Radical resolutions… What happened when this woman stopped shopping for 365 days
When Cait Flanders made a radical resolution to stop shopping, it didn’t stop there and led to the adventure of a lifetime…
Most people make new year’s resolutions but in 2014, I made a radical one. To give up everything.
It wasn’t on New Year’s Eve, but rather on 7 July, 2014 – my 29th birthday. Two days beforehand, I shared the thought with my girlfriends. What if I didn’t shop for a year?
I didn’t come up with the idea overnight. The seed had been growing for quite a while and I was reminded of it regularly when, at the end of every month, I had to update my budget and justify to myself why I was barely able to save any money. I earnt a decent wage and I could save more, I knew it.
This wasn’t just me being blasé. After being reckless with my finances, I’d managed to pay off nearly £17,000 of debt in 2013. After that, I should have been set to live a much happier – and wealthier – life. Instead, I went back to my old ways.
Of course, I’d learnt my lesson and didn’t go back into the red again, but I did start spending every extra penny. But although I was having fun in the short term, I was aware I had nothing stashed away for my future. By July, I wanted to properly save money – by putting a stop to shopping.
The rules for the shopping ban were simple enough. For the next year, I wouldn’t be allowed to buy new clothes, shoes, accessories, books, magazines, electronics, or anything for around the house.
I could buy consumables – things like groceries, toiletries, and petrol for my car, and purchase anything I’d outlined on my ‘approved shopping list’, a handful of items I knew I’d need soon. Boots for Winter. An outfit for various weddings I was attending that year. And a new bag. I also decided to allow myself to replace something that broke or wore out if I really had to.
But while I’d still let myself go to restaurants on occasion, I’d decided to veto takeaway coffee – my biggest vice, and something I was spending an eyewatering £60, or more, on every month.
And while I was in the spirit, I decided to have a proper clear-out of everything I didn’t use. One glance at my flat showed me I had far more than I’d ever need, most of which I barely used, let alone appreciated. I wanted everything I owned to have a purpose. If it didn’t, it had to go.
The Summer started off strong. I told everyone in my
life what I was doing, and asked them to keep me accountable. A few people seemed confused, but most people agreed and wished me luck.
Since I’d always been more of an online shopper, I started by unsubscribing from retailer mailing lists, so as not to be tempted by incoming notifications. Then I deleted all the website bookmarks I’d saved for things I was considering buying. Instead of picking up a coffee before work, I made it at home.
I emptied every drawer, cupboard and wardrobe and decluttered almost half of my belongings. Seeing how much stuff I was donating to charity shops – and how much better my flat looked – I felt even more motivated.
Things got a little harder in the Autumn, when I experienced a break-up with someone I had been dating. Without being able to turn to any of my old vices – I’d quit drinking two years before starting the shopping ban – I recognised that I was more of an emotional consumer, turning to retail therapy to take my mind off my problems.
It felt like the first painful experience I’d gone through where I had to feel my feelings, and not numb myself in any way.
This weakness became even more obvious in the Spring, when I found out my parents were divorcing. While shocked that they were splitting up, I was even more surprised by my reaction. It took everything in me not to drink, or shop, but somewhere between sadness and depression, I knew I didn’t want to give into any of the cravings that were creeping in. I had to stay focused.
By May 2015, I could see the finish line, but by then, it didn’t feel difficult any more. In fact, in just 10 months, it had become a way of life. My confidence was probably also boosted by the fact that, during that year, I’d finally had enough money to travel – something I’d always dreamed of, but had always been in too much debt to actually go.
My shopping ban ended on 6 July 2015. I’d decluttered 70 per cent of my belongings, and was left with just furniture, kitchen supplies, books, my computer, and a capsule wardrobe of around 30 pieces. I’d also saved nearly £9,000. For the first time, I had money in the bank. That was the goal, but the lessons went so much further.
By deciding to opt out of shopping for a year, I gained new skills and confidence to do what was right for me. And completing my experiment proved I can stick to goals – and trust myself.
Since then, my efforts have continued, and in 2018, I even gave up the flat I’d been renting to pursue another dream: to travel full-time. I was already self-employed as a writer, so I could work remotely from wherever I went. And, single with no kids, I could travel freely at my own pace. After years of making choices to live differently, this was the first decision that nobody in my life second-guessed.
Travel looks a little different during the pandemic, but I will forever be grateful that this has been an option. And, now 35, I know I never could’ve done it, if I’d continued spending and living the way I had before my year of less.
Cait Flanders is the author of Adventures in Opting Out: A Field Guide to Leading an Intentional Life, published by Trigger Publishing, priced £12.99, available online and in store.