One of my biggest guilty pleasures is online shopping. I find cheap, junky things that I think are pretty on sites like eBay, Amazon, and Wish, and buy about 10 items at a time. Ten bucks isn’t bad, right? After all, some people who have a serious shopping problem can blow through hundreds of dollars a week. Well, even if I spend ten bucks a week on frivolous junk, that’s still $40 a month…which equals out to $480 a YEAR! That’s enough for a plane ticket, a weekend vacation, a down payment on a car, half a house payment, a gym membership, a new phone….the list goes on. And I’m choosing junk like phone cases, cute wallets, and nail stickers over all that.
The point is, it’s okay to have fun and splurge a little bit every once in a while, but mindlessly buying junk doesn’t help you achieve your financial goals. There are better ways to spend your hard earned cash! If you have a problem, or just want to cut back on your impulse buying, check out this article by Lydia at Frugal Debt Free Life for tips: (my first tip is DELETE apps that you tend to throw away money on!)
-Avoid triggers- steer clear of places that make you drop unnecessary cash- Goodwill, Dollar Tree, clearance sections, makeup counters, etc.
-Don’t shop when you are hungry or emotional
-Carry cash- if you only bring $50 to the grocery store, you won’t spend more than $50.
-Block online retail sites (Ha! Told you!)
-Ask yourself if you really need the item, or if you are just buying it because you’re bored.
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