I have a girlfriend who has a closet full of gadgets some of which have never been opened. Many, if not most, are impulse purchases from Amazon. She acknowledges it’s a problem. I’m guessing she’s a victim of late night doom scrolling. Our impulse control decreases as the day goes on because we are tired after a full day of making decisions. So the shiny objects you are seeing when you are scrolling through social media late at night are too tempting to resist. We have to have it! It will make our lives so much better, easier, insert whatever adjective you need here. My girlfriend isn’t the only one guilty of this. I do this too. We all do.
I think the pandemic made us a lot more comfortable with being one click away from having everything we need delivered to our doorstep. The recent budget cuts across the D.C. area coinciding with the five year anniversary of the start of the pandemic got me thinking about my own relationship with impulse purchases. I’m making a concerted effort to spend less. It’s truly difficult with the amount of beautiful content social media sends your way every time you pick up your phone.
I recently came across a content creator on Instagram that pushes the idea of making fewer higher quality purchases over many less expensive items. She suggests calculating the amount of money you spent on clothing last year and dividing that number by twelve to show you that you actually can afford higher quality items. Each month she displays her new monthly purchases. I love this concept and I circle back to her account to ogle the thoughtful, beautiful items she’s purchased each month.
At the same time, I struggle with this concept. I think it would be hard to go cold-turkey with my impulse purchases. Sometimes a new item can be just the thing to lift me out of a funk. I bought a new pair of leggings last month. Those leggings were just what I needed to get me through the last few dreary weeks of February. They really did lift my spirits. So I believe there is a place for an impulsive purchase in my life. It’s just the quantity of them I need to control. Ultimately I know it will help me save money, I’ll have fewer things to maintain, there will be less clutter and less clutter means I will have less stress. It’s more eco-friendly too.
I’ve been putting a lot of thought into how I can turn off the urge to spend money. These are some of the things I’m trying right now.
:: Eliminate marketing emails from retailers as soon as they hit your inbox.
:: Delete your credit card information so it’s a lot harder to make a purchase. If you have to get off your sofa or out of your bed to make a purchase it will force you to rethink the urgency of getting to check out.
:: When your packages arrive, open them immediately. I’ve noticed the longer I wait it becomes more apparent I didn’t really need what landed on my porch. This is a similar concept as storage pods. Have you ever put stuff in storage and then after a while realized there’s nothing in there you really needed? Out of sight, out of mind. Same concept applies here. If you haven’t felt an urgency to open the box, did you really need what was inside?
:: Try on new arrivals right away. Does it look good on you right now? How does it fit in your closet? Do you have something like that already? If you’re not excited about it right now then you won’t be excited about it later on. So take it back. Actually, do that right away. The longer an item sits in your house the more likely you’ll keep it and it might end up in your closet with tags on for years to come.
:: Avoid purchasing low quality clothing from Amazon, Shein, etc. If it’s for a one-time use for an event like a costume party it makes sense. But for clothing meant to be a staple part of your wardrobe purchase higher quality.
:: Ask yourself, if it fits your lifestyle right now. I’m so tempted by many things I see online but the reality is my lifestyle doesn’t afford me as many occasions to get dressed up as I would like.
:: Make a list of things you like and are tempted to buy. Then go back to your list at the end of the week or month. Do you still feel like it’s something you need? If you’re still thinking about it after some time has passed, then that’s a good reason to head to check out.
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