Closing 2014 – What I bought

In keeping with my wanting to switch to a more seasonal shopping approach, I am starting my shopping year on December 21rst, the first day of winter.  It’s very close to the calendar year anyway, but since I can tend to get technical, I want to make it a clear set starting point.  That means this year is wrapping up in 3 days.  Seems like a good time to take stock of last year’s purchases before going forward with next year’s shopping plan.

I ditched the two a month item limit ever since a halfway successful attempt at it the prior year (2013).  This was my first step in attempting to move away from a constant feed of items, by not making a monthly limit.  I wanted it to be more organic.  But . . . it didn’t really work either.  At least, not as well as I’d hoped.  Part of the issue is too much time on my hands, plain and simple.  When I am off work, I have WAY too much time to surf online, hunting down the next great thing.  When I get in the swing of a busy life, shopping naturally takes a step back in the priorities of my daily activities. So, when I’m working, the shopping automatically decreases.  Thank god!  lol

This last year I had no item per month limit but had a rough goal of around 30 or 40 items and under $2000.  Missed on both accounts.  But not by too much.  I bought 47 items and spent $2085.  Now, some of those items were flip flops for the pool to swim laps for my triathlon, and work uniform pants and shoes, but I counted them.  Some were birthday and Christmas gifts, that I bought with gift $$$, but I count those too.  The only thing I don’t count toward my item limit is gym/workout wear, sleepwear, and underwear (the 3rd picture listing items below the blue line).  Things not meant to be seen by the general public.  I do, however count those costs in my budget.  After all, they aren’t free!   Also in my budget are return shipping fees and alteration costs.

The major reason I went over budget was a need for a uniform update.  That was $50 of my $83.  I don’t tend to have too much trouble staying within a dollar budget.  My trouble has historically been just too many things coming in.

I did a little bit of reselling through both eBay and a local shop over the year. Revenue made from clothes sales was deducted from my total budget.  Those notations in the margins are either credits from resale or notes that the item was bought with gift $$.  Also, the color bars are yellow for worn once or not yet at all (bad) or red for sold off or purged (also bad).  I don’t want a lot of ‘churn’ in my closet.  I know not every piece is destined to be a closet all star or stick around for 6 or 7 years, but my personal goal is not be buying throw away fashion that is only worn a handful of times one season and then purged.

That said, we all make mistakes, and it’s only to be expected.  Actually I figure the only way to be mistake proof is to not take a risk.  That’s no fun either.  Last year’s mistakes account for about 10% of my items.  Not that bad, but 5% sure would be better!  I don’t have any set goals in this category.  Just want to be mindful and try my best to really think through purchases in the hope that mistakes become even fewer and further between.

That’s how I ‘spent’ my 2014, hee hee. The nitty gritty, down to the last sock.  I have a plan for 2015 and have already slated many of the items to be bought down the line.  Planning in advance, but still with plenty of leeway for items that strike my fancy on the spot.  My biggest change I want to affect is buying less.  I know I have enough.  But I also know I like clothes and want to have some new things each season.  The trick is in the balance.  My plan of having just enough slots to fill for each category before I’m done for the year I hope will help curtail the sheer amount of new coming in.  Here is what I, today, want to buy in the coming year.  It may change tomorrow, and then again next month.  That’s okay!  As long as I don’t buy more than the number of lines I have allotted, I can change my mind 20 times over.   Blue was bought ahead of time (oops!) with coming xmas cash I know I’ll be getting.  Actually the graphic sweatshirt is going to come up on eBay on the 21rst, so it’s not really jumping the gun.  If we’re getting technical and all . 😉

That’s 2014’s shopping summary.  Coming clean, as it were.  Did you have a plan?  A dollar budget or item limit or both?  Did you succeed?  If not, are you happy with the progress you’ve made?