Moderate Spending - The Green Scarf Epidemic

If you have been following this blog you'll notice that I try to post everyday. However, I do not post hauls often (despite the fact that I do shop a lot), and I do not buy the latest fad (especially in terms of make up and cosmetics), nor do I focus too much on what "new" just came out. Although I could spin a few ideological reasons for this, the single truth is that I do not want to encourage myself to spend more money.

I have been thinking about writing a post on the prerequisites to being a fashion/beauty blogger, or even a "fashionista", but having read the the latest Green Scarf story on Independent Fashion Bloggers I feel that there is a need to make my own confession (albeit a vague one). My confession is that since March (2010) I have been trying to limit my shopping. I have done this by...

• refusing to swipe my credit card anymore, which I managed to do for more than a month (I caved in this month, not happy with myself). 
• I have also been to the mall only to accompany other people in their shopping pursuits, which means...
• I browse but have learned to walk out the door without some sale item in my hand. 
• I don't visit Marshalls/TJ Maxx weekly anymore (except to accompany yobo who enjoys buying his sporty stuff there i.e. soccer ball). 
• I try to only buy on Ebay when I have money in my Paypal account (from selling)
• I tell myself that I don't deserve another purchase (which unfortunately means I can swipe for other people, like yobo, or most recently my mother-in-law's gifts) aka I don't need retail therapy
• I unsubscribed from all amazing deals/stores like Gilt (I had maybe 5 different memberships before).

The fact of the matter is that I am a college student, I am underpaid in my current position (think Starbucks barista - paycheck), I have not found a real job yet, and yes I am married but I don't know why everyone (including my boss) thinks this means I have more disposable income.  I don't, because we pool our resources (for the most part) and when we first got married I felt my baggage get lighter and imagined I had more disposable income, until I realized that I don't just shop for myself and my family anymore, I shop for him and his relatives as well.  It's not the same as being single but it's not better either.  What I do is, I read "frugality" blogs and "getting rich" blogs on a daily basis. Sometimes I read MSN Money articles too, and today I'm reading Investopedia articles.  I read these so often and try to implement stuff that works in my own life that I feel this is something I should share in my blog as well.  I may not be qualified to lecture on money management, but I would like to share my progress.  After all, this is why I'm trying to shop my closet in the first place.

Please let me know if you share my dilemma, if you would be interested in something related to the finance of fashion, or even personal budgeting tips (or links to them!). It would be wonderful to know that I'm not just writing to a wall here, or worse, an uninterested audience.