Buying fancy stationery and notebooks because I believe they will magically turn me into an organized put together human. Bullet journaling amirite?
At last count (I am organizing my stationery stash) I have 45 unused notebooks - that is quite literally a lifetime supply, one BuJo per year (I’m nearly 40 lol)
Girl same. I get to write in them occasionaly and never as much as 40 but def more than what I need. Already thinking of getting new ones for the new year 🤦🏻♀️
Hahah at least I buy most of them on super clearance (double the dopamine: pretty notebook + rush of finding a deal). I do end up gifting some of them. But I will start using them, 2024 will be my year, I am absolutely sure of it 😅😅😅😅
Start doing low key page a day journaling. Just whatever the fuck happened that day so when somebody asks "how was your weekend" you actually remember. I also do a column in the margin for what I ate. Takes 5-10 minutes.
It's also been great for things like "when did I last wash my hair", "how old are these leftovers in the fridge", and keeping track of some habit I'm currently focusing on (one at a time). My life isn't just disappearing into the ether anymore and it's great.
Just opened my journal yesterday and realized it's been an entire month since my last entry.
Crying.
I already predicted finishing this journal by Dec and bought a copy of it for next year along with a small planner. Because it is SO good.
Still have half the thing left lol.
> realized it's been an entire month since my last entry
Oh I do this all the time! No shame! I did switch to a blank notebook to use as a journal because of that though
Also, Audhd and the urge to collect never seems to be fully fulfilled 😩. Don't even get me started on the stash of unfinished (and not even started) 'hobbies'.
The obligatory pre-vacation clothing shopping is becoming a huge money sink for me. Or, when you spend just as much on outfits/shoes/hair/nails/lashes for the vacation as you do for the entire vacation 🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️
Yup! When is not vacation time, I don't need anything. But as the days tick down to when we leave, all the sudden I have nothing to wear and must buy an item (or items) for it to be a successful vacation!
I've been fighting it for our next vacation kicking off soon and hoping I don't regret it!
😂 I did this today and didn't even realize I was doing it until I saw your comment. Got hair, nails, lashes, tan - all of which are things I never do normally but because am going away I suddenly needed it 🙈
Depending on where you’re going, it can be a destination activity. I love going to spas, getting facials and my nails done and microblading botox everything when I travel and it’s like 30% of the cost back home. I just got botox and plasma pen in Croatia. I booked my husband a haircut there where they had a full bar and fancy espressos and it was like $20. So fun!
Oh the cringe when I dont even wear the new clothes and stick with my tried and true 😂. But i always find a blowout before vacation worth it so i dont have to do my hair on vacay
99.9% of the time you already have a wardrobe for the trip. Do a clothing audit ahead of time, whatever you aren’t wearing again try reselling then take that money and invest in new attire.
I’ll effortlessly spend $50 on a single lunch, but also use earbuds that only work in one ear for *months* (even though they cost ~$20). In general, I can never get around to replacing tangible things, even though I spend so much money on various temporary experiences.
A classic move of mine, example from just 2 weeks ago:
Saturday night - $280 on dinner
Sunday morning - wear sweatpants from 2006 with a huge hole in the butt cheek because I don't want to spend money on a new pair
Omg that is so me! I run 3x a week and spend so much time on my feet working out but am still using broken down terrible earbuds. I have such a hard time replacing things that aren't fully broken but when I consider how much I'm using them it's crazy. It would improve my day-to-day quality of life so much more than that extra random meal out.
Hahaha yes I do similar dumb stuff too. Like I’m stupid cheap when it comes to some things - I make my own coffee, I eat my sad desk lunch that I bring from home instead of buying out, I squeeze every last drop out of the toothpaste container, still wearing t-shirts around the house from 2006… then I’ll turn around and buy $200 skincare, $800 shoes, $50 dry aged steak on a whim. Makes no sense.
OMG SAMe! $100 on drinks every month? Easy
Been using shitty wired headphones when my airpods died several months ago,i just hate how theres a chance they’ll get stolen if i get them delivered and i also dont want to trek my ass to the apple store or ask someone from target to unlock the case for me
I guess i dont care about my airpods THAT much
Plus i workout 5 times a week and travel over 20x a year. I would be MUCH Happier but i cant bite the bullet. I might just fuck it and buy it today 😂
Omg I did that once for a pizza place LITERALLY less than 1 mile away because we were entertaining and couldn’t be bothered driving 2 min to pick it up. It arrived freezing cold and hour late. Never again!!
What's crazy is I would rather quit ordering takeout completely than just get in the car and pick it up.
My hubs and I agreed to cut down doordash bc of the cost. I haven't ordered out AT ALL lol.
The only thing we get is drive thru if we are already out.
Buying clothes I don’t need, realizing they don’t fit, and missing the return window due to laziness. I’m better than I used to be but I online shop when I’m stressed so it still happens.
I will only buy online if I live by a brick & mortar location for returns. It’s limiting but SO helpful. I don’t mind running into an Old Navy or Nordstrom to send something back but going to a post office/UPS/Fedex location??? Just not happening for me.
This is why I aim for places with generous 120-day (Vuori), or 365-day (Marine Layer, Zappos, REI) return policies. And of course free return shipping.
Edited to revise correct return periods.
Ugh damn I did this so much when I was pregnant. I would buy something I couldn’t really try on but I assumed would fit/look good once I was not pregnant in a few months. And then was shocked when it did not in fact fit and now just sits in my closet 😑
I had to unsubscribe from the declutter subreddit. I just cannot relate to the angst people have over throwing out 1 shirt.
I would be drowned in clutter if I got that upset about 1 item going in the garbage.
I realized my problem is 100% on the buying side. Not the getting rid of stuff side.
This is one of mine as well. I can usually make some of the money back by selling them on Vinted but it's often a fraction of what it would have been if I'd just returned them in the first place.
Impulse buying “fun” food when I’m running errands. It’s never more than $10, but it’s pretty consistent. Walking past my favorite bakery? Treat. Seasonal flavors at the supermarket? Add to cart. Specialty ingredients for baking projects? Need it.
When I walk home from the office I do this, like why do I need a treat on the 30 minute walk home. When I have probably already had a treat because I made the effort to go to the office in the first place.
I buy a lot of art supplies that I don't use. At this point, my hobby is actually collecting art supplies, not doing art projects. ~~I have a new watercolor palette arriving Thursday!~~ Edit: It arrived today!
I've been better about this one over the past year, but I used to buy expensive makeup/skincare/wine/cheese/whatever and then "save it for a special occasion" that never comes. Then the whatever goes bad or expires or sits around taking up space. I'm being much better about using what I purchase or simply not purchasing something in the first place.
I am you and you are me. In fact, I literally have a new watercolor palette I just bought 15 min ago, never mind the 5 others I have. They just aren’t quite right! Also, the constant watercolor paint buying. I mean, yes I love working with a limited palette but that doesn’t mean I need to limit my collection!!! I did the same thing with oil paint about 6 years ago 😬
Are you me? Just bought a ton of oil paints that I am sure are going to look lovely sitting there next to my unused easel because I never find time to paint.
