Two weeks ago, I began a newsletter series focused on my comprehensive plan for a successful low spend planner year. If you missed the first post, you can find it here.
To very quickly recap, this plan takes the following 4-prong approach throughout the year:
Self-reflection (January)
Inventory (January)
Measure, Prevent, and Adjust (Daily, Weekly, or Monthly)
Final Review (December)
Let’s now talk about the next step in this journey.
We’re now coming up on February and if you’ve been following along with the steps in this blog series so far, you’ve been educated on the overall strategy, completed the journaling exercises for self-reflection, and either finished or are on your way to finishing an inventory of your current planner supplies.
So what’s next? As if those first two steps weren’t enough! 🤣
It’s time for the “maintenance” part of this strategy, which means it happens all year long.
Go back to your journaling exercises. There was a question that asked how often you would need to check in with yourself to be successful. Of course, that was your initial plan. You can adjust your original timeframe now that you’ve had some time to sit with it.
Personally, I do a check-in informally weekly and then formally monthly. What does that mean? Hang on…let’s start at the beginning.
Measure
The first thing you’re going to do is create a measurement system that works for you. How will you do that? It’s way simpler than it sounds. You’re going to record every single planner spending event. How you choose to do that is up to you.
I do this daily and I have a daily entry for it in my EDC bujo (every day carry bullet journal). It looks as simple as this:
Monday - $xx - short description of purchase
Tuesday - $xx - short description of purchase
Wednesday - $xx - short description of purchase
Thursday - $xx - short description of purchase
Friday - $xx - short description of purchase
Saturday - $xx - short description of purchase
Sunday - $xx - short description of purchase
I have both a monthly and a weekly entry for this. Why two? The weekly tracker is something I look at every day, because I have to record daily progress for my weekly tasks. So I’m aware every day of how often and how much money I spent that week. This is the informal weekly check-in mentioned above.
Then I double record that onto a monthly tracking page. That way I have all of my entries in one place to complete a formal monthly check-in. I also have a total line on my monthly tracking page.
I’m not gonna lie, adding up that monthly total line has been very revealing. It’s interesting how you don’t know certain things about yourself until you start measuring them. All those little purchases add up fast!
So here’s the “measure” part of this step. At your regular check-in interval you’re going to:
Review your planner spending tracker page(s) for that period. Add up the total, if applicable.
Ask yourself: Are you outside of your budget for that period? What were your successes? What were your failures?
Based on the answers to question 2 above, does anything in this low spend planner year system need tweaking?
Whatever check-in frequency and platform you use to measure your spending, just make sure to design a layout that gives you information about how much you’re spending, and at a detailed level. If you’ve set a budget for yourself, you might want to consider putting that figure in an offset color on the same page so you can compare your actual spending to your budget.
Don’t overthink it. It’s ok to change what isn’t working. But more on that in the Adjust section…
Prevent
All of this sounds great and all, but how does one prevent themselves from buying unnecessary planner supplies? Let’s get to preventing the self sabotage!
First, it’s a balance. And here’s a spoiler alert.
You’re not going to be perfect.
And you know what? It’s ok! Because the destination is the journey. This isn’t a light switch you’re going to flip overnight. You’re going to stumble and fall. And you’re going to learn from your mistakes. Yay!
Ok, enough of the pep talk…going back…seriously…how do you prevent yourself from overspending?
That’s what the first two steps were for. See how all this comes together?
Below are some strategies that you can try, including a couple that utilize the first two steps of this overall system. Every one of these come from personal experience. There is no one size fits all for prevention, because, frankly, everybody’s different. So I’m going to give you a handful of tips that have worked for me and you can try each one or a combination of multiple to get a feel for what works for you.
Here’s a rundown of what to do every time you feel the urge to spend. This is the “prevent” part of this step:
Recognize that you’re feeling the urge to spend. Take a deep breath. Remember your goals and your budget. Ask yourself: do I need to spend this money on planner supplies?
If you decide a spend is necessary, do it and with intention. Purchase only what you need. If you decide the spend is unneceessary, distract yourself by doing something completely different.
If the distraction doesn’t work, try one of the tips below
Tip #1: Create an environment that is conducive to a successful low spend planner year
What this means is, set yourself up for success! This will require some letting go, but you’ll thank me for this later. You only need to do this step once. I recommend you go all in and as soon as possible.
Remove Emails: Are you getting tons of emails from retailers, Etsy shops, planner influencers, and more? UNSUBSCRIBE. You can always go back when your budget allows for it. If you don’t feel comfortable unsubscribing from all potential enablers, then unsubscribe from as many as you feel comfortable with. It will help. And you’ll get back some of your precious personal time not sifting through these emails everyday!
