an adventure in wellbeing

Occupation: Intern // Postgraduate Student 

Industry: Communications // Heritage Studies 

Age: 21

Location: New Zealand 

My Salary: $60,000-ish (yay for paid internships! This starts early Jan.)

My Paycheck Amount (4x/month): $1000 

Monthly Expenses

Rent: $0 (I’m currently back at home for a few months.)  

Debt Repayment: $100+ (currently I owe the bank $1800 and my parents $600 for various emergencies and such during the year and my field school trip overseas.)

Student Loan Payment: $400-ish (I’m still studying so they’re pretty lax at the moment. When I enter the real workforce I want to pay off my loan pretty aggressively, but it’s currently at, gulp $40,000, which is going to have around $20,000 tacked on for my masters degree this year.

Netflix: $0 (Thanks, Mum and Dad!)

Spotify: $6.49 (Student discount, hollaaaaa)

Cell Phone: $16 

Health and Dental Insurance: $0 (Still on my parents plan!) 

KiwiSaver: 4% of each paycheck, which is matched by my employer. I’m waiting until my immediate debt issue is handled before I build up an emergency fund and start adding more per month (at least $50 extra) to my Kiwisaver. 

Hi and welcome to yet another fresh new attempt at a year-long no buy in the style of Cait Flanders! I am currently writing this on a bus from Olympia to Delphi in Greece on the 18th of December. In three days, I head off to Italy for a whole 20 hours and then spend a whole week in Germany before coming home. We’ve been over here for a month so it’s super exciting to think that I can go home and lie around and be lazy like I want to be (not really, I start an internship as soon as I get back and have a major site report to write.)

Otherwise, financials! I have spent so much time reading my beloved money diaries and would love to do weekly ones again when I’m back. I have actually been pretty good with money since I got over here and haven’t spent a huge amount, especially considering that we pay for all our meals, water (in some places the water hasn’t been drinkable or has caused havoc with our stomachs since we’re used to really good quality NZ water) etc. I haven’t really made huge purchases either- the biggest thing I’ve bought in one go is probably my tattoo (!!) which was only around 60 euro. Otherwise, nothing major- the usual glut of 100 t-shirts and postcards (for my travel journal or family and friends) and a bit of jewellery. At Delphi, I am going to buy some silver for both myself and the people I am visiting because it’s a huge industry there!

Travel wardrobe-wise has been a bit of a disaster- two of my pants ripped early on so I’ve been going on one pair of jeans and some slightly see-through leggings (classy.) Unfortunately, because I’m so tall it’s been really hard to find any sort of replacement- the Greeks sort of take one look at me and say “Nope! move along!” I’m hopeful that in Germany there will be a skirt I can pick up for my internship and a pair of jeans somewhere. Fingers crossed the Christmas season doesn’t work against me there. I also need a new pair of trainers and a new pair of boots as my boots died this winter and both of my trainers haven’t survived the trip. And I lost my socks and most of my underwear AND had to buy a new phone (should have mentioned that above but I am hopeful that insurance will cover it.) So it’s going to be a pretty quickly eaten up first paycheck.

To reiterate what I need (mostly for my own sake)

1 pair wide leg pants

1 pair Levis Mile Highs (while I talk about ethical fashion on here, these are the only jeans that go down to my ankles.)

1 denim pencil skirt

1 pair trainers

1 pair black ankle boots (sneaky edit: done! I bought these in Rome 8))

x5 pairs new underwear

x3 pairs new socks (also bought these in Rome but I probably need new trainer socks as well)

and also a camel or grey long coat

As infuriating as it is to have to ADD things to my “things I am allowed to buy” lists, it’s also nice to have the chance to replace some of the tattier bits.

Anyway, onto the actual important part: no buy 2019. Obviously, this year has been obscenely expensive. My trip was $9000, which cut into almost all my discretionary income and beyond it. Plus I probably haven’t been the best at not buying things (skincare) when I want it without actually considering the cost and impact. Ergo, for 2019, we are cutting out all new purchases of makeup and skincare (unless they’re replacements, in which case they need to be legit replacements!!) Also no more tops unless absolutely necessary (e.g. for work), no more other bits of clothing except what is listed above. We are also banning lip balm from being bought at all during the entire year. Point blank. I have enough lip balm to keep my lips from cracking for the rest of my life. I’m going to expand on this in another post.

