Author Topic: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!  (Read 189752 times)

mspym

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #950 on: June 15, 2018, 04:48:10 PM »
Roadrunner- a puppy sounds like the perfect use for this nest egg. Would it be satisfying to look for other opportunities for this sort of giving?

My gazingus pin seems to have fallen away along with my sewing. I managed to find and buy my new life uniform after multiple years of being frustrated and ending up making it myself. Now I have 7 instances of the same shirt and 3 instances of the same pants etc etc and the need is gone. It turns out sewing was a solution to a problem, now I have no problem and no need to buy the various components needed to provide a solution. I still have a big pile of fabric, and THREE halfmade projects that I want to work through but I just don't even think about going into craft stores anymore. Woosh, it's gone.

Rosy

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #951 on: June 16, 2018, 03:30:12 PM »
Yeah - success #2! Congrats to Ms Pym!!! Annihilation of the gazingus pin!
Btw I like the term "new life uniform" - I can relate to that:)

I'd love to see Ms. Laura 33 graduate:)

RetiredAt63

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #952 on: June 16, 2018, 05:27:47 PM »
We all want to graduate!

Jewellery is not a gazingus pin for me, but I do like it.  Earrings, mostly.  I was looking at earrings at Costco and saw lots of gold hoops.  I have some just as nice that I hardly ever wear.  The difference is, theirs sparkled and mine don't.  Time to get them all cleaned, I think.

Still going strong on my no-fibre purchases life.   Avoid, avoid, avoid temptation, and appreciate what I have.

formerlydivorcedmom

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #953 on: June 19, 2018, 07:36:09 AM »
I think my family is actually worried about me and the tiny trickle of incoming books.

Yesterday my husband handed me a new book that he'd picked out for me.  In five years of marriage, he's never bought me a book before.

My 12-year-old later made a big deal out of the fact that "now you have a new book, Mama!"

I'm a little ashamed to admit my first thought was "This better not count for the challenge!  I'm on track this month."  I managed to not say that out loud and just give him a kiss in thanks.

I'm a red panda

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #954 on: June 19, 2018, 07:45:02 AM »
I saw this thread pop up and realized I've kind of forgotten about this challenge. But I also haven't bought any nail polish or fabric.  However, I have been buying (and using) paint. Apparently I can switch hobbies... 

lifejoy

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #955 on: June 20, 2018, 10:15:08 PM »
I think about you guys often, but I've been away because...

I'm farmsitting! And taking care of a baby. Busy days!

And also... guilty! For buying jewellery. And not giving out stars (yet). BUT I've lasted nearly 6 months of buying NO CLOTHING which is pretty amazing. Had a great clothing swap recently so I think I can make it the whole year.

I'm so sorry I haven't given out stars! I still believe in you!! <3

mspym

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #956 on: June 20, 2018, 11:02:01 PM »
Farmsitting!
I am so impressed with your No Clothes resolve, while I also realise that I am only rocking this challenge because I failed so spectacularly at the No Clothing challenge.

Sanne

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #957 on: June 21, 2018, 06:40:38 AM »
I've been reading some of this thread because I think the concept is interesting and I think I should be doing something about me buying things I don't need.

The thing is though, that although I do think I should be doing something about my spending on items  don't really need, I actually can't think of my gazingus pin. I can't pin (..) it down.. I don't know if I just don't have a gazingus pin or if I just have many but don't buy a lot. It differs?

I like buying clothing but I'm doing the no clothing buying for a year thing so that's not it anymore. I DO feel that I spend more, probably because of no clothing shopping, on other things. Could be a notebook, some new pens, earrings, necklace, scented candle, tea (no books, dvd's, cd's because I don't want to HAVE them, I want to read/watch/listen them and that's fine on my ereader, from the library, netflix ..). I do use some of these and don't buy more if I already feel I have enough. I won't buy more scented candles than I use, so I don't have a stash. I do use tea a lot and like to have more flavours to choose from and do have more than I need but not too extravagant. I already limit my other buys like earrings and stuff like that because I only want to have things I use a lot.

BUT it is somewhere in between luxury and clutter. I don't need it.

In conclusion, I don't think I have one specific gazingus pin but I have a list of items that are combined my gazingus pin?? Or something like that. It shifts all the time and when I say to myself I will not buy tea it will shift to something else.

Any thoughts?

Rosy

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #958 on: June 21, 2018, 07:06:54 AM »
I think my family is actually worried about me and the tiny trickle of incoming books.