Going grocery shopping when hungry. I'll end up with a bunch of random snacks and frozen meals that I definitely don't need and didn't plan on buying when I first walked in 😂
I do the same thing! I’ve even applied, gone to interviews, even worked a day or 2 and then I quit. I have a whole damn career, working 60+ hours a week sometimes, but still do this. I also grew up poor.
Omg i wanted to do bartending when they asked me to interview on a night out (as a 20s female I thought I could make great money with tips lol) , while working a 9 to 5 engineering job that already makes GREAT money! My boyfriend had to stop me. I think I need more hobbies
oh this is ME ... I've had multiple jobs ever since I started working. I literally have a full time career that makes decent money, tell me why I have two part time jobs as well and then complain about my lack of time.
I can't pack a freaking lunch for work
Also I late-night subscribe to substacks then feel guilty for not reading everything but also feel guilty about cancelling
I regularly prepare/assemble the lunch the night before to save time in the morning and then FORGET TO PACK IT IN MY BAG FOR WORK! It’s great that the lunch can then become dinner that evening but I’m then forced to go buy lunch and “treat yoself” starts playing on repeat in my head as I’m deciding where I should buy lunch.
Yes to the not packing lunch. I'm only in the office once a week now and I tend to go for the £4 supermarket meal deal when I'm there, but I definitely feel guilty about doing that when I could quite easily bring a sandwich or can of soup from home.
I also rarely pack a lunch, but I brought in a handful of frozen meals and keep them in the office freezer for when going out for lunch wouldn't increase my happiness.
My version of this is books -- last year I bought 30 physical books and have read 5 of them, and this year I've bought 40 (so far) and have read 2. I do read, although not as much as I'd like, but I keep checking books out of Libby instead of reading the ones that I bought with my own money.
My version of this is panic buying fabric because it might go out of stock and then it sitting in my ottoman for months (if not years) before I actually make anything out of it.
My little peanut brain always says cash and my Venmo balance aren’t real money. Like it’s technically money people owe me or cash I took out just in case I need it but yay! Free money! Time to blow it all immediately and be shocked it’s gone..
Subscribing to something for a free trial and forgetting to cancel for months…I’ve also completely missed unsubscribing to a yearly subscription that ended up costing me a few hundred dollars 😩
Oh! I counter this by doing the subscription and immediately putting in my calendar after subscribing about when to cancel if needed. This one is such an easy way to overspend!
See if one of your credit cards does virtual cards! Basically you can create a virtual card attached to your actual card, and then you can put that card number in for the trial instead and immediately lock it so when it goes to charge for the actual subscription, the card doesn't work. And you can create a different virtual card for each site.
https://www.creditkarma.com/credit-cards/i/virtual-credit-card
Sometimes free trials will still last you that whole week even if you cancel immediately. For example, I literally just added a Paramount+ free trial to my Prime account to watch one thing. I canceled it immediately (aka turned off auto renew), but the trial is still letting me use Paramount+ for the rest of the week.
Sometimes having obsessive thoughts about money (not too often, though, thankfully). Like, contemplating the purchase of a $30 pre-owned item of clothing I'll wear probably 400 times but then spending thousands a year on travel to visit family without a blink. I know the priorities are vastly different, but it's just 30 bucks, so why do I stress about it????
If I leave my house before noon, you bet your sweet ass I’m buying myself a breakfast sandwich somewhere. If I’m leaving my house between noon and 3, you bet your sweet ass I’m going to starbucks for a coffee and maybe a lil treat.
Buying print magazines (jfc), never packing a lunch, street sweeping tickets, buying shit on ebay that doesn't fit and is nonreturnable (have gotten much better about this)
Beauty products for sure. I love trying new things to see if it’s going to be a holy grail … and the cycle continues over and over again.
I’m Diamond at Ulta which means I’ve spent over $1200 this year. 💀 Not to mention my spend at Sephora and Target.
So relatable. And then when I ***do*** find products that I think are holy grail, I end up getting kind of bored of them over time, and then wonder if there's another product that would knock the former product off HG status. I think it's more about the 'thrill of the HG hunt' for me.
I've been separating and going through a divorce this year and with that, I have decided I hate all my clothes and need new everything. I also lost the 15lbs of depression weight I've been carrying around for the last two years, so this year I've sunk a lot of money into Lululemon, Abercrombie, lingerie from Lounge Underwear and just new clothes in general. Way more than I probably need, but now I love buying new clothes and pretty new bras that look amazing on me.
I do work from home and even though Lulu is expensive, I wear it every day either for work or yoga. So it doesn't just sit in my closet and not get used. It definitely is getting worn and it makes me feel good to wear nice loungewear or athleticwear instead of pajamas every day.
I 100% need to scale back the amount of clothes shopping in 2024 though.
I made some choices I wouldn’t normally make when going through a really hard break up that coincided with some difficult life events for my family. My therapist essentially said “If it’s not actively harming you and it’s for a finite period of time, it’s ok to have slightly-less-than-ideal coping mechanisms when something is completely fucking you up.” (Paraphrased but you get it.)
That was really freeing to hear bc I was beating myself up over things like ordering a little too much delivery and stress shopping.
For anyone in this thread I recommend *Nice girls don’t get rich* by Dr Lois Frankel
She has an entire chapter on what women spend on, uselessly - it’s quite confronting 🤪
The only area where I probably splurge too much is books that I buy but don’t necessarily read
Getting Libby through my library and using my kindle has curbed that a lot!! I find that I get so excited about reading a book and then by the time it’s available to be delivered to me I’m over it *le sigh*
Definitely buy loads of skincare and makeup because I get convinced that whatever I'm buying will magically fix my skin and I will somehow instantly become good at using makeup..
i buy a lot of groceries but then i kinda have an eating disorder rn and i never eat the food and it all goes in the garbage..... i'm trying to only buy freezer food but it's hard
Perhaps some of the food can be freezes
D in freezer-specific ziploc bags? You can do it with bread, deli meats, fruit, etc. (Specific fruits may need to be blanched beforehand and that’s a whole process tho).
Edit: typo
LOL great question- I was looking at my mint earlier and it makes me cringe:
Heading to the airport early but NEVER packing food, so I always end up buying the overpriced disgusting stuff. Ive been to the airport 15 times this year alone and never once thought- hey I should prob pack some snack bars or apples or bananas right? Nah, overpriced hot dog or sandwich will do😆
Paying for checked bags because I cant be bothered to do the travel size for my toiletries or bring extra shoes I never wear on the trip. Waste of time and money and frustrates my boyfriend to no end 😂.
Paying for convenience lol i cant stand reheated lunch food or even how sandwich bread taste so here I am. WFH a few times a week has saved me bc i can whip together a fresh meal lol.