(22 Dec, Rome Ciampino Airport)

no premediated spending this week except for rent ($388) which is my last payment :o) 

I broke the plan of no spend monday this week by buying a card to use while I’m overseas at the grand total of $20.00. Now everything has to go towards my rent payment because my bond won’t come back for another 5 weeks and I won’t be paid by my other job until the 28th. When that does come through, most of it will go on paying for my outstanding medical bills. 

premeditated expenses this week: 

annual haircut (Friday), probably in the ballpark of $80. 

acupuncture for my back injury (also Friday), usually $20-25. 

monday- no spending again! maybe no spend money is a thing haha.

days spending = $0.00 

On Tuesday I pack up a lot of my stuff, donate it etc. I’m mostly waiting to have my Wed/Thurs meetings to decide whether my internship goes ahead in January. Because most of my food is gone, I spend $5.00 on a pizza for dinner and $4.00 on a drink. I also stop at the supermarket and pick up some stuff for the next day- $21.03. 

days spending= $30.03

Come Wednesday, I have piles of stuff to mail. Sending off both my big package and a letter costs $28.43. My Spotify payment also comes out- $7.49- and I have to go BACK to the supermarket for cleaning supplies and other snacks. $15.75. I also go to a T2 event with my friend Kristen because they have a 20% off Christmas sale. I promise I won't buy anything, but I end up buying some apple tea and a flask I've been wanting for ages. $48. 

days spending= $99.67 (yikes.) 

On Thursday I have my meeting and on the way home I grab a sandwich for $6.90 and a coke for $3.50. When I get to the airport, my flight is delayed by over two hours, so I end up spending $6.00 on vending machine snacks, $9.00 on a smoothie and $3.60 on fries. Not my finest moment. 

days spending= $29.00 

On Friday my parents paid for my acupuncture (yay!) and my haircut set me back $77.00. I also pay $16 to ship my planner to NZ. 

days spending= $93.00

no spending on Saturday :)

days spending= $0.00

and also no spending on Sunday!

days spending= $0.00

So! This week I spent $251.70, for an average of $35.96 per day. Much better than last week- notably I am back at my parents' house and no longer paying for all my own food etc. I also didn’t have to buy $400 worth of plane tickets, which played a big old part in why last week so much money went out instead of being saved. 

shopping:

As in my money diaries post. A lot more spending this week but most of it was on allowed purchases- only 2 overboard. Def need to curb my junk food and fast food intake because it’s bad 4 the planet and bad 4 me. 

minimalism

I’m about to completely pack all my stuff up into two suitcases weighing under 30 kg and one box. And maybe a backpack. We're going to see A LOT of minimalising and Konmari this week. 

personal development

reading:

last week I was reading the below

The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a Fuck

You Do You

Get Your Shit Together

The High Mountains of Portugal

currently, I am reading

The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a Fuck

You Do You

Get Your Shit Together

First, We Make the Beast Beautiful 

exercise:

put on hold due to injury this week still. when I get back from Europe I’m going to have a crack at none to run. 

meditation and visualisation:

bad. I can’t get into Insight Timer at the moment lol so I haven’t done any :( After watching the Minimalist’s documentary I’d like to meditate for @ least ten minutes a day.

studying:

Monday- no spending because I was too crook to get out of bed! 

days spending= $0.00

On Tuesday I finally got paid so I stopped by the supermarket and spent $42.78 on things for burritos and a juice. I managed to talk myself out of spending $18 on an Uber Eats burrito, but couldn't stop myself from buying dairy milk and a cookie. Also, my phone top-up came out of my account- $16. I need to remember to switch that off for while I'm away. I also finally found a reusable cutlery set which I need for work lunches next year and for my trip. It's through Amazon, which I'm not super keen on, but it's also only $30.60 including shipping. I bought a vending machine coke too, which is a habit I’m trying really really hard to break. $3.50. 

