3 hours ago
Showing posts with label Shopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shopping. Show all posts
A few weeks ago I shared the reasons why I decided to do a no-buy project. With the Christmas sale season coming up, temptations will abound, so this is a good time for me to review and share my personal no-buy rules here, for those of you who may be wondering what that looks like.
First of all, I think some may term what I'm doing as more of a "low-buy" than a "no-buy". I'm not refraining from purchasing anything at all for the next three(ish) months, but I am refraining from buying certain categories of things that are a particular problem for me. I think the great part about doing a project like this is that you can adjust the rules to whatever is going to be the most impactful and practical for yourself. So these rules won't fit for anyone else, but they do apply to what I want to work on with my own buying habits. I'm sharing them here as a way to give you some ideas of the way a no-buy or low-buy could look, in case you find yourself wanting to try something like this. Sharing also gives me a little accountability, and a place to review my own rules!
Without further ado, here they are:
Things I Can Buy:
1. I can buy things for my kids. I will be keeping this rule as long as I can stay reasonable about it - if my shopping habits in this area become a problem I may adjust later.
2. I can replace makeup, skincare, or household products that run out or that break. The key to this rule, is that I have to be completely out of that item! I find myself often buying new products before I'm completely finished with the old ones, and I end up wasting product, so I'd like to completely run out of something, to the point that I can throw it away, before I purchase a new one.
3. I can buy supplies for creative projects if I will realistically use those items within the next month. I would like to shift some of the satisfaction that I sometimes find in shopping into more productive avenues, so I will allow myself to buy craft supplies, yarn, embroidery thread, etc. However, I don't want to end up with a whole cabinet of craft supplies that I have never used, which is why I added the qualification that I must use those things within a month! This will give me a healthy pressure to actually get started on my projects too, instead of feeling overwhelmed and procrastinating.
4. I can buy gifts for others. This was obviously a concession that had to be made.
5. Photo organizing and framing things are okay. One project I would love to finish is getting photo albums updated and some of our pictures/art framed, so this is one area that I will allow myself to still spend money.
6. I may buy home organization things, if I've decluttered the area in question first. I would like to work on cleaning out some neglected corners of our house, and get more organized during this period when I am hoping to not add as many new things to our home. If I find that I need some organizing items in that process, I can buy those.
7. If I receive any cash for holidays or birthdays, I may use that money how I wish. This is a like a little pressure-release valve that I think will help me to be successful, but the fact that I can only buy certain things with gift money will help me be thoughtful about what I purchase.
Things I Cannot Buy:
1. No clothes. This is the biggest area I am trying to restrict over the next year, and I explained that a little more in my last post.
2. No candles. Excuse the cliche here, but I definitely have had a "scarcity mindset" in the past when it comes to candles. I find a scent I like, and I feel like I need to stock up before it's discontinued! In the process, I have amassed a pretty good candle collection, and I absolutely don't need to buy any more candles until I've used up my stash (and that could take me quite a while, since I actually don't burn candles as often as I always think I do).
3. No makeup or nail polish (except replacing empties). I want to completely use up an item before I buy a new one, and I'm not buying extra "fun" makeup or nail items at all, just replacing basics (like mascara or topcoat).
4. No extra skincare. By extra skincare, I mean anything that I am not currently out of. I want to completely use all items I've already purchased, and all the free samples I've amassed over the years, before I purchase a replacement.
5. No perfume or lotions. I don't know how exactly, but I always seem to have a cabinet full of Bath And Body Works lotions and body sprays, and I need to use what I have (and get rid of the ones I don't use anyway)!
6. No curriculum (unless I evaluate and discuss with my husband first). This is a big one for me, because I can always justify a new school-related purchase, and there probably will be times when I think we need to get something over the next few months. My brake on these items is going to be that I need to discuss the purchase with my husband first and see if he thinks it's necessary or a good idea - only if he gives the green light, will I be allowed to purchase curriculum items.
7. No decorative home goods. This is another area that I need to reset. I don't want to buy any decorative items like pillows, home decor, throw blankets, etc. However, I will allow purchases of practical items that we are out of or actually need...for example, I can buy new nice-scented cleaners, if we've used all our other cleaners first, or I can replace things like towels or sleeping pillows if they've worn out, etc. But I will be trying to be strict with myself on those things too.
Special Rules:
1. At the end of each month, if I have any leftover money, I will save half of it, and I am allowed to use the other half to purchase books. This will give me a little leeway on books, with some pretty set limits.