Yesterday my husband handed me a new book that he'd picked out for me.  In five years of marriage, he's never bought me a book before.

My 12-year-old later made a big deal out of the fact that "now you have a new book, Mama!"

I'm a little ashamed to admit my first thought was "This better not count for the challenge!  I'm on track this month."  I managed to not say that out loud and just give him a kiss in thanks.

That is so awesome - aww they care so much about you:)
Sounds like you are getting awfully close to graduating as well. Good job!

Rosy

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #959 on: June 21, 2018, 08:33:56 AM »
I've been reading some of this thread because I think the concept is interesting and I think I should be doing something about me buying things I don't need.

The thing is though, that although I do think I should be doing something about my spending on items  don't really need, I actually can't think of my gazingus pin. I can't pin (..) it down.. I don't know if I just don't have a gazingus pin or if I just have many but don't buy a lot. It differs?

I like buying clothing but I'm doing the no clothing buying for a year thing so that's not it anymore. I DO feel that I spend more, probably because of no clothing shopping, on other things. Could be a notebook, some new pens, earrings, necklace, scented candle, tea (no books, dvd's, cd's because I don't want to HAVE them, I want to read/watch/listen them and that's fine on my ereader, from the library, netflix ..). I do use some of these and don't buy more if I already feel I have enough. I won't buy more scented candles than I use, so I don't have a stash. I do use tea a lot and like to have more flavours to choose from and do have more than I need but not too extravagant. I already limit my other buys like earrings and stuff like that because I only want to have things I use a lot.

BUT it is somewhere in between luxury and clutter. I don't need it.

In conclusion, I don't think I have one specific gazingus pin but I have a list of items that are combined my gazingus pin?? Or something like that. It shifts all the time and when I say to myself I will not buy tea it will shift to something else.

Any thoughts?

@Sanne - welcome in. It is clear you have given this some thought.

Well, we discussed this several times in this thread already and the consensus seems to be - just like you said - most of us shift to spending on something else. At least in the beginning of this exercise, although the true gazingus pin spending keeps popping back up. 

The thing is once you recognize your own spending pattern (look at the last six months) you can decide whether it is mindless acquisition/spending and do I want/need to rein it in.
The repeating pattern may not be a gazingus pin, but just a pattern of overspending in general. That could be because you are not being realistic and set your budget artificially low or because you are playing mindgames with yourself.
Maybe you deny yourself something that is important to you, because you think you should not indulge for whatever reason.

I've found not honoring yourself and not living according to your core values creates havoc in your budget. Sometimes we spend mindlessly on a lot of things, because the thing we really want is out of reach or we don't want to acknowledge that "it" is what we really want.

Sanne, you are already dealing with the other challenge thread - no clothes buying for a year. That is no small feat, as long as it is truly a challenge to you and you don't come up with endless clever little excuses called "exceptions".

It sounds to me that perhaps you are fidgeting a little, possibly due to the no clothes buying challenge - you may have a nagging feeling that you could/should/want/need to do better with your discretionary spending in general.
That is a different thing.

Just some food for thought:)
« Last Edit: June 21, 2018, 08:36:47 AM by Rosy »

diapasoun

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #960 on: June 21, 2018, 09:42:50 AM »
Welcome, Sanne! I think Rosy summed up a bunch of my thoughts about this. :)

If you've read bits of this thread, you might have seen that my gazingus pin is books. I genuinely delight in reading, but the possession of books is also a sort of security blanket for me in a lot of ways, and I absolutely have the aspirational "I'll have time to read that!" issue. I've been working through those two issues (the security blanket and the aspirational bits) as part of this thread. As always, it's easy until it's hard; I've definitely held a book in my hands, and felt that frisson of desire, and then had to tuck it back onto the shelf. I feel like I learn something new about myself every time I do that, though, and about what it is that I value and desire.

Even if you don't know what your gazingus pin really "is" -- if you're feeling unhappy about your spending, there's space for you to sink in and think about this type of spending and ask yourself what it gives you, to learn about yourself and what you really want.

chaskavitch

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #961 on: June 24, 2018, 07:52:53 AM »
Bah.  I went to Target to get training pants for our son, and ended up with a new bra (necessary) and a bathing suit because they were buy one get one 50% off :'(  And no training pants, because they were sold out!  I definitely don't need a bathing suit, and I'm considering taking it back, but I seem to have ruined the elastic on my other ones last year after not rinsing them well enough after use and before winter storage.  I'd really like a set of bottoms that don't feel like they're going to slip off or expose me if I'm not careful, but I feel awfully guilty about buying a "made in Vietnam" Target one especially.