days spending= $92.88

On Wednesday my studylink paid out and I got paid by my two other jobs. I went to the doctor, which is luckily free for uni students as long as you're at the student med centre! I ended up spending $5 on my prescription, $3.99 on ear cleaners for mascara (bamboo!) and $3.50 on sterilizing tabs for my menstrual cup, both of which are replacements. I'd estimate these will last around six months. I also had to go back to the supermarket and spent $12.26 on food. Then, on the way home from work I realised I needed to up my MetroCard- $20 (should have done $10 as I'm not here for more than a week.) Finally, I bought my plane ticket home next Wednesday for $92. I went to buy my Athens/Rome ticket but the time slot is still kind of tight and I baulked at spending $300 on a plane ticket. A job for tomorrow instead! I also bought some snacks from the vending machine after work because I am super fatigued at the moment and was too lazy to heat up my beans and mince- $8.50

days spending= $145.25

At 1 am on Thursday I get woken up by an email letting me know a Kickstarter I backed months ago was successful. I only back NZ kickstarters I know will succeed, but I’m kicking myself for forgetting about this expense. Kickstarter takes $44. Thursday AM I was still kind of bummed about the sheer cost of the Athens/Rome ticket, so I bought my 2019 diary from Ban.do. It's going to cost around $60 including shipping to New Zealand with a discount code, which is about $10 cheaper than it would be if I bought it directly from Pepa Stationery here in Chch. Also, the red design I want is an online exclusive to US shops only. Buying it today through Paypal cost me $48.01. 

Finally, I suck it up around 12 and buy my plane ticket. With taxes and my suitcase, it comes to $310 total for my 8.50 am flight. Shortly after that, my friend Kristen calls me and asks if I want to go out for lunch (which for us usually also means a sneak around T2 and Kikki.K.) I say yes because I'm probably only going to see her one more time before I move. I spend $6.50 on KFC (trying to wean myself off this) and $10.08 at Pak n Save for laundry money. I also buy a card to send to a friend of mine who's been struggling since he has some family issues going on and get a free notebook- $8. After I get home around 4, I want a few little snacks, so I call my friend Claudette and buy some Spicy Tomato chips and a bottle of Coke (also trying to wean myself of this :( ) for $4.18. 

days spending= $430.77 (so minus the ticket, $120.77.) 

Friday is exam day! Hopefully my last exam ever, but I’m woefully underprepared. I spend most of the time before my 2.30 pm exam doing laundry and cramming. I spend $6.00 on vending machine snacks while I do so. After the exam, I text my friend Kristen and ask if she wants to try out the Lime scooters that have just been released in Chch because we got a $100 free voucher from them. She says yes, so we walk for about two and a half outs to find our nearest one. On the way, I buy some more snacks for us- $6.00 worth of chocolate and $8.30 worth of Subway for tea. 

days spending= $20.30 

On Saturday I slept in and bummed around, but I decided to venture out to the supermarket for yet more snacks and some nacho chips to have with my chilli con carne for tea. This costs me $12.96. I also spend yet another $6.00 at the vending machine for yet another coke and packet of chips. I also pick up my direct deposit form for refunding my bond and start thinking about how I'm going to responsibly get rid of all the food I have stored up without wasting it by throwing it out, especially since I can only take 30 kgs home with me. 

days spending= $18.96

I had worked on Sunday (yay!) it was my last shift at the museum before I fingers crossed get my adult job. On the way to work, I spent $9.27 on lunch because I forgot it (grr) and then on the way home I spent $1.60 on a chocolate bar because... I wanted one. Oops. And then I needed more dinner stuff so I had to go BACK to the supermarket and spend $9.90.

days spending= $20.77

Now... time for some very sexy graphs and maths:

This week I spent $728.93. Minus my flight (which was $310), that is $418.93. That is an average of $104.13/$59.85 per day. How much of that could be cut completely?

Stationery, absolutely. I have more pens and notebooks than any human being actually needs.

At least half of my food expenditure is on junk food and could be reduced through weening myself off sugar, coke and chips. This would also obviously have some very good results for my physical health.

Continuing on from above: fast food. No human being needs to spend $50 on fast food IN ONE WEEK.

Flights, obviously, but these won't be purchased again.

Clothing (duh.) From now on- no clothes! I had forgotten about the Kickstarter before I started my no spend challenge, or I would have cancelled it.

Medicine is obviously needed to function and I won't need ear buds or sterilising tabs for another 3 months.

