On style, spending, and habits

I'm not really one to make resolutions when the new year rolls in, but I do like to take the time to reflect on the past year and try and see what I did well and what I did wrong, and what I can do to change. One of the things I did 'wrong' in 2013 is spending, especially on clothes. I started buying way too many coffees when my thermos acquired a strange taste I couldn't wash off, I ate out way too many times when I ran out of groceries, but truly, my biggest 'vice' of 2013 was acquiring garments.
As you know, 2013 was probably one of the worst years I've ever had, what with anxiety momentarily overtaking all my waking moments. I felt justified in 'treating' myself, especially as I had just been promoted and received a raise at work when all of this happened. I eventually quit my job and got better, but my online shopping habits went on as they had in the previous months. I should also point out that in the fall, I spent quite a bit of my savings on stock for the shop, and that even though I'm not even done listing that, I still felt justified purchasing more stock. In brief, while I'm not on the edge of destitution, I made some really bad purchases and decisions last year that weigh on me morally.
As a result of my online shopping to pass time (which I feel guilty about - I not only lost money, I lost hours of my time), I somehow lost touch with my taste and my sense of financial and practical reality. This year, I'd like to remedy to that. I'd like to push myself to be more patient when it comes to what I can realistically find in thrift shops, and what really is 'a good deal,' and what I can realistically buy on ebay and etsy and what I should not. Acne Needle jeans that are too big for me, you would have been a deal had you fit, but now I'm 100$ short and nowhere nearer to have pants. If I can barely buy pants in person, I shouldn't venture to purchase them online.
Over the past few days, I've been making an effort to create polyvore sets with 'things to mull over,' and to keep track of things I like but dismissed so I won't go and convince myself otherwise in some flight of fancy. I've also been finding polyvore useful to help me visualise my style better; I don't know why I left it aside for so long, it's proving to be a useful tool.
I don't think I'll realistically be able to document all my purchases here, but I'm planning on writing more about personal style if only to help me get back in touch with my taste. I'm hoping this will be as interesting and inspirational (this word is overused, I know!) for you as it will be for me, especially as I want to try and do it in a manner that won't spark too many overconsumerist tendencies in me or others. It should be an interesting experiment.
Above is most of one of my favourite editorials ever (!), from Lula 17, styled by Valentine Fillol-Cordier and photographed by Édouard Plongeon. Via.