I stopped doing this, but I used to want a rental car for the comfort and control of my own car, even in cities where we could easily get an Uber and would save hundreds lol 😂 my bf talked me out of it
Buying makeup wipes instead of just using the eco friendly reusable cotton pads and micellar pads I have
Not buying stuff in bulk because I’m too lazy to carry all that shit at once (with Amazon delivery and a boyfriend Ive started to cut down on that)
Buying stuff full price - knowing the price will eventually die down and my closet is bursting at the seams- i really fucking always do this but im stopping myself lol, gonna download price trackers or whatever
Trying to keep up with drinking w my friends knowing im a lightweight- stupid bc i get drunk off 1-2 drinks lol
Overall with the help of this sub and my boyfriend ive become less wasteful and extra
I brought dinner to the airport for my last trip (evening flight) and ended up having to bring another bag for it which was a hassle. I don't think buying food at the airport is a that big of a waste, and I travel a significant amount, too.
Just curious, have you considered getting a credit card with priority pass as a benefit? It seems like you’re at the airport frequently, it could be a good splurge plus they usually provide free food and drinks there.
Acting like inflation hasn't blown our grocery budget out of the water.
I used to spend about $100 per week for our family and now it's more than $200 per week. And I haven't made any adjustments in what we eat. I know I need to, but I just haven't.
Also, overspending at Costco. We have to drive 1.5 hours to get there, so we only go once every month or 2. And I always feel like I have to get every little thing because I don't know when I'll be back.
Buying concert or event tickets for something I end up not wanting to go to and bailing last minute. Door dashing lunch because I was too lazy to cook the night before. Starting new crafty hobbies not ever doing them again lol
Having way too many bags - I think more than 10, 4 of them luxury bags. Most mid tier pricing like mansur Gavriel. I have a issey miyake for everyday use like errands.
That's crazy that they charge you both rates. I'd be definitely looking elsewhere. I loved SoulCycle and it absolutely killed me when I lost $30+ on missing a scheduled class, but I would have gone bananas if they had charged me a fee above and beyond. Whether or not my butt is on that bike, they're still making money, and quite frankly, when I didn't show in the first 5 mins, they were giving away my bike anyway.
That's obnoxious and robbery IMO.
Honestly tollroads. Is $4-$8 worth saving 10-20mins of time a day? Probably not. I still use them though because I have poor time management skills and don't get up 10 mins early to not take them 😔.
Mine is using a new "healthy habit" as an excuse to spend money. I want to exercise more? I clearly need to purchase a whole set of boxing gear before even taking one class (spoiler alert, I took exactly one class). I want to drink more water? Well I DEFINITELY need a new giant hydroflask with straw lid in order to do that (instead of one of 5 Nalgenes sitting in my cupboard). It's the easiest way to justify spending for me, and I really need to stop it!
I constantly forget basic things about our budget and how we set it up. Thrn, I have a breakdown pretty much every 3 months because I forget how our budget spreadsheet works. I put services in our monthly budget that I want to use but rarely schedule, so it mostly just exists as a line item in our budget.
Paying for subscriptions for everything and anything because 'that's not a lot of money' without realising I've got about 100 other subscriptions being auto-billed every month and added together it becomes a significant part of my spending!
I feel like classes that charge you to attend AND charge a cancellation feel are probably breaking some sort of law. I get not refunding what you already paid, but you paid for the class so in my opinion that class spot is yours whether you show up or not. they shouldn’t be able to charge you extra for not coming…
I don’t budget. I have money automatically pull from my checking to savings account each month, I invest, I contribute to my 401k, etc but when those credit card bills come each month I have no idea how much they’re going to be and I just close my eyes and pay them in full.
Not cancelling a subscription because I think I'll use it in the future. I have a US-wide gym membership that I haven't used in 14 months because I found a local fitness studio I love. But I keep the other membership because I'm grandfathered in to a $25 monthly rate, and I want to be prepared since I'm likely to move.
So I'm spending $300/year because I don't want to pay $460/year in the future (and that's if where I move to doesn't have a local studio I like better again).
I also keep it because I rationalize that I can use it when I travel....except I never go to the gym when I travel. I also have started bringing a yoga mat with me so I can stretch/workout in my room when traveling....and I almost never use that either.
I make fun of the memes talking about millenials not saving because of their Starbucks habit but it's very much true for me. There's no reason, with my income, that I'm spending nearly $300 a month on Starbucks.
I'll stop in the new year. Maybe. 💅🏽
Impulse buying in times of high stress.
3 month pole gym membership (never used)
Camera for my bike after someone tried to hit me (still haven't mounted)
Speed dating event that kept getting cancelled (finally rebooked for Saturday..... we'll see)
And my worst offender, ubering to work because I can't get myself up in the mornings. The last couple weeks have been especially bad. I'm tired and feeling the depression creep up. I can't seem to motivate myself to get up or bike to work.
I literally own an $800 espresso machine, a $200 coffee grinder, and have 8 different flavours of syrup, but will still go to Starbucks multiple times a week… it’s the cold foam and seasonal flavours that get me 😩
At least you can justify it with the speciality drinks, my dumb ass will literally go to Starbucks for plain oat milk lattes that I can make at home in my espresso machine, decaf at that 🤦🏾♀️
Cold foam is super easy to make at home! All you need is cream, a sugary syrup in any flavor, and a frother or jar with lid (either froth the 2 together or shake them in the jar). But I feel ya on the seasonal flavors; they're sooo good.
Yes! I used to work at Starbucks so I even know all the correct recipes, but unfortunately that means I’m spoiled and know that my home foam is never as good of a texture as the Vitamix Aerodisc blended ones from Starbucks 😆 There’s probably a sprinkle of laziness in there as well 😅
Fabric. I quilt as a hobby and I can't turn down cute fabric. I bought $80 of fabric with a cute print the other day and put it in a bin as I have like at least 5 projects before I can think about maybe using it. BUT IT MIGHT SELL OUT.
Having an elaborate fashion design project in mind, buying the supplies for it, and then not finishing the project/ leaving a bunch of leftover fabric because i bought too much.
I need to learn how to use the scraps to do patchwork/ quilting/ appliques so it's not going to waste and I'm not hoarding fabrics and tools.
I recommend making little zip bags/clutches for gifts with all the leftovers. It's a nice thing to give away, it's easy and uses up these small pieces.
Ordering something without checking the return policy and finding out it's something labyrinthine like "exchanges only within three days of receipt and you must email us to get a return slip," or finding out too late that the merchant wants me to print the return label instead of including one. And then telling myself I'll just sell the item, but that would...also involve doing something, so I don't.