Limit Social Media Time: Ooof! I know—I dared to say it out loud. But seriously, everyone on social media (including me!) are enablers. We want you to spend money in our shops. So it might be best if you limit your time with us until you get your finances back in order.
If you have an iPhone, there’s a feature call App Limits which can be found within the Settings | Screen Time section. This is a great way to be more self-aware of how much time you’re spending on social media. Set a daily time limit for a group of social media apps and your smart phone will alert you once you reach that limit.
You can also temporarily deactivate your social media accounts or even delete those accounts or apps from your smart phone so you won’t be tempted to get on them.
Reduce Shopping Trips: Yep, this one is exactly how it sounds. And it sucks! But it might be one of the best steps for you. Just don’t go shopping, either physically or online. If you like to buy from a multi-department retailer like Wal-mart or Target, then be cognizant of where you go in the store and for heaven’s sake, do not wander over to the office suppliers section. I repeat, do not go there!
Tip #2: Go back to step 1 and review your journaling prompt answers
What’s important here is to revisit how you felt when you overspent in the past. Review the answers to your journaling prompts. Is it possible you will feel negatively down the road when you realize you don’t need the item you currently have your eye on? How will you feel when that money’s gone and you can’t afford something else?
Really take in your responses. Think about the emotions behind them. Realize how past bad habits impact your future.
Tip #3: Go back to step 2 and review your inventory
Do you really need that new washi tape when you have 20 rolls already? Can you not find a way to use what you already have or…(gasp) find another way to accomplish the same thing using your existing planner supplies?
For instance, I like colorful quotes embedded in my bujo. So instead of buying new quotation stickers this year, I use my dual brush Tombow markers (which, apparently, I have 60 of 🤦🏻♀️) and write quotes in with the fine tip side. This allows me to practice my handwriting while also customizing the look and feel of my quote. I actually like this better and look forward to finding and writing in my own quotes permanently from now on. Money saved!
Tip #4: Shop online only
Switch most of your shopping over to online only. Why? Because you’ll be less committed to the store and the items you think you want. How many times have you driven to a retailer and thought “well, I’m already here so I might as well buy something.” #nope
This one goes hand in hand with the next tip. Keep reading…
Tip #5: Shop anyway! (online only)
Wait…what? What does that mean? Isn’t that what we’re trying not to do?
There’s a catch. Read the next part carefully. Shop anyway means:
Do your shopping as normal and add all the planner things to your cart
Don’t press the “purchase”/“buy” button
Keep those items in your cart and wait at least 24 hours before you do anything else. Sleep on it.
The next day (or even several days later), re-evaluate your cart. And look at the total price. Do you still want those items? If not, close that browser window. Money saved!
You might be surprised how you feel in the morning about your potential purchases, especially when you see the big fat price tag at the bottom.
Random trivia about Opal: I utilize this tip the most. I’ve discovered that I love the thrill of online shopping. When I see someone using an awesome new tool, sticker, washi, etc., I have to have that planner thing in the moment and I love perusing all the other planner things in the shop. So I will stuff my cart with all sorts of products. Then I’ll go to sleep. The next morning, it’s easy for me to close that web browser tab when I realize how silly I’m being. Sometimes I don’t even review the cart - I just close the browser tab. Problem solved!
Tip #6: Record all your planner spend desires in a Wish List
You can create a custom planner layout for this. It will look similar to your inventory list back in step 2. I’d recommend adding in extra columns for price and retailer.
Then, when your budget can afford it, you can look back at this list and see if there is anything you want to purchase. Or maybe you’ll scrap the list altogether!
Tip #7: Look at your bank account balance
Sometimes you have to play dirty. Are you sure you need that washi tape? What does your bank account balance say? Are you saving your money up for something more important? You don’t need it!
Adjust
Maybe you already tried all the steps and tips and you decided you do need that roll of washi tape. Ok, well, we’re prepared for this.
It’s a low spend year, not a no spend year. You have a budget in place for a reason. So after all of this self-reflection and attempts to say no, you decide to buy it. And you feel happy about it, and you’re glad you bought it days and weeks later.
Great! It was a fit! That’s fantastic!
But maybe you bought that washi tape and days or weeks or months later you feel depressed that you gave in. You realize later you didn’t need it after all.
Uh oh. That means this strategy isn’t working. The measure and prevent tips weren’t successful. Now what?
I can’t answer this for you because this is all about you at this point. But I would start digging deep. How did none of the alarm bells work? Break it down—what were you thinking each step of the way? How did you convince yourself you needed to spend that money? What led you to thinking later on you didn’t need that washi tape after all? And most importantly, how can you change that thinking or the actions that follow next time for better prevention? The answer might require a change in your tracker layout, additional journaling, and more.
Keep trying things. Find what works for you so you can be successful!
Step 4 is the next and final post in this low spend planner year series!
All posts in this “A Plan For a Low Spend Planner Year” series: