It's the peak of holiday consumerism. Credit cards are being swiped until they are out of funds and new ones need to be opened. Savings accounts are being depleted. People are scrambling about shopping for presents for others and themselves. Some people, like me, are such great shoppers they're already done. I've been done for weeks. I love spending money. All the spending I do on gifts right now is in excess of what I should be giving.

But really, what is the point of it all? Humans need so very little to survive. Food, water, warmth, shelter, love. Nowhere in there is the need for an iPhone, Burberry bag, or Salvatore Ferragamo perfume. We can't bring it with us when we die, and by the time we do die our stuff will probably be so out of fashion our offspring won't want any of it.

We as a society work so hard, spending precious moments of our lives, all so we can afford the next best thing on the market. A new house, a new car, a new pair of shoes or camera or phone. If that money was saved and spent on experiences versus material objects, imagine the places we could go. The concerts we could attend. The gifts we could give. The lives we could change.

So here I am, this awful, awful shopaholic (I just bought 4 pairs of Pour La Victoire heels and a Loquita tote this morning. I couldn't help myself. I'm so bad.) - with an idea. I'm going to challenge myself to not shop for a single material object in the year 2013. There will be rules of course. I can purchase necessary objects like pet food, toiletries and car tires. I'll allow myself to buy gifts and cards for others for special occasions. I'll even give myself 2 shop-and-enjoy cards to use in emergency situations when there's a killer sale or an item I feel my soul literally dying over. I'll have to ponder over these and will post them in a following entry.

You may think giving myself some lee-way is cheating but let me give you some context. I graduated from UC Davis in December of 2011. It has been a full year that I have been working full-time, and as all newly employed no-longer-poor-students do, I went crazy over the money. I have bought every little thing my heart has desired, and more. I encountered some heartbreak over the past year and shopping switched from being a pleasure to a method of treatment. It's turned from being a thrill to a habit, a treat to a necessity. I really have become addicted to shopping, just like many people in recovery become dependent on their treatments. I have very little savings (thanks in part to an awful, awful driving ticket I got) and my credit card isn't paid off - but I do make monthly payments. I should have a substantial amount of savings, and I should have my credit card paid off. So, with this challenge I don't intend to turn into a hippie who eats only home made food or gives hand made gifts, avoiding consumerism and popular culture like the plague. This exercise is more about weaning myself off of this society's consumerist appetites and learning how to save money rather than spend it. It's about living minimally in terms of objects and richly in terms of experiences. Finding happiness in small day-to-day happenings, not day-to-day deliveries from my favorite online stores.

You already know what I bought today. Yesterday I spent $90 at Target on food and decorations for the holiday party The BoyFriend and I are throwing this week. I also bought myself some Joe's jeans. The day before that I bought myself some Kate Spade sandals. Over the weekend I bought hairspray because I forgot mine at home and was going to TBF's holiday party. I bought myself a pair of leather boots and a pair of Betsey Johnson wedges last week. Three days before that I bought a reindeer costume for my cat, a Christmas sweater for my dog, and yet another gift for my boyfriend - all from Target. The day before that I bought a Christmas tree hat that lights up and a book from Evangeline's. The week before that I spent around $200 on Black Friday shopping and a gift for my mom. Aside from the food and gifts, was any of that even necessary? NO. Just listing it all makes my stomach churn.

This is an intervention, from myself for myself. Overall it will be a year of willpower and window shopping. It'll be rough, but I think I'll learn a lot from the experience, will develop my willpower and happiness in healthier ways, will be better off financially, and will spend less money on objects and more money on great experiences.

XOXO
Shopaholic Shawna