No Spend Experiment: Day 59
I have done a horrible job of documenting the last couple months; to be honest though I haven't done such a great job that there is much to document. I have however learned a lot about my spending triggers.
I cave to stress at work. If I am having a particularly stressful week, I am prone to ordering carry out rather than making the effort of packing a lunch. I buy quick convenience food for dinner. I buy soda and energy drinks to get through the work day. (This is revealing more about my dependence on food as a coping mechanism more than anything, but that's a different post entirely.) And whether I give in or not, when I am stressed I have a constantly building desire to shop. It doesn't matter what for.. Every store I drive by on my way home requires every bit of self control I have not to stop and wander up and down isles for an hour or so just looking at all the things I might like to buy. This is something that I have struggled with a lot lately due to my unhappiness at work. It has taken me a very long time to realize that it is time for me to find a new job. My unhappiness there has begun to effect me mentally, physically and emotionally to the point that it is putting stress on my marriage. My wife is tired and frustrated at seeing me miserable at work and the toll it takes everyday. It is time to move on no matter how much I hate change.
On a happier note, I have started to make a more concerted effort to make sure the purchases that I make are ones that support my beliefs along with avoiding purchasing a product all together if I am able to make a product that serves my needs. My wife recently bought me a Lush shampoo bar that I am very excited about! It works great for my hair, and it is one more plastic free product in my life. I have been making my own sugar scrub for my face for the last couple years which with the right moisturizer, cruelty-free of course, has been perfect. As a vegetarian and overall animal lover, my goal for the next few months is to find cruelty-free alternatives for the products I now use in addition to reducing plastic waste and hazardous chemicals in our home. We have reduced our waste significantly in the last year but our recycle bin is always overflowing at the end of the week. We are buying way too much plastic! The few purchases I have made out of need in the last month, I have tried to buy second hand to save money and save one more item from the landfill. I have come to see that all of these things that I care so deeply for are connected: environmentalism, consumerism, animal welfare, minimalism. They all converge on one path. I just have to focus on forward motion on that path.