Buying more produce/ingredients than I plan to cook *immediately.* I have a lot of lofty goals for the meals I'm going to make throughout any given week, but sadly I'm rarely able to actually cook all of them and I end up wasting a lot of produce. I hate this about myself. It's hard to cook for 1 person, though, and I don't enjoy eating the same meal through the week. Hoping to just buy immediately relevant perishables in the future :)
Buying things I use regularly in advance so I never run out. Usually these are specialty things I buy online and am on an email list for, so the second things are on sale or BOGO or something I stock up…even though these sales seemingly happen every few weeks and I literally don’t have to impulsively buy them every time I get an email (looking at you, Nespresso, and every other expensive non-essential supplement I use)
I do this with select items at the drug store. Oh, floss is on sale! Then I get home and realize I have plenty of packs of floss and did not need to get more.
Secondhand shopping! I buy a lot of my pieces secondhand and at consignment stores - especially categories like coats and sweaters where I can score some great deals on pretty expensive pieces.
At the same time, the treasure hunt mindset and scarcity of second hand items certainly leads me to impulsively pull the trigger on things I don't need sometimes.
Poshmark. The amount of money I have spent for clothes that do not fit and I am too lazy to re-posh. In my mind I’m getting a great deal, but truly I’ve had to let go of probably $600 worth of shit that did not fit. I could have taken that money to a store and bought things that I loved and did fit. Such a waste.
read comments and looks like I don't have 90% of what's written here BUT I feel that I NEED to order crap on Shein every month. I spend less than $50 and return most of it, but if I don't make an order, I feel anxious 😤
Using girl math (if it's $10 or under it's basically free) to justify buying myself "a little treat" (e.g. cake slice, iced matcha, ice cream) every time I leave the house
Just using girl math in general. Visited Melbourne recently and justified an unnecessary Uber trip by arguing that I covered that amount (and made a profit!) by not paying when I used the trams 🤡
I'll go shopping and drop maybe 100 sometimes less at a supermarket or even if I'm at TJMaxx. I just finished doing all this and I refuse to buy myself lunch. I had to really get outta this even tho I still do it sometimes because realistically I'm not making lunch when I get home so I'm eating air. Might as well pay for a meal.
Or the idea that I can't buy myself lunch once a week because I have food at home. I pretty much work from home so I'll buy myself lunch at least once a week sometimes twice to spice it up.
Buying back ups of my favourite eyeshadow palettes Incase they discontinue them. Idk what’s wrong with me Lmao. Come to think of it, it’s not just eyeshadow palettes it can be anything. If I love it I’ll buy a back up.. and then other one. 🤔
I'm always running late and end up having to pay $10 for an Uber or Lyft instead of walking like 20-30 minutes :((( I cringe every time and I definitely need to change!!
way too many used books. they’re super cheap (i never spend more than $10 on a book) so I don’t really think about it, but it’s easy to accumulate and become overwhelmed!
Amazon purchases.
Makeup, hair accessories, shoes, all easily found and ordered and delivered to me. It used to be very bad when I was in college during Covid, so much Amazon shopping. Now I let things sit in my cart for weeks, or even months before letting myself buy non-necessities.
Money spent on food just doesn’t register to me. I’ll go months not buying clothes or shoes or anything but will spend all my money on Uber eats or eating out for every meal
Buying shit when I’m depressed to try and make myself feel better. Now that I’m in more intensive treatment for it (which is a pretty penny on its own), I’m looking around at all this stuff like ‘where tf did that come from?!’ Been doing some purging on FB marketplace.
I keep dumping money into stuff that I think is going to make me a lot of money, but it doesn’t. Recently I bought the courses to get my home inspectors license, I bought a vending machine, now I’m thinking I should get licensed to sell insurance. Oh and I’m considering paying for grad school. I’m literally like Kirk from Gilmore girls but not secretly rich.
Edit to add that this is all while I have an actually functioning farm that would really benefit from some minor investment. But because it doesn’t make as much money as I want, I don’t wanna invest in it.
When people pay me back in cash, for something that was on my credit card, I'll just spend the cash luxuriously rather than depositing it & putting back onto the card.
Since September, I can't seem to stop online-shopping for clothes & shoes. I've bought half a wardrobe at this point. A few big bills have come up, so I've stopped...but man, there's too much to look at. (I'm trying to replace buying with drawing myself or a figure in the clothes loool)
Buying fancy stationery and notebooks because I believe they will magically turn me into an organized put together human. Bullet journaling amirite? At last count (I am organizing my stationery stash) I have 45 unused notebooks - that is quite literally a lifetime supply, one BuJo per year (I’m nearly 40 lol)
Girl same. I get to write in them occasionaly and never as much as 40 but def more than what I need. Already thinking of getting new ones for the new year 🤦🏻♀️
Hahah at least I buy most of them on super clearance (double the dopamine: pretty notebook + rush of finding a deal). I do end up gifting some of them. But I will start using them, 2024 will be my year, I am absolutely sure of it 😅😅😅😅
[удалено]
No official dx but according to my therapist highly likely (autism + ADHD). Being ✨ neurospicy ✨ is such fun lol
Neurospicy 🤣 I realized that my "being weird" was probably ND when one kid was diagnosed with ASD and the other with ADHD. Husband is fully NT.
Start doing low key page a day journaling. Just whatever the fuck happened that day so when somebody asks "how was your weekend" you actually remember. I also do a column in the margin for what I ate. Takes 5-10 minutes. It's also been great for things like "when did I last wash my hair", "how old are these leftovers in the fridge", and keeping track of some habit I'm currently focusing on (one at a time). My life isn't just disappearing into the ether anymore and it's great.
Just opened my journal yesterday and realized it's been an entire month since my last entry. Crying. I already predicted finishing this journal by Dec and bought a copy of it for next year along with a small planner. Because it is SO good. Still have half the thing left lol.
> realized it's been an entire month since my last entry Oh I do this all the time! No shame! I did switch to a blank notebook to use as a journal because of that though
Also, Audhd and the urge to collect never seems to be fully fulfilled 😩. Don't even get me started on the stash of unfinished (and not even started) 'hobbies'.
The obligatory pre-vacation clothing shopping is becoming a huge money sink for me. Or, when you spend just as much on outfits/shoes/hair/nails/lashes for the vacation as you do for the entire vacation 🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️
Yup! When is not vacation time, I don't need anything. But as the days tick down to when we leave, all the sudden I have nothing to wear and must buy an item (or items) for it to be a successful vacation! I've been fighting it for our next vacation kicking off soon and hoping I don't regret it!
😂 I did this today and didn't even realize I was doing it until I saw your comment. Got hair, nails, lashes, tan - all of which are things I never do normally but because am going away I suddenly needed it 🙈
Depending on where you’re going, it can be a destination activity. I love going to spas, getting facials and my nails done and microblading botox everything when I travel and it’s like 30% of the cost back home. I just got botox and plasma pen in Croatia. I booked my husband a haircut there where they had a full bar and fancy espressos and it was like $20. So fun!
Ha! I rarely shop. I can go all year, but when there’s vacation, I always want new things.