It's super cute, though...

mspym

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #962 on: June 24, 2018, 02:56:04 PM »
I dunno, a swimsuit that's not going to fall off you *seems* like the definition of "need" to me. What about it is making you think it's unnecessary?

chaskavitch

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #963 on: June 24, 2018, 03:07:53 PM »
Mostly as long as I'm just chilling in a pool my old ones will stay on.  It's only if I actually try to swim anywhere that I have a problem :) 

Currently I have suits that are either too tight or too big, and I feel like if I try hard enough I should be able to fit in the small ones, which is definitely not the way things work.

mspym

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #964 on: June 24, 2018, 04:14:09 PM »
Yeah nah, you need togs that FIT. If a blessing from an internet stranger helps settle you, you have mine.

(I thought for years I would slim down so my bikini would fit and it was such a relief when I just bought one in the right size and I didn't need to fear popping out anymore

chaskavitch

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #965 on: June 24, 2018, 04:18:54 PM »
Yeah nah, you need togs that FIT. If a blessing from an internet stranger helps settle you, you have mine.

(I thought for years I would slim down so my bikini would fit and it was such a relief when I just bought one in the right size and I didn't need to fear popping out anymore

Thank you for internet stranger approval :)  It does make me feel a little bit better.

HappierAtHome

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #966 on: June 24, 2018, 06:11:01 PM »
I'm starting to feel truly tempted, because I appear to have lost my citrus juicer :-( and it's only a simple plastic one, BUT it's Tupperware and it fits onto a series of containers and and and... I can totally justify (to myself) buying a new Tupperware one instead of a new non-Tupperware one. But I also really like my gold stars.

Laura33

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #967 on: June 25, 2018, 07:21:13 AM »
I'd love to see Ms. Laura 33 graduate:)

Awww, thanks Rosy!  I have realized it probably won't be until the fall, though, because I have been and will be away so much, so I'm just not making much progress!

I did buy my first new box of black tea bags, and I must admit, I resented it, because I had to demote a different tin to a second layer, instead of having them all lined up in one row across my shelf.  :-)  I know it was allowed, but I am liking the feeling of victory from having them all in one row instead of piled 2-3 deep!  I also visited my dad's and was very tempted by the lovely tea shop there, but I avoided the temptation.  I think the good news is that it is just becoming more of a habit now; I feel tempted, sure, but I no longer feel quite the same weakness in the knees and unthinking diversion into the shop.  So in a way, I feel like I have already "graduated," even though I am still working through the stash, because I seem to have kicked the "mindless" part that was what was really bugging me.

Sanne

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #968 on: June 29, 2018, 11:06:28 AM »
I've been reading some of this thread because I think the concept is interesting and I think I should be doing something about me buying things I don't need.

The thing is though, that although I do think I should be doing something about my spending on items  don't really need, I actually can't think of my gazingus pin. I can't pin (..) it down.. I don't know if I just don't have a gazingus pin or if I just have many but don't buy a lot. It differs?

I like buying clothing but I'm doing the no clothing buying for a year thing so that's not it anymore. I DO feel that I spend more, probably because of no clothing shopping, on other things. Could be a notebook, some new pens, earrings, necklace, scented candle, tea (no books, dvd's, cd's because I don't want to HAVE them, I want to read/watch/listen them and that's fine on my ereader, from the library, netflix ..). I do use some of these and don't buy more if I already feel I have enough. I won't buy more scented candles than I use, so I don't have a stash. I do use tea a lot and like to have more flavours to choose from and do have more than I need but not too extravagant. I already limit my other buys like earrings and stuff like that because I only want to have things I use a lot.

BUT it is somewhere in between luxury and clutter. I don't need it.

In conclusion, I don't think I have one specific gazingus pin but I have a list of items that are combined my gazingus pin?? Or something like that. It shifts all the time and when I say to myself I will not buy tea it will shift to something else.

Any thoughts?

@Sanne - welcome in. It is clear you have given this some thought.

Well, we discussed this several times in this thread already and the consensus seems to be - just like you said - most of us shift to spending on something else. At least in the beginning of this exercise, although the true gazingus pin spending keeps popping back up. 

The thing is once you recognize your own spending pattern (look at the last six months) you can decide whether it is mindless acquisition/spending and do I want/need to rein it in.
The repeating pattern may not be a gazingus pin, but just a pattern of overspending in general. That could be because you are not being realistic and set your budget artificially low or because you are playing mindgames with yourself.
Maybe you deny yourself something that is important to you, because you think you should not indulge for whatever reason.

