A question about : The Completely Crazy 2014 Clothes Challenge
It's time again for the challenge to begin. Can you do it? Stick to a clothes budget for the whole 12 months of 2014?
Let's see who's up for it!
Below is the first post by Lula Hula who ran this challenge for many years and Citizen Kitten who started the thread last year.
Hi Guys - so the new thread from Lula-Hula's original Crazy Clothes challenge, I am re-posting her first post because do you know what, she says it best and i think her confessional strikes a cord with all of us.
The Completely Crazy 2013 Clothes Challenge
Yes, oh yessy, yes, yes; it's that time of year again
The time of year when I can just sense that some of you are either doing physical battle in the shops, some are hovering over the 'pay now' button online & the veterans of past challenges are sat there quite content with what they already have .
For me, 2011 has been an 'experimental' year in terms of all things clothes, shoes & accessories. I've never previously counted what I spend on DD throughout the year, so that was interesting . There was a whole new school uniform to be bought; not so interesting, but rather costly.
I had a rough budget in mind for the both of us, but managed to exceed it (quite considerably in fact ). Still, the majority of my own purchases were via ebay & about 85 % succesful. The remaining 15% were either donated on to family or friends or charitized. I do get a bit competitive, & on more than one occasion have gone over my initial bid; just so that I win . This is not always a succesful strategy - the raincoat I bought nearly a year ago for more than twice my original bid makes me look like Inspector Gadget -
I bought many lovely frocks, as after years of wearing jeans / trousers, I am now embracing my feminine side & reckon that you just can't go wrong with a dress that fits well, flatters your colouring & shape & puts a bit of a sashay in your stride
I'm keen for a new pair of boots, but refuse to buy a pair that aren't quite perfect, just because they're cheaper than the ones I really love & want. I'm therefore saving all my Ј2 coins towards a new pair for autmn/winter 2012, so not including the money saved towards those as part of my budget.
EVERYTHING else is in the budget though, and I mean EVERYTHING; clothes, shoes, lingerie, swimwear ( ha ha ha) bags, belts, scarves ... the whole shabang.
As for me, I've tried this challenge over the years, losing track and discarding the budget before the year was out. This year I set a budget of Ј200 and spent Ј101.98. I have had 8 no spend months on clothes in a row for the first time ever. Some of us have not spent a penny on clothes for the whole year which is a fantastic result, well done!
My budget is going to be Ј100 for the year as I have some serious debt busting going on here which is saving up to pay a massive long term loan off. My priorities have changed from clothes to savings. I have plenty of clothes which I bought last year to wear until they start to wear thin!
What I do need is a new pair of ankle boots, but I haven't found a suitable pair yet let alone the pennies to buy them!
I understand the importance of not frittering money away on clothes, shoes, bags, make up that you don't need or really want, tempted by a reduction in price and sales, only to lure unworn in your wardrobe. I know because that was me in the past. Luckily that phase of my life is well and truly in the past.
Come and join me, post a reply and let us see how we all get on over the next year.
Good luck everyone!
If you haven't already, join the forum to reply!
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Best answers:
- 1. Me Ј100
2. His missus Ј250
3. Jonesy Ј0 cost neutral zero spend
4. Scattyspice Ј240
5. tiny-courageous Ј100
6. Debbiedeejay Ј100
7. cmazza Ј300
8. KT2802 Ј500
9. the cat Ј100
10. Tracy6697 Ј100
11. Lucy lemon Ј240
12. tinks112 Ј200
13. jazzyjustlaw Ј240
14. JayneC Ј10
15. blue mango Ј300
16. pavlovs dog Ј0 plan no spend January
17. Paulineb Ј0 zero spend
18. missflirtuk Ј100
19. Ali OK Ј120
20. Smarter and harder Ј360
21. posh*spice Ј100
22. Squirrelly Ј100
23. CariadsNewStart Ј300
24. Goldiegirl Ј300
25. Jazee Ј120
26. Antwacky Ј0 zero spend
27. determined new ms Ј250 and 5 no spend months
28. Iwillsucceed Ј400
29. Xxteepeex Ј100
30. jojitsui neutral spend all year
31. Kayleigh251186 Ј240
32. Happytails Ј500
33. tiller girl Ј100
34. Yorkie lass Ј300
35. sax 11 Ј0 no spend
36. Helencal80 Ј300
37. trishx Ј400
38. fatpat Ј120
39. Cherryjack Ј0 spend until the summer
40. hayley Ј500
41. PurpleJay Ј120
42. FlacosFloozie Ј365
43. Hettiecaro Ј100
44. Mummy2threeboys Ј0 zero spend
45. omarsgirl Ј120 Ј10 per month
46. Eltee12 Ј500
47. cat4772 Ј750
48. stinkygerlinky Ј100
49. TheDolallyDilly Ј300
50. nillionaire Ј300
51. Going4TheDream Ј125
52. Antwerpen Ј250
53. Happybunny86 Ј300
54. Minniepoos Ј150
55. McCulloch Ј150
56. galeygoo Ј200
57. icklehels Ј200
58. lavenderlover Ј50
59. mothernerd Ј100
60. BlueCow1975 Ј350
61. Faete Ј200
62. baibelle Ј50
63. Lesleyzz1 Ј300
64. Pamylib Ј500
65. Black cat Ј300
66. FrugalinShropshire Ј100
67. Guna Ј88
68. akashiva Ј100
69. imapoet Ј40 from August - December
70. SteffiWoo Ј0 August - December
71. newthrift Ј70 October - December
72. Pink_Giraffe Ј20 November - December - January no spenders
Fedup
Jonesy88
hayley
cat4772
tracey6697
Antwacky
KT2802
bluemango
Ali-OK
stinkygerlinky
lavenderlover
Yorkielass
Sax11
posh*spice
February no spenders
Fedup
The DolallyDilly
Stinkygerlinky
Goldiegirl
lavenderlover
tiny_courageous
tracey6697
Antwacky
trishx
FlacosFloozie
posh*spice
Yorkielass
hayley
March no spenders
stinkygerlinky
Ali-OK
Gem gem
Jazee
mothernerd
nillionaire
jonesy
omarsgirl
posh*spice
April no spenders
Fedup
Mothernerd
Lavenderlover
posh*spice
Jazee
Hayley
May no spenders
Fedup
blue mango
posh*spice
Ali-OK
Goldiegirl
Debbiedejay
jonesy
TheDolallyDilly
Mothernerd
June no spenders
Mothernerd
Ali-OK
McCulloch
Antwacky
Omarsgirl
Gem gem
July no spenders
posh*spice
Ali-OK
Gem gem
Fedup
August no spenders
Jazee
Goldiegirl
posh*spice
Gem gem
Fedup
Mother-nerd
September no spenders
Fedup
Gem gem
Ali OK
Posh spice
Goldie girl
October no spenders
Gem gem
Ali OK - Hi,
Thanks for setting up the thread FedUp.
I'm definitely in for 2014. Completely blew my budget last year (I kind of thought I would tbh) buying holiday clothes.
I really shouldn't need to buy any clothes for 2014 unless I lose weight. I have quite a few clothes that are just a bit too tight so should see me through.
Will probably need a few summery work tops later in the year and new winter boots come October time.
I'm going to see myself a budget of Ј250 for 2014 - Welcome his missus, I've added you to the list, good luck!
- Can i be included again please?
This year i'm being extremely ambitious and aiming for a cost neutral year - ie ZERO spend! arghh! I must be mad.
Basically my plan is to make the money to buy clothes - eg e3ay or surveys. The only exceptions are underwear and basic work clothes.
Thanks fedupandskint! - I'm in! My budget is Ј240 ie Ј20/month. But I'd like to try and save it up and only buy considered purchases instead of frittering away on impulse buys and charity shops.
