Well, hello there.
It has been a bit since I have been back to this lovely little neck of the internet, hasn’t it? When I decided to start this blog back in 2019, the only major dilemma I was personally facing was not eating myself out of my wedding gown. And after the events of the past couple of years and my steady diet of comfort foods (pasta, cheese, and wine of all kinds) I guarantee I would need some extra help zipping up that dress.
What is there to say about this current decade that hasn’t already been said? (That is a rhetorical question, please do not start making lists in the comment section.) I genuinely thought about naming a few to start off this entry, but instead I would like to talk about something going on currently in our lives today.
That my friends is inflation.
Just like my dress size in regards to my wedding gown, numbers are going up. Inflation is at a 40-year high, and while a lot of us saw this coming, the word “recession” is starting to become part of our vocabulary once again. The big bad R word is nothing new to us Elder Millennials, seeing how we were thrusted into adulthood right in the middle of one. The Great Recession of 2007-2009 still lives very vibrantly in my mind. Back in 2009, I even wrote about it for my college newspaper, giving tips and insight as to how people my age (at the time that is…I just called myself elder remind you) were surviving and thriving during such dark and uncertain financial times.
One term that has always stuck with me when defining women of that era is Recessionista. Combining Recession and Fashionista into a hybrid to describe budget conscience yet trendy/fashionable women is serious goals when looking at the rising economic prices. A lot of these ladies maneuvered their monetized wardrobes around thrifting, swapping, and up-cycling. Shopping their own closets (or even a friends) before making the decision to buy any new items. They were savvy with their money but chose not to sacrifice their style, and what I would consider their individuality.
Going into another recession and with the cost of EVERYTHING getting out of hand, the discussion of what expenditures to cut is worth having. Travel, beauty treatments, certain foods at the grocery store, clothing and accessories…every purchase has to be intentional. And if you have certain ambitions when it comes to your finances, you should be doing everything possible not to make sure you hit those goals.
So here is my goal. If you checked me out in 2019 you knew I was on an adventure in a no spend year. That lasted…a bit. Like I said before, let’s not dwell on the past and talk about what is current.
Going into a new recession era, I am getting back on my bullshit. Or I am cutting out the bullshit. Either way the bull is involved in some sort. For the remainder of the year, I Macy Stromberg the Thrifty Thirtysomething, am abstaining from shopping and hereby reinstating my no spend challenge.
Placing my right hand on my Vogue and the other in the air, I swear to wear the closet, the WHOLE closet, and nothing BUT my closet so help me Target.
As Nordstrom Rack as my witness, I will be a Recessionista.
The Thrifty Thirtysomething has returned.