2. Truly free things are okay. I occasionally get a no-purchase-necessary coupon for certain items, and if I really don't have to spend anything to get the freebie, I can do that.
3. I will check in at the end of every three moths, evaluate how I did, and see if I need to tweak any of my rules to be more or less strict. With the short time I've been doing this challenge, I can already see that if I need to make any adjustments, it will probably be needing to make my rules more strict. I think the next month or two is going to be particularly difficult leading into the holidays since I may be able to justify certain purchases as gifts, etc. This has already been a challenge, so I may be tightening these rules as I go to make sure I stay consistent and can be successful at this project! But if one area really does turn out to be somewhat impractical for whatever reason, the three-month evaluations will allow me to find a rule that works better.
Overall, I'm hoping to do some form of a no-buy for the next year, while allowing adjustments along the way - we will see how it goes!
I hope seeing my rules stirs some ideas for yourself if you are considering a no-buy, and I hope you'll root for me as I try to stick to these rules over the coming months!
You probably read that title and immediately thought about Confessions Of A Shopaholic, didn't you? When I think of that movie, I think of that scene where Rebecca Bloomwood is sitting among a pile of shopping bags after a spree of uncontrolled, compulsive spending. I think of the scene where she tries to buy the scarf with maxed-out credit cards, and runs over to a hot dog stand to get enough cash to finish her transaction. I think of her selling everything she owns to pay off her ridiculous credit card debt.
But there are other ways that purchasing new things can take on an undue importance in a person's life. Perhaps it won't involve mountains of shopping bags and credit card debt, but subtler ways that it disrupts someone's priorities. Small ways it can lead to disordered loves.
Now, I had been thinking about doing a no-buy project for a long time, but not very seriously. I recognized a long time ago that I sometimes use shopping as a self-soothing habit...if I'm having a particularly difficult month, it's more likely I'll end up buying something I wasn't really planning. After my fifth baby was born, I really wanted to do a no-buy project, but I knew realistically it was a silly time to attempt something like that. My body had changed alot, and sometime while I was pregnant the styles drastically changed as well. I needed clothes that fit me, and I knew I was going to truly need to make some purchases to update some things in my wardrobe. So I didn't do it then.
But when I watched that video last month, everything she said really resonated with me. And I thought, Why not try a no-buy project now? I wanted to share a few reasons that I decided to finally jump in.
1. I would like to spend less money.
Lest you get the wrong idea, no, I don't have any credit card debt. I don't buy things if we don't have the money to pay for it. Shopping is not some sort of compulsive addiction for me in that way. I'm judicious in the prices I'm willing to pay for something, I have alot of frugal habits, I get alot of good deals. I don't overdo it financially.
However, I know if I reined in those few areas where I am personally tempted to purchase too much (clothes, books, housewares), I could save us a good amount of money, and use that money for other things that mean more. I'm excited to see how this experiment will alter my budget.
2. I would like to be more intentional with my spending habits.
This is how my shopping usually goes: I go through pretty decent chunks of time where I don't buy much at all. Maybe I'm more aware of my budget or have a savings goal, maybe I have just cleaned out my closet and remember that I have too many clothes already, maybe I just feel generally satisfied with what I have for a while.
But then inevitably, after a few months, I'll get a bit of a shopping bug, and I'll spend a chunk of money all at once. Usually this bug hits me at the beginning of a new season, when I want to update my house or wardrobe for the changing weather. It's almost become a habit for me to expect to buy a few things before a season change.
I don't like that I have this habit formed to the point where I start to feel dissatisfied with what I own, like clockwork, as a new season arrives, and I start to think I need to "update" things. This is not intentional decision, it's subconscious, and I don't like having something subconscious controlling my spending habits that way.
I want to become very thoughtful and intentional about buying things that will truly add to my wardrobe and home, instead of buying because of some subconscious urge to "freshen things up". This is part of the internal awareness I need to develop surrounding shopping. I think doing a no-buy year will help me learn about when and why I feel that urge to get something new, so I can be more intentional in the future.
3. I want to be more aware of, and learn to resist, marketing schemes.
Companies have fine-tuned the science of getting consumers to buy, with a multitude of psychological tricks. While I am decently aware of when I am falling for those tricks, I want to learn to see them with my eyes even more wide open, and become more proficient at resisting them! If the previous point is learning to develop awareness of my own patterns and temptations, this will be learning to recognize temptations from without, and learn how to overcome those.
