Of shopping and minimalism; Saving and mindfulness

I often feel like this huge contradiction as I want to be more minimalist but I do like shopping (and in many ways have been trained to shop as therapy 😜).

I also want to be clutter-free (or very clutter reduced).

So why the boxes and the make-up? What's going on?

For me, when I say minimalism I mean more cutting down the waste leaving only the things I love. I come from generation of hoarders (for originally good reasons - it was hard to be a homesteader, farmer for the last hundred years) so the desire and need to hoard runs deep within in. By longing for minimalism, I think I can over come this and end up in a great happy place of tidy. Of clean and neat. I also want to spend my money on what I value, and I'm so tired of being in heaps of debt. It happened so fast (refresher, life event caused an almost $100,000 swing of finances leaving me $65,000 in debt). I've been busting my behind to get out. A couple months ago, I began the habit of emotional shopping again - which has benefited my blog. It's so much easier to write about things I've bought than things I feel.

I think for the summer I will keep up my subscriptions and cut it down to two indie make-up boxes in the fall (please help me pick!). I will continue to post my hauls. I will continue to swatch. I am going to start "shopping my stash" and pulling out more comparisons. I also want to chat more about being frugal. I going to be more mindful. I started the subscription boxes as I wasn't taking care of me, and I did not have a routine (other than brushing my teeth before bed). Wouldn't it be great to have a written remind how long products last? My plan is a couple more purchases this summer (shimmer me, the august femme fatale release, another two). I'm building a huge list of wants for my birthday, and closer to the date, I'll decide what and how much I can spend. Ideally, I will be cashing in points for presents, and not truly affecting my (very tight) budget much. I will be getting my back my laser focus on debt elimination, building my emergency fund, and continuing to work on me.

Did you want details of my "shopping ban"? Did you want to see my budget and debt repayment goals?

More interestingly, I spent about one monthly payment after finishing my final student. Do you find you have to relax, just blow some money, and not care for a bit before you can go back and do it again?