I've found not honoring yourself and not living according to your core values creates havoc in your budget. Sometimes we spend mindlessly on a lot of things, because the thing we really want is out of reach or we don't want to acknowledge that "it" is what we really want.

Sanne, you are already dealing with the other challenge thread - no clothes buying for a year. That is no small feat, as long as it is truly a challenge to you and you don't come up with endless clever little excuses called "exceptions".

It sounds to me that perhaps you are fidgeting a little, possibly due to the no clothes buying challenge - you may have a nagging feeling that you could/should/want/need to do better with your discretionary spending in general.
That is a different thing.

Just some food for thought:)

Ah, thank you much for your great reply! Also thanks for replying even though you already discussed this already. It's really good to get feedback/some brainstorming.

Yes, it's definitely the shifting. I think I never really had one gazingus pin, I'm not really a collector ór maybe it was clothes and it definitely used to be necklaces/earrings when I was younger. I really like to only have things that I really use and truly love now so that changed a lot. But it is something I had to go through I guess. I was overcompensating for not having much when I was little and then earning my own money and spending spending spending.. Not really on expensive things though but it all added up.

I think, looking back at the last 6 months, that it's not that bad actually. Yes I do spend money on things I don't REALLY need but it's not a problem. And it's never on something I don't actually love and use.

I think I'm being to hard on myself and like you said, I'm already dealing with the no clothes buying and that really is a challenge for me and I'm doing no exceptions. I think this should be the focus this year.

I think I already have a really minimalistic mindset for other things.

Welcome, Sanne! I think Rosy summed up a bunch of my thoughts about this. :)

If you've read bits of this thread, you might have seen that my gazingus pin is books. I genuinely delight in reading, but the possession of books is also a sort of security blanket for me in a lot of ways, and I absolutely have the aspirational "I'll have time to read that!" issue. I've been working through those two issues (the security blanket and the aspirational bits) as part of this thread. As always, it's easy until it's hard; I've definitely held a book in my hands, and felt that frisson of desire, and then had to tuck it back onto the shelf. I feel like I learn something new about myself every time I do that, though, and about what it is that I value and desire.

Even if you don't know what your gazingus pin really "is" -- if you're feeling unhappy about your spending, there's space for you to sink in and think about this type of spending and ask yourself what it gives you, to learn about yourself and what you really want.

Thanks for the reply as well! I really love to read about the fact you see the possession of books as a security blanket. This got me thinking if I have something I buy that's my security blanket and I think it is clothes. I like to have new things (new to me, I enjoy thrifting/second hand) to let people see who I am. I don't think I have this with other things. Good way of thinking about it. And I'm already working on the clothing thing.

Rosy

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #969 on: July 01, 2018, 07:42:40 PM »
Calling @lifejoy Time for gold stars:)

How did everyone do in June? Is it getting easier or are you still full-on tempted?
How do you feel about this challenge six months in? Any new revelations - shifts in thinking or behaviour?

We made it to the halfway point - congrats everyone!:)

diapasoun

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #970 on: July 01, 2018, 09:01:58 PM »
Made it through June. Bought a book club book because the library copies were going to be unavailable until after the meeting and my friend had a non loanable Kindle copy.

I don't know if it's easier or about the same. I do spend less time looking at books now, but also getting more out of the library....

Serendip

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #971 on: July 01, 2018, 09:05:32 PM »
Calling @lifejoy Time for gold stars:)

How did everyone do in June? Is it getting easier or are you still full-on tempted?
How do you feel about this challenge six months in? Any new revelations - shifts in thinking or behaviour?

We made it to the halfway point - congrats everyone!:)

I am still going strong @Rosy but have found myself recently tempted by courses, courses, courses.
It is interesting to observe and I am very glad I set myself the challenge to abstain from art &/or self-improvement types of workshops for the year . I have such strong draws to them but it's very liberating to have space in my calendar and more money in my bank account. Plus I don't need them, I just enjoy them. Plenty of time in the future if the desire remains :)

mspym

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #972 on: July 01, 2018, 11:39:57 PM »
I wandered around an op shop with two patterns in my hand for 30 minutes yesterday before putting them down again because I had heaps of patterns already that I was much more excited about. It hadn't even occurred to me that if I had bought them, I would have FAILED June, so that was a sneaky attack fended off purely by chance.