4. I want to fine-tune my style.
I think I have a pretty good sense of my style already, and I do enjoy experimenting with my style sometimes (and I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with that). But the fact that I have accumulated so many clothing items indicates I could stand to be a bit more picky in my purchases. Instead of having a closet with too many clothes, I would like to have a smaller closet of clothes that really work for my style and figure and make me feel confident and satisfied with what I have. Taking a break on buying new clothes will give me space to really explore my closet, figure out the things that I like the most, and hopefully curate my style to a point that I'm excited about what I already own, instead of only getting excited when I have something new.
5. I want to stop using shopping as escapism.
As I mentioned above, I know that sometimes if I'm a little bored with life, or having a bad month emotionally, I am more often tempted to add a little interest to things by buying something. It's exciting to get something in the mail, it's exciting to have something new to wear or read!
But when I start to use that new-things excitement to soothe myself or escape something stressful, I know in my heart I'm not turning to the right thing. I should turn to the Lord to be my comfort in those stressful moments, I should learn to develop a heart of gratitude and appreciation for what I have instead of allowing myself to get bored with it all. I don't like that I've put "things" in a role that they were never meant to fulfill. Scripture instructs us to hate sin so much that we would even give up our eye or hand to stop sinning (Matthew 18:9) - if something is taking a sinful place in our lives, we need to cut it out, throw it away. That's what I'm trying to do with shopping. It has the potential to become a form of idolatry, and that's serious.
6. I want to order my affections rightly.
Sometimes we buy too much stuff because our priorities - our affections - are out of order. I would never say I care about things (things!) more than Christ - but when I give shopping an undue place in affecting my mood or attitudes, in my thoughts or my budget, I'm not loving the Lord as well as I'm called to. Material things can become a distraction from what I'm really supposed to be doing, from virtues I'm supposed to be developing (self-control, thankfulness, putting the needs of others first, etc.). I think eliminating that distraction for a while will help me reset and bring my actions more in line with where my priorities lie.
You might remember that in 2021, I gave up social media for a year. I deleted all the apps for the major platforms off my phone, I deactivated my accounts, I took a firm detox.
It was a hard, emotional year in alot of ways. My eyes were opened to deeper sin issues than I even suspected when I started out. I had to wrestle with alot of regrets for wasted time and messed-up priorities. I had to come to terms with the fact that social media was occupying an undue place in my life and relationships, and it was painful to come face-to-face with the selfishness it had fostered in my heart.
At the end of the year, I hesitantly came back to a couple platforms, but this time my eyes were open, and my relationship with and attitude toward social media was entirely different. I had put it in it's proper place. I can't explain the peace that came from that.
The benefits from my social media reset have lasted. The scrolling habit was broken, and even now, two years later, I spend a tiny fraction of the time on social media that I did before my detox. Taking that year helped me love my family and the Lord better, and it took my eyes off myself. It was one of the best decisions I ever made, even though dealing with my own sinfulness was painful.
I am quite hopeful that taking a break from buying certain things will bring the same sort of freedom and peace that my social media break did. If it's even half as impactful on my habits, it will be well worth it.
I'll share another post soon with my rules!
Have any of you considered taking a break from shopping?
I know alot of people will not relate to my particular shopping issues at all, but I'm sure some of you do, and I'd love to hear what's worked for you.
I've mentioned here and there that in our family, we do once a month grocery shopping, and every time I mention it there is always someone asking me how exactly that works - well, here is my attempt to explain it!
Why We Shop Once A Month
First of all, why do we grocery shop once a month? The short answer is that our family lives in a somewhat rural area, and this is one way we save money.
1. It saves us money on gas.
2. It saves money on impulse buys.
3. It saves money on duplicate purchases.
Not only does shopping once a month save me money on the gas it would take to drive to the grocery store every week, but I find that with shopping once a month, I spend less money than if I tried to shop once a week. Grocery shopping comes with the temptation for impulse buys, and so limiting my trips to the store cuts down on that temptation. I also think that going once a month helps me keep track of what I actually have left in my pantry, so that I'm less likely to buy something that I actually already have at home.
I actually had once-a-month shopping modeled to me by my mom when I was growing up - we often went shopping just once a month, with short stops in between for perishables. So it was natural to continue doing my shopping that way as an adult. I have been once-a-month shopping since Derek and I were first married, though it has definitely become more challenging as we have added more mouths to feed.
