Below are the 10 Rules to complete a shopping ban, as outlined by Cait Flanders in her book The Year of Less.
Before you get started, I would encourage you to spend some time thinking about one thing: the reason you want to take on a challenge such as this in the first place. Some people call this their “why.” It might be the same reason you do anything in life, or it could be very specific to this challenge. If you need help determining your why, consider where you’re at in your life’s journey so far and ask yourself these questions. What do you want right now? What do you want to get out of this life? What mark do you want to leave on the world? And why?
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Throughout the challenge, I would also encourage you to keep a list of your values. Your values should not be your aspirations—confusing the two is just one of the reasons I used to buy things for the ideal version of myself. Instead, your values can be defined as both your principles or standards of behavior, and as your judgment of what is important in life. Whenever you realize what one of your values is, add it to the list. Keep this nearby (perhaps even in your wallet.
By the time you finish your own experiment, my hope is you will be living a lifestyle that aligns with your goals and values—and that your budget aligns with them too. When everything is working together, it’s a lot easier to find inner peace, appreciation, and gratitude for al you have.
1. Declutter your home
Before you begin a shopping ban for any length of time, I would suggest going through your home and getting rid of anything that doesn’t serve a purpose in your life. Don’t just organize your stuff—analyze it, ask yourself what you want to keep, and let go of all the rest. I’m sure that sounds counterintuitive to some degree. You’re not going to be allowed to shop for three months, six months, or a year, and you’re also going to get rid of the things you currently have? But decluttering first can open your eyes to how much stuff you’ve wasted money on in the past, which can serve as motivation to not waste more money during your shopping ban. It will also give you a visual reminder of how much stuff you’re keeping.
- Cait Flanders in The Year of Less (2018), p. 173
2. Take Inventory
It’s easy to forget how much stuff you own when it lives inside closets, drawers, and boxes. While you’re decluttering, I suggest also taking inventory of the items you own the most of. You don’t have to be as exact as I was, where I literally wrote down things like how many pens I owned. Instead, try this: Go through each room of your home and write down the top five items you have the most of. For example, in your bathroom you might have a lot of shampoo, conditioner, lotion, toothpaste, and deodorant. Take inventory of those items and write down the number you currently have “in stock.” There are some of the things you will not be allowed to buy during your shopping ban—at least, not until you run out of them and need more.
- Cait Flanders in The Year of Less (2018), p. 173
3. Write Three Lists
When you were decluttering and taking inventory, two things probably started to become clear: There are things in your home you definitely don’t need to buy more of, and there are probably also a few things you will, in fact, need to buy during you shopping ban. At this point, it’s time to write three lists:
The Essentials List:* This is a list of things you’re allowed to buy whenever you run out of them. The easiest way to create this list is to walk around your home and look at what you use in each room every day. For me, this included things like groceries and toiletries. I also included gifts for others.
The Nonessentials List:* This is a list of things you’re not allowed to buy during your shopping ban. For me, that included things I thought I would enjoy but didn’t use on a daily basis, like books, magazines, and candles. If you took inventory of any of these items, add the number you have beside it for reference.
The Approved Shopping List: This is a list of specific things you’re allowed to buy during your shopping ban. As you declutter and take stock of what you own, think about what’s coming up during the time span of your shopping ban and figure out what you might need to add to your list.
*You’ll notice I didn’t include any “experience” costs, like dining out of going on a vacation. If you want to include that stuff in either list, you can! But you don’t have to. I added take-out coffee to my nonessentials list, simply because I wasn’t comfortable spending a lot of money on it anymore. However, I still allowed myself to go to restaurants occasionally. Remember, your ban should be unique to you
- Cait Flanders in The Year of Less (2018), p. 174
4. Unsubscribe from All Store/Coupon Newsletters
Now that you have your three lists of all the things you are and are not allowed to buy, it’s time to remove as many temptations as possible—starting with what gets delivered to your inbox. Whenever a newsletter comes in from a store or service that wants your money, hit unsubscribe. If you want to take this one step further, I suggest unfollowing all your favorite stores on social media. And if you want to take this one extra step further, I suggest also deleting all the bookmarks you have saved of things you wanted to buy “one day.” Out of sight, out of my mind, my friend.
