low buy july: week #1 check in
& let's also talk about pattern tracking
How is the first week going?
First week is usually the second hardest. You have the combination of excitement and joy of trying something new, combating with the urge to buy something and your natural habits wanting to push through.
But you did it! One week of LBJ. I would love to hear in the comments:
your name
what you were tempted to buy this week
where you live
how week one went!
Week one for me
Y’all doing a LB month during a month of hella good sales is not easy. The 4th of July sales were very tempting. Anytime I got an email for a sale, I pretty much unsubscribed from that email list. There’s a couple I still stay loyal to, but for the most part, I don’t need an email reminder to buy something.
I am also tempted to buy more of an elf lipstick because I got a crap ton of compliments (will share post LBJ) and I am anything if not influenced by external affirmations.
But so far, so good. I even stuck to my list at Trader Joe’s which is the land of, “oh, let me try this, this, and this because it will be gone soon and I’ll never get to try it again.”
Pattern Tracking
I talked about doing this in my rules, but pattern tracking is something I love to do. It’s not complicated, and can be done in a way that works for you.
But we all know that as humans, we are drawn to things. We have short attention spans, love some instant gratification, and marketing people KNOW this. They know that when we visit a page, and then get an email, and then another, and then an instagram story- we feel like it is fate that we need that product. But often times, we are just going for that dopamine/seratonin/whatever chemical hits our brain when we click “purchase” and then check the tracking multiple times a day (just me?).
So what I do which has helped this tremendously, is pattern tracking. I have a notion template where I keep track of the following:
item name
link to the product
cost
genre of item (pants, shirt, sweatshirt, etc.)
where I heard of it from. aka if I screenshot from someone’s stories
I find that it helps me hold on the purchase and track my patterns. I have noticed before how I have saved something multiple times. Either the same product, or something similar. For example, I have saved three different navy trousers. And it’s on my Pinterest board. And I’ve been watching Succession and Shiv Roy forever. But this means that I want navy trousers. It doesn’t mean I have to buy the first ones I see. I still haven’t bought any, I’m waiting for the perfect pair. Doing this helps me realize the pattern and consistency of something I have been wanting.
You can track it via a google sheet, spreadsheet, iphone notes, notion, whatever works for YOU. Even if you don’t use it to track your patterns, doing this practice will help you not make in the moment purchases. I promise.
Thanks y’all for your kindness about the templates and sharing the work you are doing in LBJ! I love it when you tag me in your rules, goals, moments, etc.!
See you next week!