One part of my Misc. category was my reusable cutlery (a one and done purchase) and the other two were phone and bus top-ups. Not much needed here!

a little earlier than usual, but we’re at the end of another week! this week had been much, much better than last week. I paid off $6030 of school fees (so I'm definitely going to Greece this summer, and won't it be a mish to spend as little money as possible whilst I am #MindfullyMinimalistOnTour) and I only bought 2 things (kind of? my mum paid, so I didn't buy them- okay on the shopping front but not on the minimalism front, I guess.) One was a shirt I bought for a DIY project after the original shirt I decided to use... did not survive the sewing process. After I brought it home I realised it's actually A.) a pretty nice Tommy Hilfiger shirt (for, uh, $8 NZD at our local op shop) and B.) it's too small to cut into a wrap top. So the hunt continues! Next year. When I am home. The second thing mum bought for me was a vintage 1960's rural China-themed wallet for $2 NZD. It needs to have the screws on the metal plate or the plate itself replaced (easy as and I will get my dad to do it) but I have a nice new wallet, which I needed! 

shopping:

As above. Technically, I spent nothing. I'm going wardrobe diving for my great grandmother's old silk scarves to wear in my hair tomorrow. I'm only going to take one down with me because on Sunday I'm beginning the process of downsizing to next to nothing. Next Wednesday I have approximately $650 of disposable income after rent. This is going to get blown on flights home (c$100 and then my Athens-Rome flight ($300) on December 21st. Whatever is left over is going on actual food for the first time in so. so long. But then? Savings for that nice pair of boots I'm buying in Germany off my approved purchases list (or at this really nice op shop in Rome I found close to my hostel.) 

minimalism

As previously mentioned, pretty good! I'm currently at my parent's house so it has kind of ground to a standstill, but when I get back I'm going through all those clothes like a madwoman. If my belongings don't fit in 2-3 medium sized boxes and my two suitcases, they aren't mine anymore. The next thing to do is to sort out accommodation for next year, but since I don't know where I'll be working in January it's all up in the air! Fingers crossed it's in Government this summer because I would LOVE the opportunity (and, uh, the money) again. 

Otherwise, project downsize is going really really well. The next step is to read Curated Closet and implement the stuff suggested to really reduce my need to B U Y everything because I own nothing. 

personal development

reading:

last week I was reading the below

The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a Fuck

You Do You

Get Your Shit Together

Pretty Iconic

currently, I am reading

The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a Fuck

You Do You

Get Your Shit Together 

The High Mountains of Portugal 

exercise:

put on hold due to injury this week :( I don't feel like myself when I don't run. 

meditation and visualisation:

not great, but also not terrible. 

studying:

bad. horrible. there are a number of classes I'm not sure I'll pass this year. Oh well. We'll power thru. 

no more McDonalds, no more KFC. it’s not good for you. 

by January 2019, I will no longer consume fizzy drinks. 

no more purchases of things I could make myself or buy at charity shop, including cleaning products. 

no more purchases of sanitary products. I have a menstrual cup and period panties I never use! 

reduce, reduce reduce. 

cut down on paper waste and plastic intake

start using a reusable cup for drinks and purchase reusable cutlery (a new exception)

reduce meat except for one meal cooked a week

no more red meat

veggies and fruits to come from farmers markets (walk, bike or take the bus!) and hopefully meat too. if poss, shop at these as much I can in 2019. 

okay, so the backsliding that took place last week amped up a little bit. nevertheless, we’re just going to move on and try to not repeat that again. 

purchases made:

hair ribbon. why did I buy it? I really like the way silk scarves look when they’re wound into ponytails or buns BUT this one doesn’t even do that. At home, I have a ton that belonged to my great grandma and can definitely serve that purpose. On the bright side, it was 30% off and I only paid $8. 

eyebrow gel. why did I buy it? I got my eyebrows done and my friend Kristen said the lady had done them wonky. She hadn’t. This is Essence, is a great dupe for my extremely dried out and gross Clinique one, and only cost $5. 

new headphones. why did I buy these? my old ones broke, these were sort of free because I bought them on flybuys. 

plans for next week:

next week I am home! in the (mostly) loving arms of my mutti and our pets. my plan whilst home is to finish up my one sort of lackluster beeswax rap and do two sewing projects- a wrap top from a jersey knit XXL v neck shirt I'll hopefully find in an op shop for like a dollar and sewing up the armpit of one of my t-shirts which sprung a hole after being worn about three times and that I am still mourning. See, zero waste and sustainable! other than that t-shirt: I am buying nothing. zip. zilch. nada. maybe a pita. but nothing non-edible. 

minimalism:

we have downsized almost everything possible. There’s still a little bit more to go when I try and pack everything I own into two medium-sized suitcases and two boxes (excluding my appliances) in the hopes of dumping them at my parent's house/friends flats whilst I'm in Europe, but I think it's definitely doable. there's a lot of stuff that I can part with and that just takes up so much space. 

I've been thinking about that a lot lately- the sheer amount of space that stuff takes up, both physically and mentally. obviously, we hoard and clutter and buy more space and more stuff than we need to fill out 3000 square foot houses (ew) (fun fact: Americans own and consume a little over twice as many material goods as we did in 1970.) but the mental space stuff takes up, good god. we spend our time reading about it, thinking about it, being blasted with ads for it online, in newspapers, on tv, in tv shows, books, magazines (which are just big ads that I'm supposed to want to pay $10 for) ... everything we do is focused on stuff. our goals surround stuff- I want to own a beach house, a Tesla, an LV speedy. and it's so wack. it is so mindblowing to me that consumer culture has, in fifty years (or probably about 70, since it's a post-war boom) completely taken over our lives and everything we do. our whole identities are shaped around what we have and what we don't have, what we want and what we're getting. and it's killing us, it's killing the planet and it's killing our communities. consumerism is SO destructive. from the slaves making and producing the products to the resources and environment being destroyed- we're condemning ourselves for quick throwaways and products we don't actually need. 

I fully recognize that I sound like an insane person here, and this is going to be something really nuts to say- but I genuinely, hand on heart believe that the increase in mental and physical illnesses stems from our addiction to stuff. the physical is from the microplastics, the pollution, the overfishing, the shortcuts taken for a quick buck, the chemicals, the hormones etc. it's so bad for us, but the ad industry spins it so we forget about it and keep mindlessly consuming. mental illnesses- anxiety, OCD, so forth- they all stem, in a lot of cases, from stuff. hoarders often have OCD. My own anxiety, depression, and OCPD stem so strongly from what I have and what I don't have. I buy things for an endorphin rush and hate myself when it wears off. I get anxious that I don't have X, Y or Z, or that I might miss out. I worry that if I don't own or buy a full set, it'll all be horrible and everybody will hate me. 

my solution, therefore, is thus: the shopping ban. reducing consumption. as mentioned above, buying my own clothes, switching to organic foods, going zero waste and removing chemicals that my body can't process from my life. obviously, I'm not a fucking moron, so I'm going to vaccinate myself and take my antidepressants. but hormones in my food and bleach in my tampons? I don't need it and it is one day going to negatively affect me. pesticides on my fruit and veges- or worse, fruit and veges flown to me from across the planet? I DON'T NEED IT. 

week one of this baby starts tomorrow! 

this will hopefully incorporate studying, reading (which I slack on), meditation and visualisation as well as exercising all under one tidy little bundle. 

studying 

the plan here is to finish out this week (15th of October being the Monday) and deal with my last essay, my test and then prep for my exam on the 2nd as well as for my summer school presentation on the 22nd of November. after that, I have an essay and a test and then it's semester one of the new year! I am doing an extra year on my degree for a double major, as previously mentioned. Would also like to work on my organisation and using my diary to write down due dates and events in hard copy as well as on iCal. 

reading 

currently, I only read self-help books, which isn't terrible but probably does need to change. the plan here is to read regular books on top of my self-help book addiction and ✨open my mind✨ 

books currently reading are:

Blitzed, Drugs in Nazi Germany

The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a Fuck 

You Do You

Get Your Shit Together 

Pretty Iconic 

meditation and visualisation 

I do this every night before I go to bed but I would like to also start doing it as soon as I wake up in the morning to get me ready for the day! Ideally, this would also help me wake up at 8 am instead of at 11 (which is probably a massive pipedream)

exercise 

minimalism

I’ve gotten rid of most of the stuff I don’t use or wear (seasonal stuff like my winter coat or jumpers excluded because it gets cold here in winter and I am not about to go out and cop new jumpers just because they don’t spark joy lmao.) Pretty much all that's left to deal with is skincare, books and random knick-knacks that just clutter up space and that I don't particularly like. I also have a lot of paper that needs to be tossed or digitised (why to things get emailed to us anyway) or dealt with otherwise! That gets me down to just the basics. It's not like a 42 items are all I own!!!! kind of deal, it's a me kind of deal. Which I think is A-OK. 

shopping

This week I backslid a little. I’m super dependant on spending money to make myself feel better, it was a really, really bad week, I bought a pen. I’m not going to beat myself up about it because I talked myself out of countless other things, but it sucks to have failed 8 days after giving up. I also bought a dress for a funeral, but I think that’s a pass because I didn’t have anything else appropriate. From now on, approved purchases only. 

