2020 Goals

Last year my goals trailed off somewhere around the halfway mark. Whilst this isn’t particularly uncommon, and to be honest most New Year’s resolutions don’t even last that long, I spent some time reflecting on why that happened. So this year I am trying out a slightly different approach to hopefully tackle what went wrong last time and make it right this year.

1. Use my separate PayPal more efficiently

Effective budgeting is my theme for 2020.

Some time ago I set up a separate PayPal account. It started off as one where I put all of my yens, which I occasionally get paid in for various translations I do. However, with time the purpose of that account became blurred – it’s time to reclaim that. I would like to set this account up so that all of my lolita purchases come from cash stored in that account. Not from any linked accounts, but from actual cash. This will help with ensuring I have a budget for any dream items, as well as make me feel less guilty when I do end up impulse buying something. At the moment I don’t know yet how best to keep track of that or what my monthly budget might be, but I will dedicate some time in January to set that up. This is the most important goal of this year, so I will tackle it as a matter of priority. If you have any ideas or tips, things that worked well for you, then please, share these in the comments.

2. Wait a minimum of 48 hours before purchasing something outside of my wishlist

My problem is that I know my card
number off by heart. So I'll need some
good strategies to stop those impulse buys.

Even though last year this trailed off, I’m hoping to get back on the good side. And to help with that, I’m outlining a two-way strategy.

For used items/things that have already been released, this is a strict 48 hour waiting period from the moment I discover the item. My biggest weakness are socks, so this is something to be particularly wary of. I might set up an online tracker for those too. That way not only I know exactly when the 48 hours are up, but also how many other things that may be similar I’ve saved in the past.

For new releases this will continue to be 48 hours from when first full preview pictures are released. Majority of brands these days announce things with more notice than that and for brands that offer reservation periods, this would mean I’m definitely not missing out. I would probably add these to the tracker, to keep everything in one place.

3. Prioritise events over purchases

£100 on an event feels like much less
than £100 spent on a dress. I want those
events and memories to come first.
Photo by Liv Robroek.

As it stands already, at the end of 2019/beginning of 2020, I have two events that I am pretty much good to go, two/three more that I plan to attend and at least one that I got early wind of that sounds interesting. Pretty much all of them involve travelling, majority will involve staying there, which inevitably means costs. Attending these events would be a much better use of my money than buying another dress, as well as they’d provide an occasion to wear what I already own and giving the fancier outfits from my coord bank a spin. Whilst any strictly travel-related costs will come out of my regular account, I would like the cost of the events (tickets, any bits for coords) to go out of the same PayPal account as outlined in goal no 1. That way I will keep it clear that buying clothes and attending events has to come out of the same budget, and can make sure that the events get priority.

4. Organise another Man Meet and another OT-Tea

Both of those have been big successes last year and there were active requests to make these meets an annual thing. I enjoy organising meetups, so this is more a matter of finding the right time to squeeze them in. Did I mention that the social calendar for 2020 is filling up at a rapid pace? As things stand, I have an idea of when to host both of those, but no further plans beyond the fact that they will happen.

The lads must come together for a reunion tour!

I will stop at four. Mostly because I ran out of things I wanted to include, but also I feel that if I kept going, I would run the risk of falling off the bandwagon for these goals again. I think they address the problems I’ve had last year and reflect how I’d like to spend my time in this fashion. It’s hard to avoid shopping entirely, but it’s important to keep some perspective on what’s the best value for money, as well as how much I can actually indulge in spending without having to do the stereotypical ‘water and ramen’ diet. And every time I go to an event or organise a meetup that people have enjoyed, I’m reminded that it’s the social aspect of the fashion that I enjoy the most. Yes, it’s fun to buy new pretty things and put flatlay outfits with them, but if there’s nowhere to go out in those outfits, then what’s the point?

Have you set yourself any lolita-related goals for this year? Are they the same as last year or are you changing something? Whatever your goals are, I have faith in you and wish you the best of luck!