Reset

Every so often I like to challenge myself to a reset. I do it with different spending categories, I’ve done it with drinking, I’ve done it with chips, I do it regularly with takeout, all sorts of things. There are lots of things that I like to indulge in that aren’t bad in moderation, but can creep it’s way out of hand if I’m not paying attention. Sometimes we can get into a groove where we are slowly doing things a little more and a little more and before we know it we’ve crept our consumption up to a bad level without even realizing.

My spending has been pretty well non existent the last couple weeks thanks to colds and isolating (not all bad to come from covid.) With this forced reset on spending I thought it would be a good idea to share how I intentionally do these and why I love them so much.

• They help accomplish so much in reducing bad habits
• Can be a fun personal challenge
• Helps restore moderation and a more balanced relationship with the thing in question
• Focusing on one little habit at a time can give much longer lasting success than a big overhaul in spending
• Helps bring a mindless habit to consciousness
• For me I find it more easily achievable since there’s an end date to the doing without. Doesn’t bring on the same feelings of restriction and loss as giving it up completely
• Feels really good to set a goal and achieve it

Spending is a funny thing because we do need to do it. We need food, we need clothes, we need toiletries. It’s also completely expected that we will spend some money on things we enjoy. It is nice to eat out with friends occasionally or to just not cook for a night. Buying books, or new clothes or however you pamper yourself can be lovely. A lot of the things we spend our money on, we do it because we like it and there is really nothing wrong with spending on things that add some joy to your life. In fact I am a huge fan of doing things that add joy to your life. Cutting these fun things out seems to be the first thing people think of when trying to balance their budgets and that can really make the whole concept of reaching financial goals a negative experience. I like to keep a more ‘everything in moderation’ approach and I use regular resets to help keep moderation and appreciation for the fun spending in the picture.

While there’s nothing wrong with eating out or buying takeout, it can easily cross the line into damaging your budget when it is happening every day. It also is no longer a treat when it’s happening so often. When there’s a slow creep in frequency we may not even notice that we’ve crossed that line. A little reset can help find and consciously create a healthy balance for you with that spending habit.

This works for all types of spending. I did a reset on toiletries a few years ago. I had an obscene amount of soaps and shampoos and nail polishes and all the things in my bathroom. It was something small that I could splurge on that gave me a little pampering. Every time I would go to the drug store I would get something new. When my cupboards were overflowing I had to take stock and realize that that little habit had crossed a line into wasteful and damaging to the budget. It might seem silly and small to think about buying nail polish as being an issue, but that was just one of the many ways that I pissed away money mindlessly and all together it added to big money and big clutter.

So when doing a reset it’s completely fine to choose something small like toiletries or something big like spending on all non-necessities in general. You may want to do different ones over the year to slowly transform your spending habits and financial picture as a result. You can also choose your own timeline based on how big of a pull you have to the habit or how frequently you think you should be doing it.

When I did the toiletries one I did it for a full year. Now I can easily go to the drugstore without buying new treats. I don’t even consider that a bad habit anymore. Now on the rare occasion I want to buy myself an eye shadow or what not, it’s no big deal because I’m not doing it constantly. Moderation recovered. Wasteful spending abolished. Breathing room in my bathroom cupboard. All harmony restored.

When I’ve done a reset on takeout I generally choose a much shorter timeframe or I will still give myself one every other week or something so I don’t completely revolt. This category is harder for me because I hate to cook. I do have a full post about how I’ve made progress in this category to come though because I’ve had to work so hard at it and I know it can be a hard area for a lot of people.

The act of doing a reset on an area like this forces me to find alternatives that work which is a huge win too. When I make a hard decision that I’m not buying takeout this week, I put a whole lot more effort into planning meals, making sure I have ingredients and setting myself up to win with that goal because of it’s black and white nature. If I just said that I was going to cut back takeout, the urgency of finding better ways isn’t necessarily there in the same way. That might seem like a trivial difference but it makes a huge difference to me in terms of mindset and resolve. The idea of ‘cut back’ is too vague and hard to measure (the makings of a crappy goal). Cutting something for 30 days is a very clear, measurable goal. This type of goal for me gives the desired result without the wishy-washy, half-assed attitude I get from a vague goal like ‘cut back’

This can be a good time of year to try out a reset if you’re feeling a little icky coming off a season of excess. I plan to do a full 30 day reset on non-essential spending. That’s not a big stretch for me at the moment as covid cases are soaring here and I have no desire to go to a restaurant or the mall anyway. Yours doesn’t need to be that extreme though. Pick a small area that you over indulge in and set yourself a timeframe for a reset. Mark it on your calendar, share your intention with a friend or in our facebook group ‘everyday money’. Set yourself a small, achievable goal that will have you saving money and give you more appreciation for your indulgence on the other side. No need for giving up something you like altogether. No need for beating yourself up for wanting some fun and self indulgence in your life. Just some focused effort on establishing a balance of fun spending and the bigger picture all while creating more appreciation.

Lots of love

Dawn