I feel like understanding where I’m going with my life and my various ~aesthetic goals~ are important to spitball so after thinking about where I want to be in life and WHO I want to be, I trawled Pinterest for Polyvore sets that matched the four different “me’s.” I’m a super visual learner so looking at things helps me to understand what I’m actually doing before I put it down on paper (or, um, Tumblr.) 

1.

1964 Europe, wide leg pants and turtlenecks, little girl far from home. 

I’m not 100% on what draws me so much to 1960′s clothing silhouttes and colours but it really gives me this vision of me in the future, living somewhere semi-rural in a little old cottage with a garden where I can work on growing my own food and a wrap around veranda. I work at a little museum for Roman history and wear tortoiseshell hoop earrings and Gorman clothes. My house is full of things that have meaning to me and nothing I eat comes from further than 200 km away. 

2. 

Simplicity, modernity and clean lines. 

I like this one because it also feeds into the above fantasy, plus it also fuels the idea of minimalist me if I went full minimalist aesthetic. White and black, everything soft and clean and neat. Farmers markets on a Saturday morning, working as a communications advisor somewhere in government, stacks of vintage bangles to offset the simplicity of everything else. Warm and cozy winters with blankets, a fire roaring and David Attenbourgh on TV. 

3. 

Serenity. Earth tones and clean lines, healthy living. 

This me meditates a lot. She goes to regular yoga and visits Eastern Europe on long weekends because it’s cheap. This me works as a sustainability officer and only wears natural fibers. She doesn’t eat meat anymore and has completely cut back on plastic. There is a reproduction bust of Apollo by her front door that she puts her keys on when she’s home, and a statue of Alexander the Great on her white IKEA bookshelf. Her house smells like vanilla candles. 

4. 

1950′s America. Simpler living, juxtaposition, turning points. 

This me was born before my grandparents and lives in an apartment block in Brooklyn. She has a degree in History and still lives with her parents, stopping to pick up groceries from three different shops on the way home from her teaching job. She sews her own clothes and listens to music on a battered gramophone. Sometimes she sneaks out and rides around on motorcycles with boys who she shouldn’t hang out with. It takes her three hours to get ready in the morning. 

 I know the word kind of invokes the idea of owning exclusively black/grey/navy/white wardrobes consisting of turtlenecks and acne studios clothing and only 12 items total including your bed and bath towels, but to me, that’s really not what minimalism means. 

minimalism is, in this really weird, cringy way, freedom from material culture. material culture pervades literally every single part of our culture and our environment- turn on the TV/open a newspaper (lol) and what do you see? ads. use social media? ads. every other youtube video is sponsored, movies and tv shows are packed full of product placement and it’s all aimed to do one thing: make us feel inferior so we buy their products. It’s all supposed to make our lizard brains stop and think: “hey, you know what? If I own this Too Faced blush, I’ll be pretty. I’ll be cool if I drive an Audi and have friends if I drink Coke or look like Cami Mendes if I wear Covergirl” and it’s all shit because that’s exactly what they want us to think. We spend and buy and spend and buy because we’re socialised to think we’re not good enough without consumer culture. 

it’s this total cycle that keeps the Western working class poor while allowing them to think they’re rich because they can afford a full wardrobe from Forever 21, and keep the wealthy rich off the profits. And it keeps those in third world countries poor because they’re now dependant on that money and the false economies this culture has created. So they die young from factory collapses or cancer or lung disease or whatever, and we keep buying fast fashion or plastic junk or something that is going to make us think we’re better for five seconds like we’re in Wall-E. 

by stepping out of that cycle, an opportunity which is, let’s be real, a symbol of privilege and middle class, we have the opportunity to break that cycle in our own lives in some capacity. we can stop and think “hey, it’s kind of messed up that child slaves mine my eyeshadow and my nail polish is tested on the eyes of rabbits.” we can stop and think “wow, I am in a position where I can afford clothes that aren’t produced by slaves, and I don’t want people to suffer on my behalf.” and this isn’t something that we get from black and white turtlenecks from Madewell or ACNE Studios or Everlane (which is, btw, produced in the same factory as F21 and other fast fashion brands) or shiny white empty spaces that we are TOLD by social media that we need/want to fit into a square hole. you can be a minimalist and wear as much colour as you like, you can be minimalist and own things, they just so happen to be things that have value to you and aren’t mindless purchases.  

