How Buyer's Remorse Can Be Used to Cure Mindless Shopping

By
Here's an eye-opening experiment that might inspire change:

  • Open your closet door, dig past the first items you see, and look at ten things you've shoved toward the back.  Out of those ten things, how many of them fill you with buyer's remorse?  How many of them had you completely forgotten you owned?

  • Find an old grocery store or Target receipt.  How many items on that receipt fill you with buyer's remorse?  How many of them had you completely forgotten?

  • Look at the last ten purchases on your Amazon account.  How many of them fill you with buyer's remorse?  How many of them had you completely forgotten?
  • Look at your credit or debit card statement.  Ask yourself the same two questions about the first ten purchases.


stuck shopping


Buyer's remorse is a good thing.


Don't despair.  No one is perfect at this test.  I'm certainly not.  Whenever I dig into closets or drawers or look at my Amazon history, I usually find at least a couple of items I've forgotten or feel that I wasted money on.  Why on earth did I buy this?


This kind of assessment can be painful, but it also provides insight into my shopping habits.  They're not as good as they should be – but they're better than they were before I started thinking like a minimalist.


I want to see the items I've forgotten about or wish I'd never spent money on.  I want to know how I messed up.  Why?  For me, those feelings are an excellent reminder that I'm nowhere close to perfect, and that I want to continue to improve.  I don't mean that I'll never purchase anything again, just that I want to get better at controlling impulse spending that leads to waste and clutter.


By figuring out where I'm tempted and how I'm making mistakes, I can devise specific ways to improve.


For example, I might notice when I examine the credit card statement that we ate in restaurants thirteen times last month.  We need to keep such meals to less than half that number.  Why did we go out so much?  What can I change to get where I want to be?


Maybe I notice that I bought four books one month (not for gifts).  What was the reason for that?  Am I really making sensible book purchases, or should I be using the library more often?  How can I be better at determining which books I want to own for the long term as opposed to books I simply want to be able to read?





It's all about being more intentional about my purchases.


If I'm finding forgotten and barely-worn clothes and shoes in my closet, I don't need to buy clothes again for a long while.  The same goes for books, hobby supplies, downloaded music and movies, or anything else.  Maybe a spending fast in in order, at least for a month or two, and maybe even longer.


If I'm finding "extra" items on grocery store receipts, it's a sure sign that I need to be shopping with a grocery list.  I have far fewer unplanned purchases when I use a list.


If I'm finding too many meals out, or too many visits to Starbucks, I need to think about which behaviors I can adjust in order to change that outcome.  Maybe

  • I need to plan more quick-and-easy meals to make at home.
  • I need to use my slow cooker more often.
  • I need to cook more double batches so I can have ready-made meals in the freezer.

  • I need to carve out a cozy nook where I can sit and read and enjoy my coffee or tea, the way I do when I visit the shop.

If I'm finding forgotten or regretful purchases in my Amazon order history, I definitely need to visit Amazon less often and make purchases less convenient.  Maybe

  • I need to add enticing items to my shopping cart and then leave the site.
  • I need to give myself a "cooling off" period to keep me from purchasing things that are just an impulsive interest, rather than something I really need or want.
  • I need to cancel my Prime membership and decide if an item is worth the added shipping cost.

  • I need to remove credit card information from my account so that the purchasing process becomes slower and more thoughtful.




The only way to make a change


Do you want to avoid clutter, debt, and stress?  When we examine forgotten purchases and feel that buyer's remorse, we can start asking these questions and searching for answers.  Awareness and mindfulness can help us do better.  






