Wednesday, October 17, 2012

31 days of change :: day 17 {changing how i shop}


Confession # 2: I like to shop.
I like to buy things.  Clothes... shoes... purses... crafting supplies... home decor items... stationary... books... accessories... gifts... You get the picture.

Problem is, we are a one-income-seminary-student-debt-recovering-trying-to-afford-adoption-family right now... aka, we.are.broke.

Okay, okay... maybe not broke, per se.  But there's currently not a whole lot of extra shopping-spree money lying around.  That kind of sucks when you like to shop.

But I'm learning.

I'm learning that I don't really need another pair of flats.  I'm learning to get rid of clothes before I bring more clothes home.  I'm learning that I should have a place/purpose in mind before buying useless home decor.  I'm learning that I don't need craft supplies if I'm not crafting.  I'm learning to save and wait before purchasing my next piece of photography equipment.  I'm learning that you don't always have to leave a store with a bag-in-hand.  Yes.  I am learning.

A few weeks ago, I went with my girlfriend to Forever 21.  We spent an entire Saturday afternoon in the massive store... 3 hours to be exact.  I walked out completely empty handed.  Yes.  You heard me.  It was a major accomplishment, no doubt.  But I had a plan... I was shopping for her... not me.  And shockingly, it worked.  I made it my mission to help her jump-start her new wardrobe... pulling pieces in her size, color, style, etc.  I got quality-time with a favorite girlfriend, plus any shopping-urges out of my system for a while.  Win-win.

Little by little... changing how I shop.
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 For the month of October I'm doing a 31-day series on "change."  Go here to see the full line-up of "change" posts.

4 comments:

Lani Derrick said...

Wow! That is impressive. I have a friend who just got a part time job with starbucks for the fact that they offer adoption assistance!

isaac and jenny said...

Starbucks offers adoption assistance?!?! Awesome! Very proud of you Julia...I blame a lot of my crafting purchases on pinterest!

mleslie43 said...

Julia, you and Lance are doing great! God is going to bless your socks off here soon for your patience and faithfulness!

Anonymous said...

I'm proud of you for walking out of Forever 21. That takes skill.