Rosy

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #973 on: July 02, 2018, 06:40:34 AM »
I wandered around an op shop with two patterns in my hand for 30 minutes yesterday before putting them down again because I had heaps of patterns already that I was much more excited about. It hadn't even occurred to me that if I had bought them, I would have FAILED June, so that was a sneaky attack fended off purely by chance.

Congrats mspym - well done!
Yes - I think that is the part of our gazingus pin addiction that is the most insidious - this automatic - unthinking impulse to buy, before you even realize what you just did.
If it is a big purchase it is like cold water in your face - waking up from a fog.

If you catch yourself before you buy, I think it helps tremendously to re-program you - a little at a time. That is where success and the end goal, mindfulness or abstinence lies.

It was an eye opener to me how many times I had that auto response and how close I came to buy and how it affected me physically in the beginning - the first two months were awful.

Rosy

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #974 on: July 02, 2018, 06:50:22 AM »
Calling @lifejoy Time for gold stars:)

How did everyone do in June? Is it getting easier or are you still full-on tempted?
How do you feel about this challenge six months in? Any new revelations - shifts in thinking or behaviour?

We made it to the halfway point - congrats everyone!:)

I am still going strong @Rosy but have found myself recently tempted by courses, courses, courses.
It is interesting to observe and I am very glad I set myself the challenge to abstain from art &/or self-improvement types of workshops for the year . I have such strong draws to them but it's very liberating to have space in my calendar and more money in my bank account. Plus I don't need them, I just enjoy them. Plenty of time in the future if the desire remains :)

Excellent observations, Serendip.
I am impressed that you can abstain from courses. That is a weakness of mine too, I'm obsessed with the idea to always improve my mind and skills. Hence I have six that I haven't worked on since acquiring them last year. But I will - eventually, meanwhile I feel good I have these six waiting for me (I guess it is the hunter-gatherer in me that wants to accumulate for later).
Thankfully, I feel no draw to add to them while I haven't finished the courses waiting for my attention or maybe it is because I shifted to reading financial books which have been taken up a lot of my time.

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #975 on: July 02, 2018, 06:58:40 AM »
I get another star :)

I was all set to buy some nail polish this morning because I've just been in a lousy mood; but then I got a $3,000 surgery bill- so I paid that instead.

Laura33

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #976 on: July 02, 2018, 09:23:47 AM »
Midway report:  I am attaching a current photo of my tea cabinet to show my progress (if I could figure out how to link to the post with the original photo I'd do so, but I hope this pic is self-evident).  The two blue tins are the remaining ones to be worked through and not replaced; they each have only a few more pots' worth in them.  The smaller flower tin and the two bags next to it are the flower teas that I have to force myself to drink; I've decided I will keep one of them around, because it feels special when I drink it, but the others still have to go.  Oh, and there's a second box of decaf hidden behind the Lipton's on the left, because I bought without realizing I still had and don't drink decaf black often; OTOH, I am out of my decaf green, so there will be one more added back in.  (And the tea on the shelf above is still MIL's Earl Grey, as she has not been here to drink it).

Almost caught myself going into a new tea store yesterday, but stopped in time (the fact that I was in my 4th hour in the mall with DD certainly helped, because all I wanted to do was get the hell out of Dodge by that point).

Looking forward to my star!!!

formerlydivorcedmom

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #977 on: July 02, 2018, 01:04:31 PM »
Made it through June. Bought a book club book because the library copies were going to be unavailable until after the meeting and my friend had a non loanable Kindle copy.

I don't know if it's easier or about the same. I do spend less time looking at books now, but also getting more out of the library....

I spend a lot more time at the library too.  I think that's a good thing, though - the challenge wasn't to stop reading, just to stop the mindless spending!

I get a gold star for June!  I only purchased one book that was on my list from the beginning of the year.

I'm very excited that we are halfway done now.

Serendip

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #978 on: July 02, 2018, 10:58:06 PM »
Calling @lifejoy Time for gold stars:)

How did everyone do in June? Is it getting easier or are you still full-on tempted?
How do you feel about this challenge six months in? Any new revelations - shifts in thinking or behaviour?

