No-Shop September

After tomorrow, I will have succeeded at my month of not buying any "stuff". (Well, almost. I did buy the Keep Calm and Carry On print. Oh, and the swimsuit bottoms I got on clearance for like $3.50 - does that count? I was out of town and going to the lake and I *needed* them. Although I uh, didn't end up wearing them.) I unofficially decided at the beginning of September to try and abstain from purchasing "wants" versus "needs" this month for two reasons: 1) to see if I could offset some more unexpected expenses, and 2) my ongoing attempt to simplify. (Oh, and have you seen the economy lately?)

While we still did a fair amount of dining out, going out, & going out of town, I think I did a fantastic job at not buying anything I classified as a "want". I don't think it will have made that big of an impact since there certainly have been months before where I don't think I've spent much, but I'm still trying to recover from Spendfest 2008, also known as paying for a wedding and buying a house.

I will admit I had my moments of weakness. Whenever I get an email announcing a "sale THIS WEEKEND ONLY! 20% off! free shipping!", I have to check it out. Maybe go so far as placing the items in the shopping bag...twice. But both times I walked away!

The first was an Old Navy sale - I think it was 20% off of everything and free shipping.

A swimsuit for like $7! How can I *NOT* get that? I always *need* new swimsuits - I'm *always* wearing the same one!

This seersucker clutch for $5! How cute will this be...next Spring?

A seems-like-it-could-fit-well but-I-can-always-return-it-if-not because-heck-it's-now-$9.99 pencil skirt, several cute tanks, tees, and swimsuit cover-ups later, and I was off the diet and stuffing myself with Oreos and potato chips. I was going to give myself a dollar limit but couldn't even decide what to remove from my cart, so I just had to step away from the computer. This was on a Friday, and since I was going out of town for the weekend, I told myself that if I still really wanted the items on Sunday then I could buy. I actually probably would have ended up buying most of it, but I completely forgot about my lonely shopping cart until Monday morning, when the extra 20% off and free shipping were over. Granted, this didn't provide a huge savings overall since everything was already reduced so much, but this gal doesn't pay more for something she could have had cheaper yesterday.

The second instance was last night. I had promptly deleted the emails J. Crew sent last week announcing there extra 20% off sale items this past weekend. ("This weekend only!" "2 days left to save!" "This is the LAST DAY TO SAVE!") Out of curiosity last night I went to the J. Crew website to just, you know, take a peek. And clearly, September is a bad time to abstain from shopping because, hello, swimsuits are on clearance. And you know I *need* new swimsuit(s!). And found several that I loved, most reduced to $20 for top and bottom, and I think the only reason I didn't pull the trigger is because I couldn't decide on just one (or two).

Bandeau for no tan lines? Check!
Cute little cut-out? Check!
Navy & white polka dots? That is soooo me! - Check check!

J. Crew had several variations of the seersucker bikini on sale.
I would totally wear this with my Old Navy clutch (haha)!

For some reason, this one below is still $30 just for the top, and of course it was my favorite of all of the seersucker bikinis J. Crew had to offer this season. (What is up with that, by the way?)

More navy & white polka dots? Check!

Anywho, I decided to be strong. Plus, I didn't feel like searching for a free shipping coupon, because this gal doesn't pay for shipping unless she can help it.


Maybe I can keep it up in October, but deals may be harder to resist come holiday sales. I saw another blog post where the writer talked about how she likes so much stuff and that blogging about it helps negate the desire to buy because she was getting her "fix" for pretty things. So I'm going to try for now and see.

In other finds, how cute would these alphabet bags have been for bridesmaid gifts? I hate it that I'm constantly finding cute things after the fact. (And another reason to be glad the planning and searching's all over!) I can also see these being super adorable hanging on a row of hooks in an entryway.