Today is a holiday.
My inbox has been celebrating for over a week.
Each day, more and more emails arrive. I can’t unsubscribe fast enough. Weekly ads. Daily deals. For a limited-time only.
The limited time, though, seems to grow in sync with the commercialization of each holiday.
Today, a day intended to honor better working conditions, has turned in another opportunity to shop. And keep people working.
As someone used to spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars a month because shopping was a habit, I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t still a little bit of muscle memory coursing through me.
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Here’s what I’m doing instead of shopping today.
1. Putting a bit into savings. When I’m trying to resist the urge to spend, I struggle a lot when things only cost a little bit. Coupons, sales, clearances. Now, I take the little bit that I would spend, and I plop it into savings instead. If it’s something I would buy my son, I drop it in his 529 instead.
2. Getting outside. I already walk and hike as much as I can. But when I’m feeling particularly tempted by consumerism, nature feels like the perfect antidote.
3. Creating something out of what we already have. In this case, I’m putting together a salad with things from our garden. Other times, though, I’ll bake with ingredients that I keep squirreled away in our cabinets. Or I’ll make a smoothie with things from our freezer.
4. Working on selling things. I don’t put much time or effort into Poshmark, but I have found that holiday weekends are a great time to share listings that haven’t already sold.
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5. Continuing to declutter. This journey will likely be lifelong for me. That’s alright now that I’ve learned how to keep up with it.
6. Connecting with others. I will send some texts, and I will make some calls. I also really like to spend time off emailing families to let them know how the school year is going. It makes my work inbox a really special space when I return to work.
7. Letting my son lead. Especially when I’m tempted to shop for him, I have to remember that what is exciting to him right now has next to nothing to do with anything that comes with a price tag. He’s happiest in just a diaper. OK, fine. He’s happiest naked. His favorite toys are anything and everything he toddles past on our walks.
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8. Detoxing digitally. Part of why I am so tempted to shop is because I haven’t unsubscribed from all retailers. Though I have cut back drastically, I do get ads from a handful of stores. Today is a good day to do the purging in the promotions tab of my inbox that I always think I’m going to do.
9. Giving. Normally, we either give to charities throughout the month as opportunities arise or wait until month’s end to send our funds to a few of our favorites. In the same style as sending a few dollars to savings, I’m going to send a few dollars to a literacy initiative in Mexico that we both love.
10. Earning. I have a bit of ghostwriting that I can get a jump on. The time and mental bandwidth that would normally go toward shopping in store or online is too precious to waste.
So Tell Me…How do you combat the urge to shop? What tips of yours can I borrow?
This is a great list! I, too, was a shopper in the past – boredom, stress, and anxiety all sent me to the mall to spend money I didn’t have. Like you, I’ve unsubscribed from those emails, and I throw the sale flyers in the recycling the minute they come in the mail. “Lead us not into temptation,” I always say 😉
My plan for today is to catch up on laundry, visit my mother-in-law (who lives close by), and cook an awesome bbq with items from the freezer/pantry. Oh, and write my next blog post which is about… building my savings account!
Happy Labor Day!
Recycling sale flyers right away is a fantastic idea!
So what you’re saying is that you have nothing planned 🙂 We are less focused in the Oldster house. I’m teaching my daughter to drive and this is a good “extra” day for that. And the north 40 won’t mow itself, so there’s that. Add to that hot and humid weather and that, and some reading, are probably all I’ll get to today. But there’s always tomorrow, unless there’s not, in which case I probably won’t care what I did today.
Oh, the humidity. What is even happening?! I take back everything I said about dry heat not making a difference. Melting. I need to add that to the list! I am melting!
When I’m feeling really tempted to buy something I don’t actually need, I order books from my library. New things for me without 1) paying any money or 2) bringing more things into my already full apartment. Win-win!
(Except when I forget to return the books and pay fines. But it’s still cheaper than buying things, and it feels a bit like charitable giving.)
THIS IS GENIUS! ::runs over to library site to fake shop for HP::
I’m with you on continuing with the decluttering journey. I just got rid of prolly 30 reusable bags and 10 books. Took a car load of stuff to be donated on Saturday and am already ready to return with another car load. I also am a firm believer on decluttering the inbox too. I have mostly done away with the nonsense, but somehow got put on a list that they didn’t have an unsubscribe button. I legit wrote them an email telling them I want out, it was glorious. Have a great day Penny!
I do this also, Mrs. Wow! I thought that it was a requirement to have an unsub button or link or option now. Hmm. I need to be more mindful of when I email to see if the future emails actually stop.
Sooooo many ads for every single holiday. We straight up just went off grid camping where there was no cell service, which is always fabulous for a long weekend 🙂
So many ads. Everywhere.
Camping sounds lovely. I hope you had the best time, Angela!
I just wrote about this (http://agaishanlife.com/2018/08/the-ways-i-avoid-spending/)! 🙂
But I still have to remind myself not to go crazy and buy JB all the educational toys to overcompensate for my anxieties about providing enough educational support. I just spotted a jigsaw puzzle I bought for zir for a plane toy months ago just sitting in the toy basket. It’s a good reminder that what I think will be intriguing or engaging is just a wish and a miss half the time. Meanwhile ze is STILL engrossed with those cheap plastic toys given out in the birthday gift bags. Go figure.
I’m working today, for a while, while they have a Daddy + Kiddo adventure at a museum and then I’ll try to tackle some decluttering or just rest because it’s apparently the season of the plague again.
I am so glad that you included this link. Thank you, friend. It is hard to ignore educational toys, right? Because they are important. But I have to keep telling myself to breathe deeply and remember that we will either get them handed down or I can probably find them used.
Or let HP enjoy what he currently has before adding to the pile!
Two main things:
1. If there’s something specific I want but don’t need, I put it on my amazon wishlist so my in-laws can get it for me at Christmas.
2. If I just feel like spending money because I want to feel like I have money, I now either donate to a local political candidate or I hit up donors choose. I’m also trying to make giving a monthly habit each time I get a paycheck. (Though I won’t be getting my first paycheck for the year until October, we can still donate on just DH’s paycheck.) Nothing makes a person feel wealthy like giving money away to a good cause.
I love donating. I did my first Donor’s Choose a few months ago, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
The Amazon Wishlist is a great idea!
All of the things you’re doing today are way better than anything I’d be able to contribute!
It’s so funny though to read that you’re inbox has been full of labour day sales. I had totally forgotten about that part of the holiday because I am subscribed to so few marketing lists anymore that I didn’t get any emails about sales. (Ok, so I did get an email for a sale for the meditation app I use. But other than that, it’s been crickets.).
That’s the inbox level I aspire to. One day, one day.