From Obsessive Shopaholic to Buying my First Flat in London at 24
Hi, I am Heeral and I’m a shopaholic.
No seriously, I am. Did you ever watch that movie “confessions of a shopoholic?” Rebecca Bloomwood – That’s me. I related with the main character so much. The way the clothes spoke to her, I used to feel the same way.
Clothes are an art, a way of expressing yourself vividly, bravely, and fiercely. They say something about you before you even get a chance to open your mouth. And as an artist, I cannot help but fall in love with beautifully knitted sweaters and intricately embroidered skirts. It’s what makes my heart sing (and my bank account to wince).
The trouble is, like everything else, it costs money. Lots of money. Before you know it, it is very easy to spend a few hundred on clothes each month. And if I wasn’t spending on clothes, I had to be spending on something. It’s like my mind believed the neon plastic card in my pocket was magic and not real money I spent hours working for.
I’ve gone through phases in my life where I am really into one thing, and that’s where all my money goes. For example when I was younger it was fashion, then it was books (which I justified by telling myself that books are knowledge, which money can’t buy – right?) followed by a health kick and buying lots of Ayurvedic hocus pocus.
So how the hell did someone like me, at the age of 24 buy a flat… in London?
1) I stopped spending
That was the key to helping me save for my half of the deposit. In less than a year and a half, earning just a little above minimum wage doing a 9–5, I managed to save £25,000. It’s not a lot, but considering how much I was earning and the time I did it in, I think I did okay.
How? I was determined. I had a goal, set my mind to it and was not going to let money be the thing that stopped me. I realised that me spending unnecessarily was essentially me being my own worst enemy.
Sometimes if no one gives you a little shake of the shoulders, you have to do it yourself.
In honesty, there was elements of luck, timing, and perhaps, the universe on my side (and I did not do it alone).
Going into lockdown was a brutal and tragic time for many, the silver lining for being stuck indoors for me was that I was away from the shops. There was no more 1.5 hours commuting to work which used to take over £200 of my pay each month. I saved on coffees, cinema, and everything in between.
Somewhere during this time I had my own Bloomwood moment when I realised my addiction for shopping was a distraction, a way to fill the void of time and getting a momentary glimpse of joy. Rather than addressing the real reasons why I was dissatisfied, I could hide in the denim section of Selfridges.
There were other steps aside from cutting back on spending of course.
2) I made use of the resources available to me
In the UK we have something called a help to buy ISA, where the government gives you £1000 for every £4000 you put in. The money has to be spent on your first house, and it’s not without its conditions, but this was a super helpful way for me to save and earn even more money. There were also budgeting apps I used like money dashboard which helped me keep track of all my accounts and how much I was spending on what items.
3) An extra stream of income
I had a small business selling my art and it happened to do well during lockdown when people where supporting local makers and artists. This second stream of income was nothing significant, but even a few extra thousand helps when buying your first home.
I really went from super spender to super saver in a year. I told all my friends and family I was on a “low-buy”, they laughed about it as did I, but hey it worked!
And again, I did not do this alone, as mentioned earlier I brought my first home with my partner 50/50. But, if this personal account teaches you anything, hopefully it shows that even a shopoholic can turn things around. Whether you want to save for a deposit, a trip around the world or a fancy car – you can do it!
Conclusion
Finally, I will say, I am not perfect. In the last year, I have succumbed to the ads and slipped into my old habits of spending on silly items. My latest obsession being buying home decor, but I have to confront my problematic behaviours and realise there is only so many ribbed vases or handmade candles I can buy.
Something that helped me is turning my focus onto myself and going to the gym, a positive distraction from being the obsessive consumer that big retailers want me to be.
Moral of the story is, if I, obsessive shopping girl can save, so can you.
