Shopping Ban 2013 - Needs and Wants list

Yes:

• Rent
• Monthly expenses, including:
• food (but no coffee, pop, snacks, etc)*
• transportation (portion of gas/parking to T and TTC tokens)
• cell phone
• gym
• Personal care**, including:
• shampoo/conditioner (but no fancy hair products)
• face wash/toner/moisturizer/acne product/lip balm
• body wash/lotion/baby powder/deodorant
• hair dye
• hair cuts (but only 4x per year and not salon)
• feminine products (thinking about a diva cup for more savings)
• BC pills, Advil, medicine, etc
• Dental care
• Entertainment
• Netflix
• movies out on cheap night (Tuesday) or free with Scene points
• coffee/potlucks/game nights with friends (I don't want to shut out my friends completely)
• Other
• gifts - home-made or DIY if possible

*Food - trying to limit eating out as much as possible, I'm going to try and find more recipes to eliminate food boredom at home. Again, because I don't want to live under a rock next year, I will accept (reasonable) invitations to go out to eat with friends.

** Personal care - The #1 rule is that I'm only allowed to buy something once I am completely out of it at home. I also have to try and use up gifts and sample sizes before buying new as well.

No:

• Clothes
• Shoes
• Wallets, purses
• Jewelry
• Makeup (only basics like oil sheets and powder, and ONLY if I'm completely out)
• Home crap
• Electronics
• Movies, books (including e-reader books), music unless I have a gift card
• Craft supplies unless necessary to make a gift, but will try to use up what I already have
• dollar store crap
• stationary, unless I run out of pens (yeah, right)

I think this is a fairly comprehensive list, if I think of anything else on either side, I will add it. And the general, need vs want rule should apply to any purchase. The main thing I'm trying to accomplish is to save money (and pay off debt) by not using shopping to fill in times when I'm bored, sad, in need of entertainment, just because, etc etc etc

I have to find other things to do with my life ;p