Ten Years Ago

Ten years ago I was just weeks from closing on a new house with my almost new husband. We were young professionals. And we moved from a small two bedroom apartment to a home with 3 bedrooms, lots of rooms we didn't have furniture for and a full basement to fill with STUFF.

I think when I moved into that house I went to Target maybe three times a year. Maybe. I remember going there for groceries in college once, but it was much farther from my house than the local Safeway store. I also remember looking for Christmas gifts for the kids I was a nanny for, that's it. I don't think I bought my first clothing item from there until my first year out of college, and then I think it was pajamas.

Can you imagine, going to Target three times in a year? On a good week I am there three days. On a bad week? Five. Five times. And I almost never leave there without spending $100. Again, that would be a great day.

Some things I know I will struggle with during this year. I know that there will be days I long for a stroll through those aisles of goodness. But I am determined to search for my products elsewhere. I know that the items I really need can be found in the grocery store, on Amazon (for which I pay a prime membership, remind me why I am not using that for all my bulk items?!) And my kids don't need clothes from Target. They just don't. I have four kids, I love to dress them well, and then I always fill their closets with clothes they just don't need and don't wear.

Here is to a year of savings, a year of quality products that I can pass down through kids, and a year of having something to show for my money!

Follow along if you too suffer from Targetitis.

And here we go!

Last year our family (and by that I mean, me, my kids don't have credit cards and my husband can't even find a target) spent an insane amount of money at Target. If I had to guess, it was over $20k.

I use Target as a crutch. It has big carts. It has bras. And kids clothes. And wine. All the wine.

This year I am vowing to keep myself out of the store. Broaden my shopping base. Shop local, shop small. Encourage myself to invest money in something that isn't a Nate Berkus pillow. Or a pair of poorly made shoes.

I hope to document for myself, to hold myself accountable. Here we go!