Dropping Shopping?!

Not shop? For a whole year?

Not a bloody chance!

Yes, a woman in New York stopped shopping for an entire year. She looked at her finances during Christmas of 2003 and as People magazine described it, she "plunked down $1,001 on holiday gifts, maxed out her Visa and was 'tapping the ATM like an Iraqi guerilla pulling crude from the pipeline,' [and] she decided to undergo an 'Xtreme trial of nonconsumption'--a year of purchasing only bare necessities". I should do that, I know I should. But... no. And gods know, I am a wild spender on those things that I really want, but not on dopey things like cosmetics or shoes. I am not a typical woman that way - I don't have the usual shopping addictions of make-up, clothes or shoes. I don't buy a ton of toiletries. I am not a major redecorator or anything like that.

My addictions are a little weird, although I do buy a lot of candles, something that typically is a poison for women shoppers (i.e. most women buy candles, not men - unless they are specifically looking to get laid, in which case men will buy a candle with the help of a platonic woman friend). The rest of my addictions are not typical of... well... anyone. I love shopping from Levengers for office organisers. I love buying Sensa pens (I have approximately 50 of them). I love buying writing paper. I love buying crystals and odd gemstones/rocks. I love books and CDs and DVDs and I also buy silver jewelry.

Granted that most of these things are... pricey. I do not buy just any old scented candles, I buy from three different stores mainly. I go to Yankee Candle Company, Illuminations or White Barn Candle Company. My Sensa pens are mostly purchased online through SkySailing.com (they are based in California and yet anytime I buy a pen from them it is here in two or three days. Not typical - and they are discounted at least by $15.00 if not more. Nothing in Levengers is cheap but oh, the quality! These are really good-quality products! All in dark cherry wood and some of them at work - which is what I really wanted some of them for anyway. Writing paper usually comes from Kate's Papery when I can afford it but I will find it all over and in places one would not expect - like the Rite Aid across the street. Books, CDs and DVDs usually come from Amazon, but I do occasionally get them elsewhere such as Barnes & Noble, Costco and small shops.

Almost all of my crystal collection comes from Ren (the New York Renaissance Festival) or other related places, although last year in October I managed to find a garnet - a ball (!) that is about 6cm across and is gorgeous - for just $40.00 at the Pumpkin Festival in Keene, NH. That was a find! Jewelry also typically comes from there. The most expensive piece I own is $600 - a ring made from white gold, diamonds bits and a garnet - that Luis bought me. Otherwise the most expensive piece I own is $125.00 that David made. I own mostly things he has made. I love his pieces! I refuse to own anything I have to insure and I had told Luis plainly that I do not ever wear gold (yuck), have zero interest in diamonds and insist on a silver band with a garnet or cubic zirconium for an engagement ring, should he wish to buy one. And he need not buy one. I consider the heart-shaped garnet ring my engagement ring anyway, which I got for Christmas in 1999. I don't care if we are "engaged" forever, since I will not spend money on a wedding.

This is where I am also decidedly atypical. You want to marry me? Fine. I can do that - I will even take the last name. I'm one of those crazy women who won't give up my name, so I told Luis I will become Aislínge Kellogg de Gómez, but not Aislínge Gómez. (That would drive my work crazy, I think, trying to get new business cards with all those accents, but then again, I might not change it professionally, only to keep the confusion to a minimum. No one can spell my name as it is. And then there is the wedding itself. I want no more than 20 - 25 guests, small, personal, no where near a religious ediface and done by a JP. No big to-do, no wasting money for something that has clearly lost the special meaning of [legally (?)] consumating a relationship and just turning it into a bigger party than the Jonses' had! I feel the bigger the wedding, the more exponential the chance of your marriage ending in a bitter and acrimonious divorce.

So there you go. Back to shopping, I am a different shopper than I used to be. Believe it or not, I buy less than I used to (although it is still well outside of my means and I need to really cut back a lot) and a lot less of things I won't use. Oh, gods, yes, I was the worst impulse shopper in the world! If it was immediately appealing but totally purposeless or unneeded I would buy it. And then it would sit, eventually be put away and then some time down the road, tossed - I am not a packrat, so I am brutal about keeping the clutter to a minimum and will, with little regret if any, throw out things that clearly fall into the heading of "unused and taking up space". That looks bad if it is something I have never used.

So now I don't do that. I use all of my Sensa pens, all of my candles, all of my writing paper (and I will often share it with pen friends if they are low on paper) and all of my CDs and DVDs. I would like to say I'll read all of my books... but at this rate, if I never bought another book (FAT CHANCE!) I'd have to live to be at least 120 years old with an acute mind and vision to read all that I have now. I read fast and well and love all of my books. but I have tons of books and never part with them. I might add that I do, in fact, read books over and also watch movies and shows over and over and so purchasing them is not the waste for me that it is for others. I also wear all or most of my jewelry and make gifts of pieces that I no longer wear but know without doubt that someone else likes. Or sell pieces at garage sales or Ren.

The only thing I buy that has no practical value are the crystals. No, I am not some kind of psychic or psychotic (take your pick) that gets "energy" from them. I don't use them to run my life, improve mine or someone else's health or anything like that. I just appreciate Nature in her amazing ability to make the most gorgeous things geologically speaking. I love all the crystals I have and most if not all are dotted around the house and I do pick them up and handle them and look at them sparkle in the sunlight and delight in their magical appearance.

So there you have it. I won't not shop for a year. Although, sadly, if I did have the willpower to do that I would likely save a good $15,000 just in doing that for one 12-month period and could really erase most if not all of my debt that way. I would pay off both credit cards in full, pay Luis back and erase a couple of other debts as well. I might ideally do it for two or three years and amass quite a savings... but for now, I will work on the much more realistic although almost unattainable goal of cutting back on my spending.

So istead I will work on earning Trump's salary!