We made it to the halfway point - congrats everyone!:)

I am still going strong @Rosy but have found myself recently tempted by courses, courses, courses.
It is interesting to observe and I am very glad I set myself the challenge to abstain from art &/or self-improvement types of workshops for the year . I have such strong draws to them but it's very liberating to have space in my calendar and more money in my bank account. Plus I don't need them, I just enjoy them. Plenty of time in the future if the desire remains :)

Excellent observations, Serendip.
I am impressed that you can abstain from courses. That is a weakness of mine too, I'm obsessed with the idea to always improve my mind and skills. Hence I have six that I haven't worked on since acquiring them last year. But I will - eventually, meanwhile I feel good I have these six waiting for me (I guess it is the hunter-gatherer in me that wants to accumulate for later).
Thankfully, I feel no draw to add to them while I haven't finished the courses waiting for my attention or maybe it is because I shifted to reading financial books which have been taken up a lot of my time.

I understand @Rosy , love the courses..but I wanted a break. I feel the desire to constantly learn and improve is also a crutch for me..rather than acting on the things I already know! :)

But speaking of books--any recommendations from the financial ones you've read this year??

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #979 on: July 02, 2018, 11:01:00 PM »
Midway report:  I am attaching a current photo of my tea cabinet to show my progress (if I could figure out how to link to the post with the original photo I'd do so, but I hope this pic is self-evident).  The two blue tins are the remaining ones to be worked through and not replaced; they each have only a few more pots' worth in them.  The smaller flower tin and the two bags next to it are the flower teas that I have to force myself to drink; I've decided I will keep one of them around, because it feels special when I drink it, but the others still have to go.  Oh, and there's a second box of decaf hidden behind the Lipton's on the left, because I bought without realizing I still had and don't drink decaf black often; OTOH, I am out of my decaf green, so there will be one more added back in.  (And the tea on the shelf above is still MIL's Earl Grey, as she has not been here to drink it).

Almost caught myself going into a new tea store yesterday, but stopped in time (the fact that I was in my 4th hour in the mall with DD certainly helped, because all I wanted to do was get the hell out of Dodge by that point).

Looking forward to my star!!!

Hey Laura- that looks *great* - you can see all your teas, it is not nearly as packed as the starting picture. That's fantastic progress.

middo

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #980 on: July 02, 2018, 11:02:05 PM »
Calling @lifejoy Time for gold stars:)

How did everyone do in June? Is it getting easier or are you still full-on tempted?
How do you feel about this challenge six months in? Any new revelations - shifts in thinking or behaviour?

We made it to the halfway point - congrats everyone!:)

I'm going well. Only the one tool purchase this year so far, back in April.  I'm finding it easier to improvise, or just think through a situation without going straight to the hardware store and spending.

5 stars for me!

chaskavitch

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #981 on: July 03, 2018, 06:09:30 AM »
I do not get a star for June, as I bought myself a bathing suit (but I do love it, so that's good?)

I bought my husband some new tee shirts (his are literally falling apart and wearing through) from Pact - has anyone ever heard of them?  They're supposed to be certified organic cotton, fair trade, certified to global organic textile standards, etc, and they make mostly "basic" items for a semi-reasonable price: tee shirts/long sleeved tees for men and women, tank tops, leggings, underwear, some dresses, with a minimum of elastane (spandex), but I'm kind of worried they're TOO inexpensive to be as good as they market themselves as being. 

Also I need to unsubscribe from their emails, because they keep sending me information about sales, and I'm always like "omg, that's like 40% off!!!" before I catch myself. 

RetiredAt63

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #982 on: July 03, 2018, 09:40:46 AM »
June is over, and I held firm. I'd like to write something more profound, but nothing  comes to mind.  July "should" be easier, since less temptation expected this month.

lifejoy

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #983 on: July 03, 2018, 10:31:21 AM »
Calling @lifejoy Time for gold stars:)

How did everyone do in June? Is it getting easier or are you still full-on tempted?
How do you feel about this challenge six months in? Any new revelations - shifts in thinking or behaviour?

We made it to the halfway point - congrats everyone!:)

I am still going strong @Rosy but have found myself recently tempted by courses, courses, courses.
It is interesting to observe and I am very glad I set myself the challenge to abstain from art &/or self-improvement types of workshops for the year . I have such strong draws to them but it's very liberating to have space in my calendar and more money in my bank account. Plus I don't need them, I just enjoy them. Plenty of time in the future if the desire remains :)


Would online free courses be of interest to you? MOOCs through Coursera and EdX?

lifejoy

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #984 on: July 03, 2018, 10:40:08 AM »
Ok party people. I'm back. I took a break from the forum because I was farm-sitting and buying ALL the jewellery and also ran out of space on my phone for tapatalk. I'm back, and I've given out this star ✪ for May, and this star ✬ for June. I tried to make them extra-cool stars to make up for my absence. Sorry! But, half a year has passed! Kudos to everyone that has participated in this challenge for so long, for better or worse! It's very impressive!

