forum for a while now so today I decided to join as a user as well as join the challenge. Can I please join?

My challenge for 2013 is £0.

This does not include the tights. I just buy bog standard tights which do not last for long as I wear skirts & dresses almost every day.

My background: I am confessed Ex- shopaholic. I am 27 and I used to spend loads on clothes. I work in the office 5 days of week and have to look professional at all times. It does not matter if I wear same clothes over and over as far as they are smart, clean and presentable. Majority of £££ were spet on bags, shoes, suits and endless tops.

In 2012 I challenged myself to drastically reduce the spend which I successfully accomplished £7,000 to £500 (including skiing gear) hence I decided to push myself a bit further and spend nothing. I will aslo be sharing some tips to how I got there and what else I will be doing to achieve 0 spend in 2013. I have no debts and did not borrow money to buy clothes but saved none on those years. This year my spending and savings need in other areas increased so I have less money. Realistically I might need something as things get worn out but I decided I will sell something instead if that happens and use the money to buy so net spending from my income will be 0.

I am also looking forward to seeing how others get along and what they have to share

Good luck everyone!


January so far:



Desire No. 1 I have managed NOT to go for any sales shopping. I must admit it was very hard especially after having such tight 2012 when I was hoping to spend some at reduced prices. But after being 1 year in this mindset helped me in a way.

Desire No. 2 Really wanted to buy new coat as January is very cold in London, very windy! I also travel to Hertfordshire to work every day and they have full blown winter there . I used black coat from Zara in December but it just not warm enough. So to stop myself I sat down and logically thought about it : I need a very warm coat as it is cold out there BUT I only need for limited time. From home to the tube station (10 minutes x 2), from train station to office building (10 minutes x 2), from office building to canteen (10 minutes x 2) and occasional waiting on open platforms. So basically 1 hour every working day for 1.5 months roughly that is roughly 42 hours in total ( given 22/ 21 working days in a month)! Okay, I need it for weekend too but if I want to save money I better park at home for a weekend or bulk up and go out like that if I really need to! So I said to myself: it is not worth it! What I did instead was to shop my own closet and I will be doing this plenty this year. I got shearling coat bought 4-5 years ago. Slightly dated but it is still in a good condition and it is warm as it is real fur. I wanted to sell it on ebay but I reckoned that I would not get much for it. I cost $950 USD abroad and the brand is not well known in Britain. The problem was that it was a 1 size large at least so I made another hole on a belt and tightened it a bit and voila it did the job!

Blogger

Desire No.3 I really want leather satchel in tan brown colour. I am watching at least 5 satchels on ebay right now (2 already ended) but I know I can overcome this urge :eek: Why do I want it? Well I have brown boots bought in December 2011 and I have tote / handhold bag to wear with so satchel too would be nice. I have other colours but brown seem to be the only one I want But again, these boots probably going to go this year as I had been wearing them every day lately due to bad weather.

How should I stop myself wanting warm brown leather satchel?

think think think

KT2802

Welcome Blogger! I am new to this challenge myself. Just saw your thread on the debt free wannabie page too and wanted to say to you well done for posting.

I can imagine it must be really tough for you living in central London in terms of prices and I think it is admirable how you are helping your mum.

Good luck with the challenge and with money saving. I am similar in that I love buying clothes and am used to spending a lot of money on them. We are all in this together!!