Show Notes

Episode 144: Stopping Shopping


It is so easy to shop online. And that’s not a problem, unless it is a problem. This week, Janine and Shannon discuss some ideas for pressing pause on the urge to shop.

Discussion topics include:

  • The online shopping Shannon’s been doing, thanks to targeted Instagram ads, and how she’s stepping it back
  • Creating a pause to stop online impulse shopping
  • How Janine has bought very little in recent months, thanks to the 100-day dress challenge she’s participating in
  • Easing the urge to shop by shopping in your closet (or elsewhere in your house)
  • The temptation of single-use gadgets
  • Looking at the deeper need you’re trying to satisfy with purchases
  • Trying on the feeling you’re trying to get by shopping without actually making the purchase
  • The secret weapon that stops us from needless shopping: You Need a Budget (YNAB)
  • How YNAB can help you save for something valuable and stop you from frittering away money on small purchases
  • Creating space to think clearly about what you’re seeking, the problem you’re trying to solve, what you’re trying to feel and if there’s some other way for you to accomplish it
  • Shannon’s one-in-one-out policy with regard to her collection of graphic tees
  • How it’s harder to get rid of something you already have than it is to choose to get something new
  • An important thing to remember: There’s nothing wrong with shopping if shopping isn’t a problem

Links:

2 thoughts on “Episode 144: Stopping Shopping”

  1. I thoroughly enjoy your podcasts on my morning walks. And okay, sometimes when I do chores. TO keep myself from impulse shopping, I have a page in my Bullet Journal “Do I Really Want” and when the impulse buy tickles my brain, I write the item on that page along with the date and cost, and then check back. Every once in a while, it results in a purchase, but more often than not, I cross it out. That garlic chopper though would possibly end some cooking frustation…. I also use the pomodoro method for chores, and have recently done Janine’s 30 in 30, and am wondering why I didn’t think of using that for more things! DUH!

    1. Janet, I do something similar. I have a bit of a shopping problem. This year, I set up a series of spreadsheets for each two-week paycheck cycle. I have my budget in the Google Sheets document (one cycle per tab at the bottom). At the front of the workbook is a page titled “Wish List” — if I want something, it has to go on that page and stay there through a whole 14-day cycle before I can buy it. This has really helped me with overshopping.

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