Myself, I've managed to not buy clothes. Which I think is FREAKING AWESOME! But I fell off the wagon, hard, with jewellery. I love the stuff! I'm trying to decide if I want to keep jewellery as a gazingus-pin-challenge-item for the second half of the year.

As always, if I missed giving you a star, I'm so sorry, and please let me know and I'll change it. Thanks <3

Well Respected Man

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #985 on: July 07, 2018, 06:08:03 AM »
I've been definitely thinking about this challenge each time I go to the store; in May, I did buy some of the fancier chips for my son, so no star for May. In June, I was successful at avoiding both the fancy chips and the expensive beer, so my first star for June.

Whoever it was that was in the mall for 4 hours, you're a brave person.

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #986 on: July 07, 2018, 11:20:10 AM »
Late check in but I definitely get a star for June!

formerlydivorcedmom

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #987 on: July 09, 2018, 10:09:41 AM »
@lifejoy , do you want to talk about the jewelry falling-off-the-bandwagon?

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #988 on: July 23, 2018, 11:16:17 AM »
Alas, I have lost July. A college friend wrote a book on a topic I'm generally interested in last year, and I've been lazy about actually getting the book and reading it. I saw him this past weekend at another friend's wedding, and thought, "you know, I really need to go get Adam's book." So, went and bought the book. No July star, but it was a decently targeted purchase and I feel okay about taking the hit, as opposed to very disappointed in myself.

formerlydivorcedmom

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #989 on: July 23, 2018, 12:32:15 PM »
Alas, I have lost July. A college friend wrote a book on a topic I'm generally interested in last year, and I've been lazy about actually getting the book and reading it. I saw him this past weekend at another friend's wedding, and thought, "you know, I really need to go get Adam's book." So, went and bought the book. No July star, but it was a decently targeted purchase and I feel okay about taking the hit, as opposed to very disappointed in myself.

I think that's a really reasonable reason to lose July.

I have also lost July.  I bought a book this weekend, despite having already bought one on July 2nd.

I think next year my goal will be buying 2 books a month, not 1.  That seems more sustainable to me, and still less than I used to buy.

diapasoun

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #990 on: July 23, 2018, 12:45:42 PM »
Yes. I'm okay to lose occasionally as long as I have been improving, and building a better relationship to all the Stuff in my life.

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #991 on: July 23, 2018, 01:38:43 PM »
I lost a July star. I bought some nail polish.  But I am really happy with my purchase.  So I'm OK with it.
6/7 so far is decent.

formerlydivorcedmom

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #992 on: July 23, 2018, 03:04:13 PM »
I lost a July star. I bought some nail polish.  But I am really happy with my purchase.  So I'm OK with it.
6/7 so far is decent.

You are ahead of me!

What color did you get?

zeli2033

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #993 on: July 24, 2018, 10:22:28 AM »
Hmmm... my husband bought us The Simple Path to Wealth as a little surprise anniversary gift. Which is THE BEST. I in no way indicated that I expected us to purchase this book (and since it was a surprise, I had no idea) but do I still get a star for July???? (Edit: assuming I can hold out through the end of the month) I mean, he isn’t taking part in the challenge and I did not extend it to include joint financial purchases he made on his own...

I'm a red panda

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #994 on: July 24, 2018, 10:39:42 AM »
I lost a July star. I bought some nail polish.  But I am really happy with my purchase.  So I'm OK with it.
6/7 so far is decent.

You are ahead of me!

What color did you get?

That makes it sound like I only got one...

I bought from ILNP.com and got: Deep End (blue jelly with red shimmer shift), Rush Hour (amazing holographic berry jelly), Someday (bright green jelly with silver holo sparkle), Lights Out (deep burgundy jelly with shift to green and gold shimmer), Misbehaving (pink jelly with sparkly silver holo glitter), Surfboard (gorgeous turqouise jelly with holo glitter), and Interstellar (teal jelly, with navy/purple shift and holo glitter).


Surfboard, Interstellar, and Someday are real standouts! 

I had a 25% off code, which is the only time I buy from them- with free shipping, a pretty reasonable $7.15 a polish.