Updated March 2023

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

10 Fun, No-Risk Ways to Try a Minimalist Wardrobe Today

By
Image
Is your closet bulging with clothes, yet you feel like you have nothing to wear?  Do you shop often for new pieces, yet still feel unsatisfied with what you own?  I've been where you are.  Maybe, like me, what you really need is a minimalist wardrobe. A minimalist wardrobe is a small, carefully chosen collection of versatile pieces that can be mixed and matched to create dozens of outfits.  When you streamline and craft your wardrobe in this way, you can break free of the never-ending cycle of buying, purging, and buying even more clothes. I realize that a minimalist wardrobe can sound scary.  When you're used to an overstuffed closet, the idea of paring down in order to gain more usable choices seems impossible, impractical, and like something you're going to regret. I had similar feelings when I first tried a minimalist wardrobe years ago.  That's why I've created this list of ways to test the idea before you make a full commitment.  It's an approachable way t
Read more

Here Are My 10 Essentials - What Are Yours?

By
Image
I was reading an older post by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits fame, and he mentioned a semi-regular feature on GQ called 10 Essentials .  Each entry features a designer, entrepreneur, or celebrity naming 10 things that are essential to them. A valuable exercise I won't link to GQ's feature, because within moments of looking I could see that it was basically a hard sell for luxury consumerism.  But I love the concept, and think it would be useful – and possibly fun – to think about the 10 things that are my essentials. 1.  What I wear Jeans.   Almost every day I put on a pair of black or dark wash jeans.  I love the comfort and versatility of jeans (you can dress them up or down).  The ones I buy are designed for my plus-size body, but almost everyone can find a style and cut of jeans that fits them, looks and feels good, and wears well. 2.  What I also wear Sketchers Go Walk shoes.   Affordable, comfortable, simply designed – black Go Walks * are my daily shoes. * This blog is read
Read more

6 Ways Minimalism Will Make You Happy

By
Image
Maybe you've been decluttering and organizing for a while now.  You're making progress, but you're not really feeling that serenity and happiness all the minimalists talk and write about. Yes, things are more manageable in your home.  You're not spending so much time searching for things or deciding what to wear.  And yes, your home is... shall we say prettier ?  You're looking at fewer piles of neglected things, fewer things that you kept out of guilt or inertia, and more things that you actually enjoy seeing.  The things that bring a smile to your face.... Oops.  Sorry, that just snuck in.  I'm writing about how you're not feeling the joy, and how you're wondering why you should continue with all of this minimizing.  Let's try again. 6 reasons to get excited about having less 1.  You're saving money. Seriously, start keeping track of the money you save because you're not buying stuff you don't need.  Remember the cute merchandise you
Read more

9 Best Shopping Hacks for Your Successful Minimalist Wardrobe

By
Image
If you haven't already checked it out...  I was named an expert in an ApartmentGuide article. Check out the featured article : How to Declutter Your Home Fast: Tips From Our Experts | ApartmentGuide I used to spend most weekends and even some evenings after work shopping for clothes.  I often told myself I was "just looking," but the truth is, the more we "look," the more we buy.  I couldn't keep money in a savings account, and I always had credit card debt, but it took me many years to notice the connection between my shopping habits and my lack of funds.  (I know – dumb.) So I had a closet full of clothes, but "nothing" to wear – or so I told myself as I made yet another trip to the mall.  I'd buy clothes that I'd wear once or twice, at which point I'd realize I didn't like them as much as I thought, they didn't look as good on me as I had believed, or they had stretched, shrunk, faded, balled up, or otherwise been ruined in
Read more

How Minimalism Has Made Me Rich

By
Image
We only get to spend our money once.  So every time we buy something, we're making two statements: I don't have enough (which might be true when it comes to food, gas, toilet paper, or some other things). This thing is more valuable than anything else I could have done with my money (again, sometimes this is true). Every time we make a purchase, we have less money for something else.  Yes, we can make more money, but that takes our time and energy – and those things are finite. So our choices of how to spend are more momentous than we think. That's why my Starbucks habit is a problem, or maybe why your clothes-buying or music- and app-downloading habits might be problems.  Maybe we can technically "afford" those things (that is, we aren't using credit to buy them), but is that the best way for us to use our money? A true windfall I recently received a small bequest from my Uncle Clarence, who passed away early last year.  His wife Alice, who predeceased him, w
Read more