Essentials For Once A Month Shopping
1. A deep freezer. It is a definite advantage if you want to grocery shop just once a month to own a big deep freezer. If we didn't have one, I don't think I'd be able to go a month between shopping trips. We have had a deep freezer for our entire married life because we are a hunting family, and when we get something we need a big freezer to store our supply of meat for the whole year. I use the deep freeze for more than meat though - I buy alot of fruits and vegetables in frozen form, and I freeze our bread until we need to use it. I buy the big bags of cheese and freeze half of it until we need it.
Another benefit we have - which is not an essential but is really helpful - is that we have a second fridge in our garage. It's an old fridge that was left there when we moved into our house, and it still works great, so we use it for extra space for items that need to be refrigerated. Not necessary at all, but it is an advantage we have for once-a-month shopping. You could definitely shop once a month without two refrigerators though - I did for years. A second freezer, on the other hand, is probably necessary if there are more than 2-3 people in your family.
2. A place to buy in bulk. Since we shop once a month and have a larger family, buying in bulk is a must. We have a Sam's Club membership currently, and we get alot of our most-used items there - cheese, honey, eggs, apples, peanut butter, etc. It saves us money, and I don't have to worry so much about running out of an item before the month is through since we are buying bigger quantities.
3. A place to store food. It was alot harder to buy a month ahead at our old house because we didn't have a pantry and we had limited cupboard space in our kitchen. I ended up storing alot of bulk items in our laundry room, which was not ideal, but it worked! But you definitely need enough room to store the food - if you don't have the space, once a month shopping is probably not feasible.
How I Do It
After my confession on how I am not great at meal planning (I'm working on it), you are probably wondering how I manage to shop once a month if I don't plan out our meals. Well, I do plan meals in a very general sense, just not specifically from week to week (that's where I struggle).
At the beginning of the month I go through our pantry to see what we still have in there, and I start to form some ideas of what I could make over the next month using food I already have. I usually can come up with a pretty good list of ideas this way, and then I start my grocery shopping list by filling in the ingredients that are not in my pantry.
Next, there are several items that I know we are going to need each month, regardless of what I end up making for dinner, so those go on the list. Typically it's these items:
Basic Ingredient List
Frozen chicken
Cheese
Bread
Cereal
Oatmeal
Rice
Beans (canned or dry)
Noodles
Broth
Tortillas
Frozen Vegetables
Frozen Fruit
*Some Fresh Produce
Peanut Butter
Honey
Sugar
Flour
Eggs
Butter
Olive Oil/Coconut Oil
Milk
Extras (for baked goods):
Nuts
Raisins
Craisins
Chocolate Chips
You can make alot of different types of things with basic ingredients like this, so I try to make sure we are stocked up on the basics.
I usually have a pretty good idea of how much each item is going to cost (at least I did, before inflation started messing me up), and so I start to calculate the price of all the basic things I need to get. Then I know how much wiggle room I have for the things that add the "flavor" to the menu - specific spices I'll need, condiments, special types of noodles, or any other unique ingredients - which I buy in smaller quantities.
The Shopping
After I come up with a really good grocery list, I usually have to schedule out at least 6-8 hours to get the shopping done. This is when I take one of the kids with me and we have a "mom day", with shopping a good lunch, and a small toy or treat. It's a fun and practical way to get our one-on-one time in! As I go through the store and check items off my list, I try to think about how much of each item we will need for the whole month - we typically end up with ten loaves of bread, for example, most of which will get put right into the freezer at home.
I usually pick one non-perishable item each month to stock up on as well, and I'll buy two or three months worth of that item (for example, if it's noodles, I'll buy 20 extra boxes of noodles). Stocking up here and there ensures that there is always something we could make out of basic ingredients when things start getting scarce at the end of the month, and it's also a comfort having a stock of some basics when supply chain issues and inflation start affecting things.
Then I take my ridiculously full cart to the checkout. Is it a little embarrassing - yes! But if any comments are made I just say I have five kids and only shop once a month, and that clears things up.
For transporting things home in my car, I usually bring the cooler and a huge freezer bag for the frozen items, to prevent them from thawing out while we finish our shopping. If it's a really hot day, I'll buy a bag of ice as well to help keep things cool until we get home.
Storing The Food
As I mentioned, there are alot of items that we end up freezing each month.
-All the meat that is purchased goes immediately into the freezer.
-Bulk bags of cheese are opened and separated into two freezer bags. We put one into the fridge to use, and one in the freezer, ready to be pulled out when we need a fresh bag. We also freeze extra blocks of cheese. Freezing does make block cheese crumbly though so we don't freeze unless we have to.