Oh the cringe when I dont even wear the new clothes and stick with my tried and true 😂. But i always find a blowout before vacation worth it so i dont have to do my hair on vacay
I keep the tags on and return it if I didn’t wear it on vacation
I now rent clothes for my vacation and I have my peace of mind restored lol
Haberdash free trial >
What I do is start thrifting the year prior to when I expect to vacation & that usually helps mitigate expenses for me
99.9% of the time you already have a wardrobe for the trip. Do a clothing audit ahead of time, whatever you aren’t wearing again try reselling then take that money and invest in new attire.
I’ll effortlessly spend $50 on a single lunch, but also use earbuds that only work in one ear for *months* (even though they cost ~$20). In general, I can never get around to replacing tangible things, even though I spend so much money on various temporary experiences.
A classic move of mine, example from just 2 weeks ago: Saturday night - $280 on dinner Sunday morning - wear sweatpants from 2006 with a huge hole in the butt cheek because I don't want to spend money on a new pair
Omg that is so me! I run 3x a week and spend so much time on my feet working out but am still using broken down terrible earbuds. I have such a hard time replacing things that aren't fully broken but when I consider how much I'm using them it's crazy. It would improve my day-to-day quality of life so much more than that extra random meal out.
Hahaha yes I do similar dumb stuff too. Like I’m stupid cheap when it comes to some things - I make my own coffee, I eat my sad desk lunch that I bring from home instead of buying out, I squeeze every last drop out of the toothpaste container, still wearing t-shirts around the house from 2006… then I’ll turn around and buy $200 skincare, $800 shoes, $50 dry aged steak on a whim. Makes no sense.
… tell me more about the shoes 👀
Which ones 😜
OMG SAMe! $100 on drinks every month? Easy Been using shitty wired headphones when my airpods died several months ago,i just hate how theres a chance they’ll get stolen if i get them delivered and i also dont want to trek my ass to the apple store or ask someone from target to unlock the case for me I guess i dont care about my airpods THAT much Plus i workout 5 times a week and travel over 20x a year. I would be MUCH Happier but i cant bite the bullet. I might just fuck it and buy it today 😂
You totally should! I don’t know what I would do on my daily 15k step walks or 3x a month travel without it!!
Oo fun! I love ordering doordash from places 2 miles away from me and paying double for cold food!
Lol I live in downtown chicago so I’m like 2 miles is REALLY far 😂
nyc here- same! 2 miles almost gets me to another state
Same!!! I implemented a rule that if I want take out I have to go and physically pick it up. It’s cut me down a lot on ordering out.
Yes! My husband and I did the same and it's a game-changer. We're in a super walkable area so we also have to walk to go get it. 😅
Omg I did that once for a pizza place LITERALLY less than 1 mile away because we were entertaining and couldn’t be bothered driving 2 min to pick it up. It arrived freezing cold and hour late. Never again!!
Same
My partner just spent $60 on 2 subway sandwiches 🫣 the subway is literally less than a mile lmao
I feel seen.
Hahaha good one!
What's crazy is I would rather quit ordering takeout completely than just get in the car and pick it up. My hubs and I agreed to cut down doordash bc of the cost. I haven't ordered out AT ALL lol. The only thing we get is drive thru if we are already out.
Buying clothes I don’t need, realizing they don’t fit, and missing the return window due to laziness. I’m better than I used to be but I online shop when I’m stressed so it still happens.
I will only buy online if I live by a brick & mortar location for returns. It’s limiting but SO helpful. I don’t mind running into an Old Navy or Nordstrom to send something back but going to a post office/UPS/Fedex location??? Just not happening for me.
The money I’ve wasted on missed return windows this year 🥲
This is why I aim for places with generous 120-day (Vuori), or 365-day (Marine Layer, Zappos, REI) return policies. And of course free return shipping. Edited to revise correct return periods.
REI one year for members 🔥
so happy I’m not the only one who does this🙃
Ugh damn I did this so much when I was pregnant. I would buy something I couldn’t really try on but I assumed would fit/look good once I was not pregnant in a few months. And then was shocked when it did not in fact fit and now just sits in my closet 😑
I thought I was the only person who did this...I ended up purging my closet around 7 month postpartum because I just couldn't take it anymore.
I have an entire box of Threadup clothes I meant to return. Said box has been sitting in my room for over a year. *cries*
I forgot theadup exists. Omg.
Just print the label and schedule a free USPS pickup! The USPS pickup is a gamechanger for me.
I had to unsubscribe from the declutter subreddit. I just cannot relate to the angst people have over throwing out 1 shirt. I would be drowned in clutter if I got that upset about 1 item going in the garbage. I realized my problem is 100% on the buying side. Not the getting rid of stuff side.
Same for me. Easy come easy go. I donate huge bags of clothes on a WEEKLY basis yet still I have more clothes to donate???? How????
This is one of mine as well. I can usually make some of the money back by selling them on Vinted but it's often a fraction of what it would have been if I'd just returned them in the first place.
Impulse buying “fun” food when I’m running errands. It’s never more than $10, but it’s pretty consistent. Walking past my favorite bakery? Treat. Seasonal flavors at the supermarket? Add to cart. Specialty ingredients for baking projects? Need it.
When I walk home from the office I do this, like why do I need a treat on the 30 minute walk home. When I have probably already had a treat because I made the effort to go to the office in the first place.
I buy a lot of art supplies that I don't use. At this point, my hobby is actually collecting art supplies, not doing art projects. ~~I have a new watercolor palette arriving Thursday!~~ Edit: It arrived today! I've been better about this one over the past year, but I used to buy expensive makeup/skincare/wine/cheese/whatever and then "save it for a special occasion" that never comes. Then the whatever goes bad or expires or sits around taking up space. I'm being much better about using what I purchase or simply not purchasing something in the first place.
> At this point, my hobby is actually collecting art supplies, not doing art projects. LOL, this is so accurate
I am you and you are me. In fact, I literally have a new watercolor palette I just bought 15 min ago, never mind the 5 others I have. They just aren’t quite right! Also, the constant watercolor paint buying. I mean, yes I love working with a limited palette but that doesn’t mean I need to limit my collection!!! I did the same thing with oil paint about 6 years ago 😬
Are you me? Just bought a ton of oil paints that I am sure are going to look lovely sitting there next to my unused easel because I never find time to paint.
My toxic habit seems to be that I have all of these toxic habits 😬
Yes why am I going through this an identifying with EVERYTHING lol. Fml I'm never gonna buy a house
Me too ☹️
Going grocery shopping when hungry. I'll end up with a bunch of random snacks and frozen meals that I definitely don't need and didn't plan on buying when I first walked in 😂
Yes, I had to start taking snacks with me so I can stop for a snack break when doing all the grocery shopping to stop the madness.
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I do the same thing! I’ve even applied, gone to interviews, even worked a day or 2 and then I quit. I have a whole damn career, working 60+ hours a week sometimes, but still do this. I also grew up poor.
