As many of you know I am a sneaker fanatic. But I am coming to a realization that I need to reign in my expenses and I already have sufficient kicks to last me a decade. So in this new year I will not buy sneakers for 12 months. All year long I will not buy any sneakers for personal use. If I can find a good deal that I can later sell for a profit then I might buy something to resell. But I will only consider any sneaker purchase if and only if it makes business sense. (To buy and flip only) Why I’m not buying sneakers in 2016? Keep reading to find out why.
It is important to feel and react to the things that cause your dollars to dwindle. As it is critical to have a budget it is that sense of importance that should be placed on stopping behaviors that cause us to over spend. Excessive purchases of sneakers are 1 of the things I’ve struggled with for some time now. Being a buyer and seller of athletic footwear, it is hard to not spend money on that category of expenses. But when it comes to financial expenditures based off personal use it comes a time where I have to challenge this going forward. Last year I believe I purchased 5 sneakers for personal use, and I still have many others that are in perfectly good shape.
So this is why for 2016 I am going on a personal Sneaker purchase ban for the entire year. I figure if I don’t spend on any new sneakers this year, I can gradually use the 5 pairs from last year to tide me over for many years. This should be fine and maybe for my birthday in 2017, I’ll see if at that point it’s necessary to buy just 1 new pair for the that year and replace an older worn out pair. After a certain point things and purchases like these are not as important or essential, and other financial goals take precedence.
I guess what makes me happy has changed over the years, and will continue to evolve. Every year since my first job my buying behaviors, I’ve noticed have improved within specific spending categories.
Tweet ThisThe total cost of the 5 sneakers purchased in 2015 was around $400 dollars, which doesn’t appear to be much in the grand scheme of things. But take this amount and use it to pay off debt, and you can save a good amount on interest charges. Or you can take this amount and invest it and in 20 years it will compound to about 2 thousand dollars or more depending on how much return you realize in the markets.
What things are you forgoing without in the new year. I know many people who do little challenges like these, and I’m curious as to what expenses will get slashed just because you realized overspending on things just doesn’t make sense.
In conclusion am I over sharing minor things about my life, maybe. But I see it as I am being honest with a financial decision that made me feel a bit guilty back in 2015, and now I made a choice to change something for the better. We all can take steps to improve behaviors in the new year.
Comment on what expenses you will cut or give feed back on Why I’m not Buying Sneakers in 2016?
Rich Uncle EL
Good luck with the sneaker challenge. Our food budget is one we are trying to get more consistent with. Obviously we can't give it up, but we need to be more organized to spend to a certain dollar amount.
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Hey Brian, I know it’s not much of a expense but every little bit helps. My grocery budget will get revised next month as well. Thanks for the comment.
Good luck. I typically only buy one pair per year, and that becomes my running pair, and my old running pair gets relegated to everday use. It's getting close to the time to buy my new pair 🙂
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Oh ok, that’s a good system to have. I didn’t buy as much in 2014, but it will average out over 3 years now with this ban. Thanks for stopping by.
Good luck – we typically get our sneakers from yard sales for $1-$2, so that's how we keep our prices down. They only last for 6 months to a year, but at $1 a pair I'm not complaining!
Wow really yard sales, I would assume the support is not as good since they are used. Yeah that's a really good deal and I cant believe people would sell sneakers for a dollar. Good luck.
My recent post Why I’m not Buying Sneakers In 2016
$400 is the difference of my annual car insurance bill if I keep my Mustang or not (plus $23,000 in metal & horsepower). It's paid for so any additional cost is wear & tear. I could trade it for a less expensive car & put the difference towards our mortgage. We each have our own spending battles & that's my most visible one at the moment.
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Yes Josh life is about making the right choices. In 2015 I went a bit overboard with sneakers so I am reigning it back a bit in 2016. As for your insurance bill if you downgrade your car you will have a cheaper insurance, but will you be happier with a car that's not the mustang? Going forward it makes more sense to just set a budget for happiness spending, mine would be sneakers and yours is the mustang. Good luck.
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