Author: Debbie Roes

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January 2016 Accountability Update

It’s time for my first accountability update of 2016!  For those who are new to the blog, these monthly reports are where I share what came into and left my closet, what I wore, and how I did with my shopping budget and item limit.  Sharing what I bought, what I culled, and how much I spent helps me to stay honest and on track with my wardrobe and shopping goals.

In future months, I’m also going to include an update on how I’m doing with my theme for the year, “balance,” but this time around I will dedicate a separate post to that topic, to be published later this week. Since I will be packing so much into these monthly updates, the format is going to change somewhat over previous years.  I will go into less detail in each section and in most instances will give more general summaries on what I bought and what I purged rather than doing an itemized account.

Telling the Truth Continue reading →

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Shopaholic Signs, Reasons, and Recovery

I was recently interviewed by a journalism student in the UK for a piece she was writing on compulsive shopping.   That article, titled “Retail Therapy or Shopaholic,” was recently published on a site called Self London.   The piece also includes feedback from two other women, as well as a consumer psychologist and a researcher who studies shopping behavior.   The article concludes by outlining three different types of “retail therapy.”

As is often the case with journalists, I was asked quite a few questions and most of my input didn’t make it into the finished article. However, I thought that what I had to say might be of interest to the readers of this blog.  Read on for my thoughts on shopaholic signs and reasons, shopping influences, my top tips for recovery, and some highlights of my personal journey. This post is a very good encapsulation of the things I’ve been writing about on this blog for over three years now.

shopaholic causes and recovery

Does this image resemble any of your recent shopping experiences? 

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Wardrobe and Shopping Goals for 2016

I have mostly completed my wrap-up posts for 2015.  The only other post in that category I will be doing is a purchase analysis of everything I bought last year (see January through June review here), which I hope to share with you next week.  In my all-star, benchwarmer, and LIWI updates (part one | part two), I outlined a number of goals for my wardrobe and shopping for this year.   In today’s post, I consolidate all of those objectives, refine a few of them, and add a couple of new ones that I hadn’t previously mentioned.

2016 wardrobe and shopping goals

Budget

I am going to stick to the same clothing budget as I had last year, $2500 for the entire year.  It worked well for me to reduce my budget from 2014 to 2015 and I may reduce it further next year. But since I am still working on revamping my wardrobe after having refined my style over the past year and a half, I think that sticking to the same budget is my best approach for 2016.

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Debtors Anonymous is Not Just for Debtors

The following is a guest post from Susan B., who is sharing her journey as part of my “Stories of Recovery” series.  Susan is a financial sobriety evangelist. Her website, Getting Out from Going Under, provides guidance for people who are recovering from compulsive spending, shopping, and debting. Her recent book, “Getting Out from Going Under: Daily Reader for Compulsive Debtors and Spenders,” is filled with practical tips, inspiration, and a thought for each day to encourage and motivate you to stay on the path of recovery.

If you would like to be profiled in the “Stories of Recovery” series (you can be anonymous if desired), please connect with me to share your thoughts.

dealing with debt

Is bill paying a time of extreme stress for you?

My name is Susan B. and I’m a recovering shopaholic. More precisely, I’m recovering from an addiction to spending and buying that nearly killed me. I’m also a member of Debtors Anonymous (DA), a 12 step program (like Alcoholics Anonymous) for people who are out of control with money, with or without debt. And I haven’t had a shopping binge since April 25, 2009.

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“Love It, Wear It” Challenge Debrief & Year-End Inventory: Shoes and Accessories

In my last post, I began debriefing my “Love it, Wear It” Challenge (LIWI), which I took on throughout all of last year.  Part one covered my clothes and today’s post will look at my shoes and accessories in terms of how the challenge impacted those categories of my wardrobe, as well as my style. I will also share an inventory of my shoes and accessories.

A Reminder of What LIWI Is…

But before I dive into part two of this debrief, here’s a quick reminder of what LIWI is about (read more here).  The objectives for the “Love It, Wear It” challenge are to wear what we love and to have the right types of clothing, shoes, and accessories for our lives… the lives that we are actually living in the here and now – not imagined, wished for, or previous lifestyles.

The objective of LIWI is to create a “working closet” by moving all worn items into a specific area of your closet space (or jewelry box).   As much as possible (uniforms and dress codes aside…), you should only wear what you really want to wear.  Anything that is uncomfortable, fussy, or no longer in line with your personal style should be passed on for donation or consignment.

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