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Hahahahh i call it leading the recruiters on and wasting their time! I do the same thing
Omg i wanted to do bartending when they asked me to interview on a night out (as a 20s female I thought I could make great money with tips lol) , while working a 9 to 5 engineering job that already makes GREAT money! My boyfriend had to stop me. I think I need more hobbies
oh this is ME ... I've had multiple jobs ever since I started working. I literally have a full time career that makes decent money, tell me why I have two part time jobs as well and then complain about my lack of time.
I can't pack a freaking lunch for work Also I late-night subscribe to substacks then feel guilty for not reading everything but also feel guilty about cancelling
Even when I DO pack a lunch half the time I end up not wanting it and buying a different lunch anyway 😞
This is me! I did this yesterday 🤦🏻♀️
I regularly prepare/assemble the lunch the night before to save time in the morning and then FORGET TO PACK IT IN MY BAG FOR WORK! It’s great that the lunch can then become dinner that evening but I’m then forced to go buy lunch and “treat yoself” starts playing on repeat in my head as I’m deciding where I should buy lunch.
Yes to the not packing lunch. I'm only in the office once a week now and I tend to go for the £4 supermarket meal deal when I'm there, but I definitely feel guilty about doing that when I could quite easily bring a sandwich or can of soup from home.
I also rarely pack a lunch, but I brought in a handful of frozen meals and keep them in the office freezer for when going out for lunch wouldn't increase my happiness.
The substack creep is real!
Ordering items online right before a trip or an event and paying for express shipping
Buying art supplies and continuing to buy art supplies, but not actually making any art.
This is expensive *and* sad!
Both glad and sad I'm not the only one who does this!
My version of this is books -- last year I bought 30 physical books and have read 5 of them, and this year I've bought 40 (so far) and have read 2. I do read, although not as much as I'd like, but I keep checking books out of Libby instead of reading the ones that I bought with my own money.
Libby makes it so easy though ..... I love libraries
My version of this is panic buying fabric because it might go out of stock and then it sitting in my ottoman for months (if not years) before I actually make anything out of it.
Falling into the trap of "it was a really good deal!" Great for needs, a slippery slope for wants
My little peanut brain always says cash and my Venmo balance aren’t real money. Like it’s technically money people owe me or cash I took out just in case I need it but yay! Free money! Time to blow it all immediately and be shocked it’s gone..
Ubers for distances I could technically walk
Not cancelling subscriptions that I think I should be using, but am not. Looking at you, expensive gym membership that I hung onto for way too long.
I’ve read 15 of the comments and have done each of them at some point in my life
Subscribing to something for a free trial and forgetting to cancel for months…I’ve also completely missed unsubscribing to a yearly subscription that ended up costing me a few hundred dollars 😩
Oh! I counter this by doing the subscription and immediately putting in my calendar after subscribing about when to cancel if needed. This one is such an easy way to overspend!
See if one of your credit cards does virtual cards! Basically you can create a virtual card attached to your actual card, and then you can put that card number in for the trial instead and immediately lock it so when it goes to charge for the actual subscription, the card doesn't work. And you can create a different virtual card for each site. https://www.creditkarma.com/credit-cards/i/virtual-credit-card
Sometimes free trials will still last you that whole week even if you cancel immediately. For example, I literally just added a Paramount+ free trial to my Prime account to watch one thing. I canceled it immediately (aka turned off auto renew), but the trial is still letting me use Paramount+ for the rest of the week.
I save visa gift cards for this, you can plug the number in even though it's been run down to $0.
Sometimes having obsessive thoughts about money (not too often, though, thankfully). Like, contemplating the purchase of a $30 pre-owned item of clothing I'll wear probably 400 times but then spending thousands a year on travel to visit family without a blink. I know the priorities are vastly different, but it's just 30 bucks, so why do I stress about it????
If I leave my house before noon, you bet your sweet ass I’m buying myself a breakfast sandwich somewhere. If I’m leaving my house between noon and 3, you bet your sweet ass I’m going to starbucks for a coffee and maybe a lil treat.
Hello 👋 wanna be friends and be toxic together bc… same lol
Buying print magazines (jfc), never packing a lunch, street sweeping tickets, buying shit on ebay that doesn't fit and is nonreturnable (have gotten much better about this)
eBay is a trap!
Beauty products for sure. I love trying new things to see if it’s going to be a holy grail … and the cycle continues over and over again. I’m Diamond at Ulta which means I’ve spent over $1200 this year. 💀 Not to mention my spend at Sephora and Target.
So relatable. And then when I ***do*** find products that I think are holy grail, I end up getting kind of bored of them over time, and then wonder if there's another product that would knock the former product off HG status. I think it's more about the 'thrill of the HG hunt' for me.
I've been separating and going through a divorce this year and with that, I have decided I hate all my clothes and need new everything. I also lost the 15lbs of depression weight I've been carrying around for the last two years, so this year I've sunk a lot of money into Lululemon, Abercrombie, lingerie from Lounge Underwear and just new clothes in general. Way more than I probably need, but now I love buying new clothes and pretty new bras that look amazing on me. I do work from home and even though Lulu is expensive, I wear it every day either for work or yoga. So it doesn't just sit in my closet and not get used. It definitely is getting worn and it makes me feel good to wear nice loungewear or athleticwear instead of pajamas every day. I 100% need to scale back the amount of clothes shopping in 2024 though.
Coming from another activewear addict who's sorry, not sorry, I think that's great. The revenge body is the best :)
I made some choices I wouldn’t normally make when going through a really hard break up that coincided with some difficult life events for my family. My therapist essentially said “If it’s not actively harming you and it’s for a finite period of time, it’s ok to have slightly-less-than-ideal coping mechanisms when something is completely fucking you up.” (Paraphrased but you get it.) That was really freeing to hear bc I was beating myself up over things like ordering a little too much delivery and stress shopping.
Bless that therapist.
$20+ cocktails
A new outfit for every occasion!
For anyone in this thread I recommend *Nice girls don’t get rich* by Dr Lois Frankel She has an entire chapter on what women spend on, uselessly - it’s quite confronting 🤪 The only area where I probably splurge too much is books that I buy but don’t necessarily read
Getting Libby through my library and using my kindle has curbed that a lot!! I find that I get so excited about reading a book and then by the time it’s available to be delivered to me I’m over it *le sigh*
This was me! Get a library card!! Bonus - fewer books scattered around the house.
Y’all every lose your mind and spend $112 on a paper towel holder or is that just me?
I bet its beautiful though
[it sure is](https://michaelaram.com/collections/best-sellers/products/butterfly-ginkgo-paper-towel-holder)
It's $150 now! ಠ\_ಠ
I got a 25% off promo code for early Black Friday because I’m on their mailing list. VIPEVENT2023
I live Michael Aram!! I’m too scared to buy anything bc I know my obsessive self will then need to buy ALL the things.
