Sunday, February 17, 2013

Project No-Buy

Currently I have been re-organizing my beauty products(further posting on this will be up shortly this week) and I have decided that I indeed need to curb my impulse shopping. At the beginning of this year I made it a decision to become stricter with myself when it comes to buying makeup and with my budget in general. So as part of that I have decided to start myself in project no-buy. Now, I am the first one to tell you I am not sure how well I will do at completely cutting myself off, but, I do think I can do it. However, unlike the traditional no-buy, where you literally can buy nothing but products you run out of I think, it will be tweaked, of sorts. I know if i restrict myself it will only make me want it more! I admit I am a beauty addict, I know I have more than I could every use or need, but it is one of my passions, so there you have it. As I was looking through the concept of a no-buy through other bloggers I saw that Nancy at The Dark Side of Beauty created her own version that I much align with my own ideas. After asking her permission to share on here what she came up with(and a possible adjustments to my own lifestyle) here it is!

Project No-Buy Goals

Instead of a traditional no-buy, she decided to create a project to 1) finish makeup I currently own, 2) not horde so much new makeup, 3) to keep up with my 2013 resolutions and 4) save money for something else other than makeup. I will be updating this project every Sunday and like those people doing the 100-day No Buy, I will make a wish list for myself. If you are curious about the No-Buy project or if you also want to be part of it, keep reading!

Rules

As of February 18th, 2013 I will not be allowed to buy any beauty related products, unless...

1. the product is an absolute essential (shampoo/conditioner, cleanser, deodorant...etc.) and I have run out.
2. I run out of a product and I have nothing else to replace it (ex: I run out of my current eyeshadow primer and I have no other primers in my collection)
3. I receive a gift card, money or am gifted makeup and therefore am not spending any of my own money on it.
4. If I am in a place that I usually never go and has products that I am otherwise never able to get (ex: if i am traveling to another country or go to a store that is not available close to me).
5. They are giveaway prizes!

*Remember that I have tons of products that I purchased before February 18th that I have yet to show on my blog! Keep that in mind with any upcoming posts! I will be honest with all of you on this project; I gain nothing from lying to you guys! This also gives a a chance to talk about some of my favorite permanent products and re-discover lots of items!

Although I am calling this a "No-Buy", I am making some exceptions for myself. These are rewards for myself for 1) following the no-buy, 2)following weekly goals, and 3) sticking to my 2013 resolutions. 

1. Weekly Goals. Every week (on Sunday) I will set two goals for myself. Each of these goals should be met by the end of the week. If the goal is met, I will award myself $5 of allowance for makeup (therefore, I have a possibility of earning $10 per week). If I do not met either of them, then I get $0 of spending money. 

2. Blogging and Writing. One of my goals this year is to write more consistently, which also includes my blogging. I started this blog for many reasons, I love beauty products, for one but I also love fashion, art, photography, writing, etc. I consider all of these things as part of beauty, not just how we look but who we are inside. I want to push myself to do more. So for every blog post I will award myself $2. For other writing(essay, poem, story, etc) I will award myself $1 a page, so if I write a 3 page essay I will get $3, a poem, $1 and so on. A lot of people have been encouraging me to write more about my life, so hopefully this will encourage me to do more.

3. Art. This may sound like an odd goal, but art used to be a huge part of my life,   and it's slowly taken a back seat to so many things. This year I am really hoping to get back into it. Painting, drawing, photography, sewing are all things I used to do consistently. So for every piece I do, or if I create something I will award myself $5.

5. Reading. Another part of my life that used to be huge and I let slip. I love to read but tend to do it in "spurts," meaning I will read voraciously for a week or two, a ton of books and then go back to nothing. I would like to be more consistent, because I love reading, I just tend to get side tracked. So for anything under 200 pages, $2, beween 200-500, $4 and over 500 pages, $6.
                     
6. Empties.
It is great to finish a product, especially products you don't particularly care for that are just taking up space. Therefore, for any empty product I have, I will award myself $1 of makeup allowance. 

7. Self-Control. 
This is not really a reward, but a punishment. If I don't follow my no-buy, then I will get negative cash for whatever amount I spent. For example, if I buy a $10 product when I have no reward allowance to spend, then I will subtract double the amount I spent on my total reward allowance, in this case being -$20. This means my allowance will be in a negative number and I will have to work even harder to have money to spend on makeup the following weeks.


During the week's update on Sunday, I will let you know whether I have kept up with my No-buy for that week, show you products I've used up, and update you and show you if I have earned any money through the rewards system. If, for example, I meet both of my weekly goals for that week ($10), perhaps read a 300 page novel ($4), and blogged three times that week($6), then that means I earned $2 worth of makeup allowance that week. Then that means that starting Monday after the update, I can buy makeup with my $20 allowance.Any makeup I buy using this allowance will be shown during that week's update. 

The reward money does carry over to the weeks following if I do not spend it. So If I had $20 and only spent $10 that week, then I will have $10 left over. Then I can add onto that any new allowance I get from the following weeks. I am going to call this my Make-Up Account since it is essentially the money I have to buy makeup. None of my other money will go into makeup/beauty products. This will help me save up for collections I am waiting for, and hopefully help me plan what I purchase better, instead of automatically buying what I see. For instance, I know I really want the Cold Chemistry palette coming out soon by Sugarpill, I know it's going to take a few weeks of saving for it, so before I go out and spend say the $20 I earned over two weeks on something I don't need, I'll be more inclined to stop myself from purchasing it, knowing I really want that palette when it comes out so I better not spend what's in my makeup account. :-) I think it actually helps to see the value of a dollar this way.

This is a bit confusing, but basically what I am trying to do is to control the amount of makeup I buy, not completely stop it. Not only can I more efficiently control the amount of makeup I buy, but I can also become a more knowledgeable person when it comes to my own finances, wise purchasing and researching a product.

If you have any questions or want any clarifications please leave a comment and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Weekly Goals for 2/18:
1. Organizing/Cleaning. I started organizing my collection before I left for a week away, now that I am back I need to finish what I started. So this weeks goal is to clean up my makeup area.
2. I won't kid myself, I have so much to catch up on after being gone a week, my second goal is to make sure I finish my to-do list, including, appointments, tons of errands and chores. I know I have SO MUCH to catch up on I will end up not having time for much else this week.

Wish List: I also mentioned that I am also doing this in order to save up for non-makeup things I really want. One is a new laptop, mine is slowly dying on me, I have already started saving but am hoping I will be able to put more savings towards it and reach my goal faster because I won't be spending so much on cosmetics. Two, is semi-makeup related, in that I want a new makeup vanity including a nice lighted mirror, they are pricey, but so worth it. If I have anything to add to my wish list I will share later on.

Makeup Account: $0.

That's it for this week! Wish me luck, I'm going to need it! :-D


2 comments:

  1. That's a great plan! I really need to do something similar because I too have an abundance of makeup ! I have a hard time seeing sale and not partaking ;-) thank you for posting this variation on a " no buy."

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    1. I too have the exact same problem! haha. I find it hard to say NO to a sale. I'm hoping this will teach me a little more self control. :-) It's only been 3 days and I find myself forgetting and going "wait! stop!" It'll probably take a few more before it's ingrained in my head. If you decide to do something similar do share! Thanks for reading!

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