STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Hi Bex!!  This was the original post that I made with all of the details of the bet;

I just made a dangerous wager with my bf

My bf has been off work since last Wednesday for the holidays.  Last night he decided to tell me about a Dr. Phil episode that he caught last week.  (Of course, I missed the first 5 minutes of the convo because I was laughing about him watching Dr. Phil.)  Anyway, he told me that he decided to watch because it was about a girl that was addicted to shopping.  Apparently, this girl wants nothing more than to get engaged to her live-in bf, but he told her that he would not do it because of her shopping addiction.  According to the show I have all of the signs of a shopping addiction too. 

Dr. Phil made a wager with the couple.  He had a beautiful engagement ring that he said that they could have if she went 2 months without shopping.  She could buy groceries, necessities, if she had to buy a birthday gift for someone she could, etc.

I told my bf that I could do that, especially if there was a ring at the end of the tunnel, wink-wink.  He said that he couldn't promise me that, but he wanted to make a wager anyway.  Here is the agreement:

-No shopping from Jan 1 to April 1.
-I may buy: groceries, necessities, gifts for family and friends, but I have to tell him first.  i.e. my nephew has a bday in February and Vanessa's bday is in March so all I have to do is say, "I am buying Vanessa's birthday gift"
-I can buy makeup, but (and this is where he is really good because I woud probably do this) I can not go to Sephora and buy a bunch of stuff that I do not need.  I may only buy makeup that I already use and I have to show him that I already use it.  i.e. I have to shoe him my nearly empty tube of lipgloss
-I am allowed to renew any magazine subscriptions that expire during that time
-None of these things that I am doing are so that he can put a curb on my spending.  It is so that he knows that I am keeping with the agreement and I do not risk losing the wager.
-There is no spending limit on the things that I need to buy so if I need more VL Water Canvas he can't say, "Well, you can't spend $50.  Find something cheaper."  He has no say in my personal financial decisions.

We have a signed agreement.  If I make it to April 1 I get a dinner at any restaurant of my choosing and he told me that if I can manage to put an extra $100 in my savings each month because of this plan he will also buy me something special.  The last time he bought me something special it was my white MJ Anouk so I know that it won't be something silly like a $10 prize. 

The whole point of this is to help me realize how much I could be saving if I weren't shopping so much.  My bf is very financially responsible and since we met his encouragement has gotten me out of credit card debt, I have opened 2 savings accounts and my 401K is skyrocketing.  I know that he just wants me to understand and realize how rewarding it is to have a nice nest egg and financial security in case something ever happens.  His magic number is  at least 20K in the bank...that is just what he thinks because he has a mortgage and a high car payment so he needs to have that kind of money to get by if he were to lose his job or something.

What do you ladies think?  I really think that I can do it...wish me luck!!

Farrah - I think it is so awesome that you made it thru.

I'm curious.  How do you feel about it now that the ban is over?  Were you excited by how much $ you could save?  Do you think you are going to spend less now or are you going to go back to the old habits?