Thanks for the thread fedup.
Scatty - Welcome back Jonesy, good luck with your neutral cost and zero spend challenge. Let us all know how you go on with this!
Welcome scattyspice, good luck to you with your budget of Ј20 per month, all the best to you too!
Both added to the list - Sign me up please, did this for a few years but was pregnant last year so had to buy maternity clothes. This year, I'm limiting myself to Ј100.
- Welcome back tiny-courageous, I've added you to the list.
Good luck! - Evening All
Thank you Fedupandskint for starting a new thread am sure CK wont mind you keeping the flock together , hope she is ok.
I need to to finalise what I spent last year but its not much but will do that on old thread but could you put me down again for Ј100 for the year?
This is a great challenge and for me, its part of the norm now .I am well known at work for the one who spends only a Ј100 a year on clothes and its a great conversation starter if you are stuck for words.
Oh and I also like to tell people I bought this and that from a "vintage boutique" I found when I went away last time- then I sit back while all the compliments roll in and then tell them it came from the local charity shop and watch their jaws drop!
Actually I have spent today going through all my clothes and have at least three bags to go back to the CS or to be recycled - thats my way of helping local charities.
I have gone round the sales but wasn't impressed at all and all I needed was a pair of woolly tights ( last week I shrunk the only pair I had -would fit a toddler now!)but have found another pair at back of a drawer so thats good. Eventually I would like a pair of leather calf/knee high boots but since I have been looking for past 4 years I am not in a rush!
So good luck to everyone - heres to another crazy clothes challenge! - Welcome back debbiedeejay, I've added you to the list and good luck!
I'm also known at work for not spending on clothes these days and also causing jaw dropping moments when I reveal how little certain items cost. It's a good conversation starter and you can discover how much other people spend on clothes on credit cards as I have discovered at work. That's one thing I won't be going back to set any point. - I know what you mean about people buying clothes with credit - several people i know have Ј1k+ balances on their n3xt accounts. I shudder when i think of the 30% apr!
Don't get me wrong, i like that store and have an account myself, but by leaving items on there longer than a month the clothes start to cost more and more but people dont always rationally think about it. - Okay, I am going to sign up too. Can I have a budget of Ј300, please? I am sick of wasting money on clothes that end up at the back of my wardrobe and never get worn.
- Welcome cmazza and good luck!
I've added you to the list - Thank you, just subbed the thread. Hopefully this will help me keep on track.
- I'm in too, after the failure of last year!! All my money this year needs to go towards debt and saving.
Think I am going to go for a budget of Ј250 for the year. I am going on holiday and may need some summer clothes for this but apart from that I don't need anything. Going to get some boots and shoes re-heeled.
Thanks for starting us off fedupandskint. - Hello all!
Thank you for running this threat! I am looking forward and I was excited till I read some of you are going to spend 'only zero or Ј100' in clothes this year? I am so impressed!
I guess I have to brave up and give up in most of the things I enjoyed till recently! I need to do it if I want to achieve the goals I set to achieve this year!
I will go and think realistically how much I will put aside to spend money in my clothes for the year.
Sending you all lots of warmth regards... - I've attempted this several times over the years.....and failed!
2014 though is one where I NEED to lower my expenses and restock the savings account as this year has been very expensive!
I'm going to aim for Ј100 max
I'm actually hoping for zero as I have loads of clothes but might need some underwear and possibly some hiking boots and tennis trainers if mine wear out. - Hi,
I'd like to join please. I'm going to set myself a budget of Ј100. I have a ridiculous amount of clothes, particularly shoes and coats. I am in the process of trying to be ruthless and sell loads of these on fleabay because my wardrobe is bursting with stuff that never sees the light of day. Hopefully, this time next year I'll have plenty of my budget left, have made some extra cash and my wardrobe will be more streamlined
- 537 reads