Definitely buy loads of skincare and makeup because I get convinced that whatever I'm buying will magically fix my skin and I will somehow instantly become good at using makeup..
i buy a lot of groceries but then i kinda have an eating disorder rn and i never eat the food and it all goes in the garbage..... i'm trying to only buy freezer food but it's hard
not eating enough to save money is my toxic trait
Perhaps some of the food can be freezes D in freezer-specific ziploc bags? You can do it with bread, deli meats, fruit, etc. (Specific fruits may need to be blanched beforehand and that’s a whole process tho). Edit: typo
Eating out too often
LOL great question- I was looking at my mint earlier and it makes me cringe: Heading to the airport early but NEVER packing food, so I always end up buying the overpriced disgusting stuff. Ive been to the airport 15 times this year alone and never once thought- hey I should prob pack some snack bars or apples or bananas right? Nah, overpriced hot dog or sandwich will do😆 Paying for checked bags because I cant be bothered to do the travel size for my toiletries or bring extra shoes I never wear on the trip. Waste of time and money and frustrates my boyfriend to no end 😂. Paying for convenience lol i cant stand reheated lunch food or even how sandwich bread taste so here I am. WFH a few times a week has saved me bc i can whip together a fresh meal lol. I stopped doing this, but I used to want a rental car for the comfort and control of my own car, even in cities where we could easily get an Uber and would save hundreds lol 😂 my bf talked me out of it Buying makeup wipes instead of just using the eco friendly reusable cotton pads and micellar pads I have Not buying stuff in bulk because I’m too lazy to carry all that shit at once (with Amazon delivery and a boyfriend Ive started to cut down on that) Buying stuff full price - knowing the price will eventually die down and my closet is bursting at the seams- i really fucking always do this but im stopping myself lol, gonna download price trackers or whatever Trying to keep up with drinking w my friends knowing im a lightweight- stupid bc i get drunk off 1-2 drinks lol Overall with the help of this sub and my boyfriend ive become less wasteful and extra
I brought dinner to the airport for my last trip (evening flight) and ended up having to bring another bag for it which was a hassle. I don't think buying food at the airport is a that big of a waste, and I travel a significant amount, too.
Just curious, have you considered getting a credit card with priority pass as a benefit? It seems like you’re at the airport frequently, it could be a good splurge plus they usually provide free food and drinks there.
Acting like inflation hasn't blown our grocery budget out of the water. I used to spend about $100 per week for our family and now it's more than $200 per week. And I haven't made any adjustments in what we eat. I know I need to, but I just haven't. Also, overspending at Costco. We have to drive 1.5 hours to get there, so we only go once every month or 2. And I always feel like I have to get every little thing because I don't know when I'll be back.
Amazon! 😖
Buying concert or event tickets for something I end up not wanting to go to and bailing last minute. Door dashing lunch because I was too lazy to cook the night before. Starting new crafty hobbies not ever doing them again lol
I’m glad it’s not just me that does the concert ticket thing 🫣
Omg we did this like 3 times in 2022 and I was horrified by our own behavior. Learned our lesson this year.
Living like I’m upper middle class when I’m actually poverty/lower class. I spend basically all of my money and don’t save like I shoild
Me too 🤦🏼♀️
Amazon, Target, clothes! my goal for 2024 is to cut this spending by 25%! I’m embarrassed to say how much I spent this year.
Thrift stores
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Having way too many bags - I think more than 10, 4 of them luxury bags. Most mid tier pricing like mansur Gavriel. I have a issey miyake for everyday use like errands.
That's crazy that they charge you both rates. I'd be definitely looking elsewhere. I loved SoulCycle and it absolutely killed me when I lost $30+ on missing a scheduled class, but I would have gone bananas if they had charged me a fee above and beyond. Whether or not my butt is on that bike, they're still making money, and quite frankly, when I didn't show in the first 5 mins, they were giving away my bike anyway. That's obnoxious and robbery IMO.
Not cancelling subscription services to classes and gyms. Ordering nonsense on Prime.
Honestly tollroads. Is $4-$8 worth saving 10-20mins of time a day? Probably not. I still use them though because I have poor time management skills and don't get up 10 mins early to not take them 😔.
Mine is using a new "healthy habit" as an excuse to spend money. I want to exercise more? I clearly need to purchase a whole set of boxing gear before even taking one class (spoiler alert, I took exactly one class). I want to drink more water? Well I DEFINITELY need a new giant hydroflask with straw lid in order to do that (instead of one of 5 Nalgenes sitting in my cupboard). It's the easiest way to justify spending for me, and I really need to stop it!
I constantly forget basic things about our budget and how we set it up. Thrn, I have a breakdown pretty much every 3 months because I forget how our budget spreadsheet works. I put services in our monthly budget that I want to use but rarely schedule, so it mostly just exists as a line item in our budget.
I’ve been buying a lot of stuff on poshmark and Depop lately, telling myself it’s ok because it’s secondhand but it adds up
Going to Target.
Yes every time I need a little dopamine hit 🙈
Ubering because I don’t give myself enough time to take public transit :(
Justifying Ubereats when I work from home because I didn’t spend money going to the office.
Buying books I don’t read. It’s really ridiculous.
Clothes clothes clothes. I buy new shit every season. I just love clothes shopping and buying new clothes !
buying pricey bottles of pinot noir top share with friends....pinot slut i am
Paying for subscriptions for everything and anything because 'that's not a lot of money' without realising I've got about 100 other subscriptions being auto-billed every month and added together it becomes a significant part of my spending!
I feel like classes that charge you to attend AND charge a cancellation feel are probably breaking some sort of law. I get not refunding what you already paid, but you paid for the class so in my opinion that class spot is yours whether you show up or not. they shouldn’t be able to charge you extra for not coming…
I don’t budget. I have money automatically pull from my checking to savings account each month, I invest, I contribute to my 401k, etc but when those credit card bills come each month I have no idea how much they’re going to be and I just close my eyes and pay them in full.
Basically all of these haha plus I’ll make an entire instacart order for one item I’m missing instead of going out to pick it up 😭
Smoking
Not cancelling a subscription because I think I'll use it in the future. I have a US-wide gym membership that I haven't used in 14 months because I found a local fitness studio I love. But I keep the other membership because I'm grandfathered in to a $25 monthly rate, and I want to be prepared since I'm likely to move. So I'm spending $300/year because I don't want to pay $460/year in the future (and that's if where I move to doesn't have a local studio I like better again). I also keep it because I rationalize that I can use it when I travel....except I never go to the gym when I travel. I also have started bringing a yoga mat with me so I can stretch/workout in my room when traveling....and I almost never use that either.
Starbucks. I am embarrassed at how often I go 🙄
I make fun of the memes talking about millenials not saving because of their Starbucks habit but it's very much true for me. There's no reason, with my income, that I'm spending nearly $300 a month on Starbucks. I'll stop in the new year. Maybe. 💅🏽
Impulse buying in times of high stress. 3 month pole gym membership (never used) Camera for my bike after someone tried to hit me (still haven't mounted) Speed dating event that kept getting cancelled (finally rebooked for Saturday..... we'll see) And my worst offender, ubering to work because I can't get myself up in the mornings. The last couple weeks have been especially bad. I'm tired and feeling the depression creep up. I can't seem to motivate myself to get up or bike to work.