- Cait Flanders in The Year of Less (2018), p. 175
5. Set Up a Shopping Ban Savings Account
No matter what your ultimate goal is, you are going to save money by not shopping. What you do with that money is up to you, but I suggest opening a new savings account (or renaming an existing one you don’t use) and making it your dedicated Shopping Ban Savings Account. How much money you decide to put in it each month is up to you. I started by depositing $100 per month, because I knew I was saving that by not buying take-out coffee anymore. Another idea is to transfer any money you stop yourself from spending by not giving in to an impulse purchase. Finally, you could also deposit any money you make by selling things you decluttered.
If you want an extra reminder to not spend money, put a sticky note around each of the debit and credit cards in your wallet with a reminder that you’re on a shopping ban. Write something on it like: “Do you really need it?” or “Is it on your shopping list?”
- Cait Flanders in The Year of Less (2018), pp. 175-`76
6. Tell Everyone You Know
Start by telling your family, partner, and/or kids—especially anyone who lives in the same household as you and who is part of your family budget. Based on those conversations, you’ll need to decide together whether it’s something you want everyone to participate in or whether you’re going to start with leading by example and doing it alone. There might be some resistance from others, if you want everyone to get on board, so don’t push the idea. The most important thing, for now, is to make sure they know about your intentions to not shop for anything besides the essentials for a period of time. Explain what your goals are, how you think it can help you and your family, and even set some goals for what you’ll do with all the money you save.
After that, tell the people you spend the most time with. The more people you tell, the more likely it is that you’ll stick to your shopping ban, because you’ll feel the need to stay accountable to not only yourself but also to them. And I would suggest you have at least one accountability partner who you can call/text whenever you get the urge to shop, so they can stop you.
- Cait Flanders in The Year of Less (2018), p. 176
7.Replace Costly Habits with Free/Cheap Alternatives
One of the top concerns people who are considering doing shipping bans share with me is not knowing what they can replace their costly habits with—especially when it involves other people. Telling people “I can’t go shopping” or “I can’t go out for dinner and drinks” (if you’re cutting back on restaurant spending as part of your ban) isn’t always a fun conversation to have. However, if you’re willing to suggest other free/cheap activities, I think you’ll be surprised by how many people are more than happy to do something that will also save them a few dollars. For example, instead of walking around a shopping mall or driving to the outlets, go hiking or explore parts of your neighborhood on foot. And instead of going out for dinner and drinks, suggest hosting barbecues or taking turns hosting potlucks where everyone brings something.
- Cait Flanders in The Year of Less (2018), p. 177
8. Pay Attention to Your Triggers (and Change Your Reactions)
Here’s where mindfulness comes into play. When you feel the urge to shop, sometimes texting a friend and asking them to stop you isn’t enough. You need to pause and consider everything that’s happening in your current environment. How do you feel? Did you have a bad day? Where are you (and what brought you there)? Who are you with? And what justifications are you telling yourself? Any/all of these things can be part of the trigger that urges you to buy something, and spotting them is extremely important so you can ultimately change your reactions. If you don’t replace bad habits with good habits, you’re more likely to “relapse” and go back to your old ways. When something triggers you, figure out what else you can do—besides spending money—and do it repeatedly, until it eventually becomes second nature.
- Cait Flanders in The Year of Less (2018), pp. 177-178
9. Learn to Live Without/Become More Resourceful
If you’re doing a shopping ban for more than three months, there may be a few times when you’ll want to give up, and the only way to push trough them is to live without an item for a while. Unless you really need something, try to live without it for at least 30 days, and see how many times you actually miss it. If it becomes a daily annoyance, go ahead and replace it. Otherwise, let it go. Also, depending on what the item is that you’re currently living without, finding other ways to fix or source it may be easier than you think. If you can’t fix it yourself, borrow it from someone you know or even rent it. The more we share, the less that goes into the landfill.
- Cait Flanders in The Year of Less (2018), p. 178
10. Appreciate What You Have
Finally, as time goes on, you’ll start to feel grateful for everything that is currently in your life. From the clothes in your closet to the appliances in your kitchen, using what you keep will serve as a reminder that money has already bought you everything you need. Your relationships, and the happiness and health of family and friends will take top priority. And a walk outside can go a long way to brighten your day. One important thing I’ve realized is that the success of your shopping ban will depend on the stories you tell yourself. If you think, This sucks, then you’ll probably end up going on a binge. But if you say, “This item is great but I don’t need it,” and choose to appreciate what you already have, my guess is you’ll never go back for the items you pass on.
- Cait Flanders in The Year of Less (2018), pp. 178-179