Since I started my challenge on October 1, we have just concluded the first week! 

minimalism

I decluttered a lot of my wardrobe to go to the charity shop bins- I have two big (reusable) bags full of jeans, tops, PJs etc that I don’t wear anymore and haven’t worn in a long time. I had to throw away three pairs of PJ bottoms (I would rather not toss stuff in the future because it just sits in the landfill but these were too damaged to go to charity shops and I don't have access to a ragging dump!) I still have some household goods to declutter and send to the Vinnies or the Salvos but I have definitely reduced the sheer of stuff that I have sitting in my wardrobe. There's also a few other pieces I've been holding onto for when I lose weight that I might ultimately end up tossing. I also have four items that desperately need to go to the dry cleaners (second-hand vintage, mostly wool) before they're wearable and actually serve a purpose in my wardrobe! I would love to be able to have a visual wardrobe in some capacity by the end of this challenge. 

shopping

I bought one pair of knickers that were half price. That was the only non-food related purchase this week, and they were from an organic, ethical brand (Nisa) that employs refugee women. Because I bought these, I removed two pairs of underwear that I do not wear from my underwear drawer to be donated (is that weird??) However, due to actions from Nisa and their CEO and my concerns about their quality, I will not be purchasing from them anymore (or anymore underwear until next October!) I also got a little pin for free through Kikki K's 2018 diary owners plan when my friend Kristen bought a bag- I didn't really need it but it's quite cute and is on display with the rest of my pin collection- something that also really doesn't need to be topped up!

Otherwise, the bulk of my spending this week was on food (mostly junk from the vending machine), including fast food. As I'm okay with one purchase a week under a tenner, my $6.50 KFC popcorn chicken lunch and my $1 frozen coke (with a reusable straw because they won't accept reusable cups!) were okay. The $20 spent on coke and chocolate, not so good, but a definite work in progress! 

I just finished Cait Flander’s “Year of Less” and have a number of other books on ✨minimalism✨ and finding peace and identity through owning less, more ethical practices and obviously not spending my life savings on material goods. So what better place to spitball but here, right?

I am (and there’s not really a “good” way to say this) desperately unhappy with my life as it currently stands. I’m fat. I’m constantly overtired and stressed. I flunked out of a paper so I’m spending an extra semester to graduate. I constantly worry all my friends actually hate me and 98% of my life is defined by how anxious I am and what people think about me. It’s not a cool way to live.

One of the chief ways I make myself happy is through good old retail therapy- one of those things that actually nobody needs to do, but that little rush when you click “buy” gets every single synapse in your brain flashing like a string of Christmas lights. It feels good in the short term, kind of shitty in the long term. This lifestyle has me $2000 in overdraft (compared to my 50k student loan) and drowning in shit I don’t need or want. Financially I would like to have that money paid off by the end of my last semester in June next year (whereupon I have to decide to either be a real adult and get a job or stay for postgrad studies) and have my student loan paid off aggressively before I’m thirty. In NZ we have a huge housing crisis, so I’ve fully accepted that either I’m not staying here, or I’m renting until I die. Either way, I’d like to have at least the majority of that debt settled before that decision, in particular, is made.

I return from Europe (I know I just spent ages talking about debt, so this is stupid, right?) in Jan 2019. That gives me 6 months to pay off $334 dollars each month. That’s honestly not that much and is entirely doable- I would say I spend more on junk food in a month, and I definitely do on impulse purchases. The loan debt is significantly more dramatic and probably will take the next ten years- this is a bridge to be crossed when my OD is paid off and the bank isn’t pounding at my door for it.