-We freeze all loaves of bread and tortillas that are not going to be used right away.
-I freeze any fresh produce that is freezer-friendly and that I know we won't be using right away. This is a fairly new practice for me. For example, this month I bought fresh ginger and celery in bulk, with the intention of chopping it up and freezing it for later use in soups and other recipes!
Aside from freezing, I also have started buying these five gallon buckets with gamma seal lids for my grains, and I want to get extra buckets to store flour and rice - it's just a safer way to store larger quantities of dry goods to ensure mice, moisture, or insects don't get into it!
Touch-Up Trips
Usually a couple times of month we make a very quick stop at the store for perishable items that won't last the whole month, like milk. We may occasionally have a craving for a specific meal, or I might have missed something on my grocery shopping trip, and we'll buy ingredients for that specific meal. But for the most part, we don't have to do a shopping trip until the beginning of the next month.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do you do about produce?
This is definitely the question I am asked most often. As I mentioned, we do buy alot of vegetables and fruits frozen, or freeze certain things ourselves - for recipes that call for vegetables, such as soups or casseroles, I feel that frozen vegetables are easier to store and work just as well. We use frozen berries for our cereals and yogurt, and frozen fruit for smoothies. Frozen produce can keep in the freezer for quite a long time, and the affects to the nutritional value are negligible, so you are still getting most of the benefits of fresh fruits and veggies!
Other produce actually does keep quite well in the fridge. For instance, we buy carrots, apples, onions, and oranges fresh and keep them in the fridge, and they easily last most of the month before looking a little wrinkly or old. Potatoes last really well just in our pantry. I buy alot of peppers (bell peppers, jalapeños, etc), and they keep for around 2-3 weeks in the fridge.
With produce that does not keep as well (tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.), if I bought them for a specific meal, I try to make that meal toward the beginning of the month rather than toward the end. And for certain produce that we might like to have on hand, like bananas, I'll just buy some when we make our 2-3 milk stops during the month.
I will say that I live in a pretty dry climate, and that does help me when it comes to making produce last. I imagine areas of higher humidity may be worse for produce longevity.
Do you plan out thirty meals at the beginning of each month?
No, ha! As I mentioned, I don't think I am good at meal planning on a weekly basis, much less a whole month. What I do is think through the ingredients I have and come up with a list of possible meals for the whole month - sort of a list of options that I keep in the back of my mind. It's usually a list of 10-15 meals that I could potentially make (because I know there will be leftovers, nights eating out, nights that we just wing it, etc). Then I'll just make sure I have all the ingredients on hand for those meals (plus usually a few new recipes I want to try).
Maybe this is just us, but typically the meals we like to eat are different arrangements of alot of the same basic ingredients (see my basic ingredient list above). If I have those on hand, I can make most things I want to make for the month, without having to plan out every detail.
I'd love to try this to save money, how should I start?
I haven't got this question put exactly this way, but I'm including it here to address how it could look to start shopping less often. If you have a good amount of freezer/refrigerator space and are currently shopping once per week, you could start by stretching out your grocery shopping routine from one week to two weeks between, and see how it works for you. If it goes well and you like it, you could move to three or four weeks next and see if you find it manageable or helpful!
If you don't, that's fine too! Shopping once a month won't work for every family. It works for us because (1) we live in a rural area about 40 minutes from the nearest big town, (2) we eat rather simply (no special diets for anyone in our family), and (3) we have a good amount of freezer space, and (4) I get particularly tempted to buy "extras" when I am in the store, so being in the store less is very helpful for our budget. You may not have the same situation, benefits, or struggles that we do, but if you think shopping less often would help you, start slow until you find that sweet spot for your family!
If you have any other questions, drop them below and I'll follow up! Or if you grocery shop once a month, I'd love to hear. I feel like an aberration most of the time, since most people seem to shop once per week!
However, since having kids I find myself enjoying clothes shopping much less than I used to. It's just not as fun to try on new jeans while reminding my kids to "sit right outside the dressing room door", and "please don't pick on your sister", and "it's your brother's turn to play a game on my phone now." So I find myself ordering a lot more things online.
When Stitchfix came on the scene a couple years ago, it felt like every blogger was trying it. I thought it looked interesting, but I still ended up shopping for myself most of the time. Last year for my birthday though, my sweet friend Ashley gave me a gift card to try Stitchfix! I put it off for quite a while because I was still not feeling like my figure had equalized after having Georgie, but finally this fall I created an account.
