On spending: why the Frugal is Fabulous challenge is really a challenge for me!

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(See image) Ok so don't we all? I won't lie. Like everyone else I have a long list of wants! There are so many things that we have been conditioned to believe will make our lives better. In order to be happy, we should have it all! The perfect partner, children, career, house, figure, car, wardrobe, handbag, clothes, gadgets, etc, etc......... the list seems neverending! But while I have to admit that a lot of these things may be good for our mental and physical health, for example having a wonderful, supportive partner, enjoying your job, or having a healthy weight, a lot of others may actually be quite unnecessary. 



Recently I have been reading the Minimalist Woman's Guide to Having It All after the lovely Skhen recommended it to me when I was brainstorming ideas for the Frugal is Fabulous Challenge. Now I don't think that I will embrace full on minimalism but there is a lot of what the author writes in her ebook that makes complete sense. I plan on including reading this amazing ebook as one of the challenge tasks later on but for now I just wanted to share with you a few of the things I have learned about myself since I started the challenge.


I am only 10 days into the Challenge which I started on Friday the 1st July. And even though it is still early days,  it is soooooooooooo hard! The night before the challenge was due to start I had a crisis of confidence. 'What am I doing I thought?' 'How on earth am I supposed to last for 5 entire months without buying myself a treat?' I panicked and did something extremely naughty! I used my iPad and ordered not one but TWO maxi dresses! And I already own so many of them! I had a couple of events to attend in the first week of the challenge, a dinner and a birthday party. And I convinced myself that I had NOTHING TO WEAR and that I NEEDED THEM! But this is a total lie. I had perfectly good dresses that I could have worn, dresses that none of the people would have seen before.  So I ended up returning them and now I can breathe a sigh of relief! 


So friends I fell off the wagon before I even started! But it is important to pick yourself right back up and move on. 

Let me share another incident. On the first day of the challenge I decided that I should go and get my friend a birthday present. I wanted to get something pretty for her as she is also a girly girl. But when I walked into the store I found myself picking up things that I liked. I started visualising how I would look with said item, what shoes I would use, how I would mix and match. Without even recognising it I was already shopping for myself! I became alarmed. I could not cope with falling off the wagon again NOW THAT I HAD ACTUALLY STARTED THE CHALLENGE! That would make me a hypocrite. My pulse started to race. I felt bombarded by consumerism. I felt weak! So I put everything back and walked out of the store. And asked my dear hubby to go with me on another day to help keep me on the straight and narrow.

OK so why I am sharing this with you? Because you know that I tell it as it is! And also I want you to know that I feel in a way that I have been brainwashed along with everyone else into thinking that I need stuff to feel good about myself. I am not going to cry myself down or spend any more time feeling guilty. But I am recognising why this challenge is so important. And I am looking forward to developing a heathier relationship with my money and much less impulse buying in the future. DH has been a star and is probably my fabfrugal buddy (in hindsight I should have recommended getting a buddy in the Day 0 post). He has reminded me that one of the reasons for this challenge is because I want to save the money to get something that is really lovely. But I underestimated how hard it would be to break old habits (i.e. treating myself EVERY MONTH). And the fact that I live in a society where millions are spent on getting us all to spend, spend, spend and buy, buy, buy. But I am learning and each day is a step in the right direction.


How is it going for you lovelies? Please share in the comments. And remember you can still join the challenge including the associated facebook page at any point!


:-)