Do you find yourself scrolling through retail sites when you’re stressed? Do you gaze longingly at all the clothes you want to buy? Are you anxious until you get your hands on the latest tech gadget?
If so, those are signs that you may be spending money that you don’t have.
Sure, retail therapy feels good in the moment, but the resulting worry about the money you spent and the debt you created will bring you right back down.Try taking a break from shopping for several weeks, months, or even a whole year. It can be done. Even if your shopping isn’t out of control and creating debt, taking a break can create some space in your life and free up some money that you can spend or save elsewhere.
And it all starts with a list.
The “Do Not Buy” inspiration
Author Ann Patchett made her own list of rules about what she could and could not buy for her “Year of No Shopping” project. She decided that she would not buy clothing, shoes, accessories, jewelry, or technology. She could buy things like shampoo and batteries, but only when she had run out of what she already had. She gave herself flexibility when it came to gifts, but even there she tried to give people time or books, rather than things.
She made rules that fit her lifestyle and still allowed her to do her work. For instance, she continued to buy books because she owns a bookstore, writes books, and generally finds that books are a huge part of her life. She permitted herself to buy anything she wanted at the grocery store and to continue dining out regularly.
Sure, she saved money, but that wasn’t all she found in the year that she followed her no-shopping rules. Following the rules gave her a better perspective on money and its power, on how we get it, how we use it, and what it’s good for. She began to think about how many people do not have the money to buy what they need, let alone what they want, and started to have more compassion for them. She also learned that the feeling of wanting something passes relatively quickly.
She saved time, she says, because she was not only not buying, but she wasn’t looking at things, either….
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