No Buy Ban Rules Update

I've been doing really well on my No Buy Ban so far (nothing bought!) and I have to say that it isn't easy at all.

With all the time that I have to go online and watch Youtube videos and read beauty blogs, temptation is just everywhere. Even when I head out for groceries, I never fail to spend at least 10 minutes at the drugstore just swatching.

Of course, it's always somewhat (slightly) comforting in a strange way that I'm really a housewife and therefor have no money to spend on unnecessary things like, say, more makeup. But, come on. One can only lie to herself so so long, no? Women will always need unnecessary stuff like bronzers, nail polishes, lipglosses...you get the drift.

So I came up with a couple of new rules for my No Buy Ban. I figured that if I don't want to turn into one big pink sasquatch going on a rampage in drugstores after I'm off my ban I really should give myself some sort of allowance.

The original rules:

1. I'm not going to buy anything that I don't absolutely need, like, say, another pressed powder to add to my collection of 8 others.
2. I can only replenish what I've used up (eg. shampoo, conditioner, face moisturizer etc.)
3. The ban will last for a minimum of 30 days starting November 9 2012.

The additional rules:

1. An allowance of 3000yen will be allocated for each month to buy whatever I want. Should I spend more than 3000yen this month, the excess will be carried forward into the next month. If I spend less than my allocated amount, the balance can be added into the following month.
2. Birthday month and Christmas month would be my bonus months and I will be allowed to spend twice my allowance (yessssssss!). And yes, if I don't spend all that money, it will be added into the following month! Wheeeeee!
3. The ban will run for an entire year (and a little bit more), ending on 31 December 2013.

I know the new rules seem like I'm only making excuses to be able to spend, but I have a pretty good argument for them.

See, it helps me think and plan my purchases carefully so that I won't overspend. And at the end of the day, I'd really love to save up for one good quality product that may possibly be expensive instead of blindly buying 5 that end up as duds. Makes sense, no?

No. 3 took me a long time of thinking and reasoning. It's really hard when you're the only person in the argument and you have to look on both sides. But in the end, I think a year will fly by quickly when I have so many things products that I've only swatched but not put to use yet. Considering that when I first came to Japan I could fit all my makeup into a small pouch, I  have now accumulated more than enough items to take me through 13 months. It will definitely be a challenge to refrain from buying beauty products because I really love being a lab rat when it comes to new products, but I think I'll be able to come out of this one alive and well at the end of 2013.

Let the ban begin!