What Stitchfix Is
In case you've been living under a rock (or just don't follow any fashion bloggers), the way Stitchfix works is that you pay a $20 "styling fee", they send you a box of clothes that they think you will like, and then you choose what you want to keep and send the rest back. If you keep something, that $20 styling fee applies toward your purchase.
Worth noting here is that if you choose to keep nothing, you lose the $20 styling fee, and the fee is also charged per box they send you. I did not realize the fee was charged per box at first and was confused when my gift card balance dropped by $20. I contacted customer service though, and they refunded me the $20 because of the confusion, which was really great of them.
After each box you give them feedback so they can try to send you items you will like better the next time.
My Experience
I requested three boxes from Stitchfix before I spent all of my gift card money. The pictures in this post are with items from my first box (I ran out of time to take photos of the second and third boxes). I thought the first box was pretty close to my usual style. The red top was really "me", the sweater and shirt were super soft, and the earrings were gorgeous!
(Items: red shirt and jeans. Shoes are mine.)
The only thing that I didn't like were the jeans. Every pair of jeans they sent me, in all three boxes, were too loose in the waist, so I probably should have sized down.
I ended up not keeping anything from that first box, even though I liked the items they sent me. It was mostly fit and price issues. Some of them fit fine, but didn't "wow" me enough to spend the moneyon them. The sweaters and shirts ranged from around $40-50, the pants were probably around $50, and the earrings were $30. (I should have kept the packing slips they sent me so I could have given you exact prices - I'm sorry about that.)
The second box they sent was filled with half hits, half misses. I received a shirt (around $40), a dress (around $55), jeans ($50), a pair of green ponte pants ($45), and a short-sleeve sweater ($40). I liked the green pants and the sweater, but once again - they didn't "wow" me enough to pay that much. Thankfully I had requested an "extra" with this box, a pretty bralette with thin straps that would work well under a lot of my own sweaters, so I ended up keeping that.
The last box was by far the best! I received a cute pair of leopard print duck boots ($70), a yellow sweater ($40), a black shirt with pretty details ($40), another pair of jeans ($50), and a black quilted moto jacket ($80). I loved every item in this box, except the jeans because of fit issues again. The detail on the black shirt was cute, the boots were fun, and I loved the jacket. But as I sat there trying to decide what to do, I realized I would never pay that much for these particular items in a store. I would wait for a sale, or see if I could find a similar item elsewhere for cheaper. In the end I decided to send everything back. Thankfully I had ordered another "extra" bralette with the last box, so I purchased that and didn't lose my last $20 on the styling fee.
(I might have enjoyed playing "fashion blogger" for a day, ha! Derek took these photos for me, so I guess he got to play "fashion photographer" too. Items: cardigan and earrings. Dress and boots are mine.)
Are You Noticing A Theme?
Overall, I was impressed with the fact that most of the pieces they sent me did actually fit my style pretty well! I really liked almost everything they sent me. I was very skeptical that they were going to be able to pinpoint my style with only a few questions on their site, but they did a pretty good job! How can I get a job as a stylist? I think that would be super fun.
(Item: gray shirt. Pants and shoes are mine.)
When I filled out the questionnaire, for most items (except jeans and outerwear), when asked the price I was willing to spend, I selected "the cheaper the better". I had heard Stitchfix items were a little pricier than what you might find at Target or JC Penny, and I found that to be true. Even with selecting "the cheaper the better", I still found that most of the items were more than I would usually spend. I shop clearance quite alot, and I shop at less expensive stores, so I'm used to lower prices for items like the ones they sent me. I probably won't request another box unless I decide I want another bralette, just because my style description should probably include the phrase "won't spend more than $30 on a top, because she knows she can get a cute sweater for $15 at Walmart".
However, there is the convenience aspect to consider as well. For people who don't like to shop for themselves, or for whom shopping is very difficult, or people who don't like to spend a lot of time browsing online, I think paying a little more than normal for the service would probably be worth it.
And it's worth it to try it if you're curious too! I had so much fun filling out my style profile, and when they sent me a box it was exciting to open it. It felt like a present since I didn't know what would be in the box! I'm so glad my friend gave me a gift card, because I probably never would have tried it on my own, and it was a fun experience!
My advice if you try Stitchfix would be to always include an extra that you know you could purchase with the $20 fee if you end up not wanting to purchase any of the other items they send. I recommend trying the Free People barrettes, obviously. I have two of them now, and I really like them!
Have you ever tried Stitchfix? What did you think of it?
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