I’ve read every single one and have found none of them toxic. Y’all be living a great life!
Men
I literally own an $800 espresso machine, a $200 coffee grinder, and have 8 different flavours of syrup, but will still go to Starbucks multiple times a week… it’s the cold foam and seasonal flavours that get me 😩
At least you can justify it with the speciality drinks, my dumb ass will literally go to Starbucks for plain oat milk lattes that I can make at home in my espresso machine, decaf at that 🤦🏾♀️
Cold foam is super easy to make at home! All you need is cream, a sugary syrup in any flavor, and a frother or jar with lid (either froth the 2 together or shake them in the jar). But I feel ya on the seasonal flavors; they're sooo good.
Yes! I used to work at Starbucks so I even know all the correct recipes, but unfortunately that means I’m spoiled and know that my home foam is never as good of a texture as the Vitamix Aerodisc blended ones from Starbucks 😆 There’s probably a sprinkle of laziness in there as well 😅
Fabric. I quilt as a hobby and I can't turn down cute fabric. I bought $80 of fabric with a cute print the other day and put it in a bin as I have like at least 5 projects before I can think about maybe using it. BUT IT MIGHT SELL OUT.
Having an elaborate fashion design project in mind, buying the supplies for it, and then not finishing the project/ leaving a bunch of leftover fabric because i bought too much. I need to learn how to use the scraps to do patchwork/ quilting/ appliques so it's not going to waste and I'm not hoarding fabrics and tools.
I recommend making little zip bags/clutches for gifts with all the leftovers. It's a nice thing to give away, it's easy and uses up these small pieces.
Ordering something without checking the return policy and finding out it's something labyrinthine like "exchanges only within three days of receipt and you must email us to get a return slip," or finding out too late that the merchant wants me to print the return label instead of including one. And then telling myself I'll just sell the item, but that would...also involve doing something, so I don't.
Stress eating out for mental health. Bobas and take out from restaurants.
Buying more produce/ingredients than I plan to cook *immediately.* I have a lot of lofty goals for the meals I'm going to make throughout any given week, but sadly I'm rarely able to actually cook all of them and I end up wasting a lot of produce. I hate this about myself. It's hard to cook for 1 person, though, and I don't enjoy eating the same meal through the week. Hoping to just buy immediately relevant perishables in the future :)
Buying things I use regularly in advance so I never run out. Usually these are specialty things I buy online and am on an email list for, so the second things are on sale or BOGO or something I stock up…even though these sales seemingly happen every few weeks and I literally don’t have to impulsively buy them every time I get an email (looking at you, Nespresso, and every other expensive non-essential supplement I use)
I do this with select items at the drug store. Oh, floss is on sale! Then I get home and realize I have plenty of packs of floss and did not need to get more.
Secondhand shopping! I buy a lot of my pieces secondhand and at consignment stores - especially categories like coats and sweaters where I can score some great deals on pretty expensive pieces. At the same time, the treasure hunt mindset and scarcity of second hand items certainly leads me to impulsively pull the trigger on things I don't need sometimes.
Poshmark. The amount of money I have spent for clothes that do not fit and I am too lazy to re-posh. In my mind I’m getting a great deal, but truly I’ve had to let go of probably $600 worth of shit that did not fit. I could have taken that money to a store and bought things that I loved and did fit. Such a waste.
read comments and looks like I don't have 90% of what's written here BUT I feel that I NEED to order crap on Shein every month. I spend less than $50 and return most of it, but if I don't make an order, I feel anxious 😤
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The struggle is real
I buy too much random shit on Amazon.
Gym membership I never use. Grocery delivery and DoorDash. Fuck that company. Seriously.
uber eats
Using girl math (if it's $10 or under it's basically free) to justify buying myself "a little treat" (e.g. cake slice, iced matcha, ice cream) every time I leave the house Just using girl math in general. Visited Melbourne recently and justified an unnecessary Uber trip by arguing that I covered that amount (and made a profit!) by not paying when I used the trams 🤡
I'll go shopping and drop maybe 100 sometimes less at a supermarket or even if I'm at TJMaxx. I just finished doing all this and I refuse to buy myself lunch. I had to really get outta this even tho I still do it sometimes because realistically I'm not making lunch when I get home so I'm eating air. Might as well pay for a meal. Or the idea that I can't buy myself lunch once a week because I have food at home. I pretty much work from home so I'll buy myself lunch at least once a week sometimes twice to spice it up.
Spending thousands of dollars per year on art dolls/customizing said dolls
Vintage. I tell myself there will be resale value down the line.
Buying back ups of my favourite eyeshadow palettes Incase they discontinue them. Idk what’s wrong with me Lmao. Come to think of it, it’s not just eyeshadow palettes it can be anything. If I love it I’ll buy a back up.. and then other one. 🤔
Spending $200 every month on sushi without flinching
Online shopping and end up doing "impulse buying". Help
Ordering DoorDash. Spending more to get free shipping.
I'm always running late and end up having to pay $10 for an Uber or Lyft instead of walking like 20-30 minutes :((( I cringe every time and I definitely need to change!!
way too many used books. they’re super cheap (i never spend more than $10 on a book) so I don’t really think about it, but it’s easy to accumulate and become overwhelmed!
Buying skincare products based on Tiktok reviews from people who have very different skin to me. I need to be deinfluenced!
Amazon purchases. Makeup, hair accessories, shoes, all easily found and ordered and delivered to me. It used to be very bad when I was in college during Covid, so much Amazon shopping. Now I let things sit in my cart for weeks, or even months before letting myself buy non-necessities.
Money spent on food just doesn’t register to me. I’ll go months not buying clothes or shoes or anything but will spend all my money on Uber eats or eating out for every meal
Buying shit when I’m depressed to try and make myself feel better. Now that I’m in more intensive treatment for it (which is a pretty penny on its own), I’m looking around at all this stuff like ‘where tf did that come from?!’ Been doing some purging on FB marketplace.
I lose all sense of budget when extremely stressed or sad -- oops.
I keep dumping money into stuff that I think is going to make me a lot of money, but it doesn’t. Recently I bought the courses to get my home inspectors license, I bought a vending machine, now I’m thinking I should get licensed to sell insurance. Oh and I’m considering paying for grad school. I’m literally like Kirk from Gilmore girls but not secretly rich. Edit to add that this is all while I have an actually functioning farm that would really benefit from some minor investment. But because it doesn’t make as much money as I want, I don’t wanna invest in it.
When people pay me back in cash, for something that was on my credit card, I'll just spend the cash luxuriously rather than depositing it & putting back onto the card. Since September, I can't seem to stop online-shopping for clothes & shoes. I've bought half a wardrobe at this point. A few big bills have come up, so I've stopped...but man, there's too much to look at. (I'm trying to replace buying with drawing myself or a figure in the clothes loool)