*for non-nail polish people "holo" means sparkle that reflects a rainbow rather than plain single color glitter.  And jelly is a type of polish that is more sheer and layers for a really cool look, as opposed to 'creme' polishes generally sold in drug stores.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #995 on: July 24, 2018, 02:54:52 PM »
I continue to purchase gift cards that we will use within a defined time period (e.g. I'd be totally okay with buying a gift card for a vacation spot, even if we're not going on vacation for 4 months). My real goal was to stop buying gift cards with no defined purpose, and to ensure I was counting them as a real part of our budget vs just frittering things away. I'm doing well so far. I've also almost used up a few gift cards that fell under the "purchased with no defined use" bucket when we were on a road trip & needed meals out. I'll see if I can get an inventory update, so I know what I'm actually tracking.


diapasoun

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #996 on: July 24, 2018, 03:31:57 PM »
You go @MaybeBabyMustache! I'd love to see what your tracking looks like.

In case anyone would like to see how different things can look when you're not spending money on your gazingus pin:

January--June 2017, $656.92 on books
January--June 2018, $116.31 on books


formerlydivorcedmom

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #997 on: July 24, 2018, 03:58:06 PM »
In case anyone would like to see how different things can look when you're not spending money on your gazingus pin:

January--June 2017, $656.92 on books
January--June 2018, $116.31 on books

I like this idea!

2017 as of late July = $459.17 on books (including books for the kids; not including book purchases I hid in the "grocery" category)
2018 YTD               = $90 on books (including books for the kids; I bought them gift cards to the bookstore for Christmas, so they are spending "their" money now )

mspym

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #998 on: July 24, 2018, 06:40:12 PM »
I lost a July star. I bought some nail polish.  But I am really happy with my purchase.  So I'm OK with it.
6/7 so far is decent.

You are ahead of me!

What color did you get?

That makes it sound like I only got one...

I bought from ILNP.com and got: Deep End (blue jelly with red shimmer shift), Rush Hour (amazing holographic berry jelly), Someday (bright green jelly with silver holo sparkle), Lights Out (deep burgundy jelly with shift to green and gold shimmer), Misbehaving (pink jelly with sparkly silver holo glitter), Surfboard (gorgeous turqouise jelly with holo glitter), and Interstellar (teal jelly, with navy/purple shift and holo glitter).


Surfboard, Interstellar, and Someday are real standouts! 

I had a 25% off code, which is the only time I buy from them- with free shipping, a pretty reasonable $7.15 a polish.

*for non-nail polish people "holo" means sparkle that reflects a rainbow rather than plain single color glitter.  And jelly is a type of polish that is more sheer and layers for a really cool look, as opposed to 'creme' polishes generally sold in drug stores.

Not to encourage a gazingus pin but those are flipping gorgeous.  Since I am a person with chronically weak flaky nails*, I have *not* kept up with nail polish tech, so do these require gel setting or any other technology to work? and 2) the holo colours - does this involve any sort of hard glitter/sparkle objects that will shred my nails when I try to remove the colour?

Because I am Hearts For Eyes re Interstellar, Lights Out and Harbour Island but there is no point in buying awesome nail polish if it will just peel off in 1 big sheet or result in ripped nails when I remove it.

*I have tried everything including the nail strengthener used by guitarists. I miss you Once Removed original formula, if I had known you would be discontinued I would have bought you in bulk

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: No Gazingus Pins for 2018!
« Reply #999 on: July 24, 2018, 06:58:25 PM »
Thanks, @diapasoun ! Here's how I tracked it:

We have a total of $915 in gift cards currently, broken out as follows:
-Safeway - $9.53
-Lowes - $300 (we have A LOT of home stuff going on right now)
-A local spa - $210 (this was a gift from work for $500 from two years ago, and I still have some leftover :-))
-A local restaurant/salad bar that is a kid favorite when I travel - $70
-A visa gift card for $50. I find these a PITA to use, as you have to know the exact balance? How does everyone else use these?
-Gap - $75. Perfect example of one I shouldn't have bought. Don't have a need for it, hope I don't succumb to some sort of impulse purchase to "just get rid of the gift card"
-Target - $39. Had a $100 reward from a hotel stay from work
-Starbucks - $134. Recently earned $60 in Starbucks gift cards through another promo. I save Starbucks for travel. When it's work travel, I get reimbursed. When it's personal travel, I do count it as our travel budget. I'm doing a relay in August, and typically buy breakfast at least one day for six people.
-Subway - $2. Used the rest on our road trip
-Local bowling alley - $25. These are kind of a hassle to use, as you can only use one per trip. We received these for free for booking a birthday party. No out of pocket cost. But, using them will be pricey, so may just toss them.