My major financial goal from October 2018-October 2019 is to stop buying things. Flat out, Cait Flanders style. My goals are obviously to pay off the OD I mentioned above, raise 1/2 of the money for my grand adventure (see below) and learn to focus on what I have, rather than the material. $200 shoes aren’t going to fill the void, no matter how much I hope they will- it’s the same as food. So my goal is to adopt a simple/intentional living, less is more approach and make more considered life choices. This includes no more quickie purchases because it’s a sale, no more fast fashion, no more fast food and plastic, no more ethically corrupt food brands (e.g. Nestle) and no more buying for Fantasy Rosie, who is willowy and beautiful and very smart and successful. I want to adopt the repair, repurpose, reuse values my grandparents had, as well as the reduce and recycle values of my own generation.

Here is what I am NOT allowed to buy:

Skincare that isn’t replacements.

Makeup that isn’t brow gel or mascara (aka what I need and use.)

Books, notebooks, pens and pencils.

Clothing + Accessories.

Electronics (i.e. new phone)

Home decor/posters/pillows/so forth.

Water bottles.

New glasses.

Tea!

Hair products (I have SO MANY. I do not use them all. This is an opportunity to finally finish the bottle of Ouai hair oil that’s been on my dresser since high school.)

Food containers, bowls etc.

Underwear.

Starbucks and fast food over $10.

Things from Kmart and the Warehouse.

Ideally, I would like to also practise a one item in, one item out mentality. If I have to have a new shirt or a new something, another item from that category needs to be donated or passed on.

Obviously, I’m allowed to buy food, textbooks, replacements, fast food under $10, movie tickets/experiences, gifts etc. Haircuts, getting my eyebrows done (I’m ginger, so this is an actual necessity) are also “allowed,” albeit sparingly- one haircut a year (because they’re like $80 per cut) and my eyebrows every six weeks (aka 9 times during the shopping ban at a total cost of $153.)

Allowed Purchases (aka: things I genuinely need.)

New black ankle boots (buy when I’m in Germany, a budget of 100 euros.) My old ones are completely worn out but can still be donated :)

Graduation dress to be worn at both my undergrad graduation and my postgrad graduation (fingers and toes crossed.) Budget of $150 NZD.

x2 pairs of exercise leggings- mine are ratty and beginning to wear out. Budget of $50 NZD per pair.

Summer shoes.

Black jeans for work (Levi’s Mile Highs, not ethical but they’re the only brand that covers my ankles.) Budget of $150 NZD.

Stainless steel lunch box. Budget of $50, which is the average cost for one of these here.

New sweatshirt (all my others are ratty and gross and hopefully will not survive 2019.) Budget of $50.

Sunscreen (i.e. Go-To Skincare’s Zincredible.) $60.

2019 Ban.do Planner. $50.

Meaningful and longlasting souveniers whilst I’m in Europe (i.e. not a ton of random t-shirts I never wear for the sake of having them.) This is actually a really hard one but I’m going to aim to spend under $150 NZD aka 80 euro on things whilst I’m over there.

Obviously, these are all hopefully ethical products from local brands and are well thought out purchases that match the rest of my stuff, fit and are affordable.

With regards to fitness, here is the plan: in the next two years, I am going to walk the Camino Portuguese from Fatima to Muxia, and then I am going to walk the Kumano Kodo and climb Mount Fuji. To do both of those things, I need to be in some sense of actual physical fitness- I’m kind of there now but not quite. I know that changing my body won’t make me happy, but I think that teamed with therapy it will allow me to develop some confidence in who I am and what I do. The following are my fitness goals (with general timeframes.)

Start going to Park Runs (soon- I have my barcodes all ready and just need a Saturday when I’m not working! I’m actually free next Saturday so I might bash out C25k Week 4 day 3 and then walk the rest of the 5k. The time won’t be pretty, but it’s much more a confidence thing.)

Start Swing Dance (early 2019)

Yoga and Spin x3 a week (free gym= student perk!)

Forest Run 5k (April 2019)

Christchurch Marathon 10k (June 2019)

Cigna Round the Bays 10k OR 21k (January 2020) — I tried to run the 6.5 k two years ago and couldn’t do it.

50 Park Runs (2020)

Camino Portuguese (2020–2021)

Kumano Kodo (2020–2021)

Mount Fuji (2020–2021, hopefully in the same trip as the Kumano Kodo)