How to stop wanting new things when you are constantly bombarded with ads, and influencers on social media wanting you to buy things. They convince you to buy things you don’t even know you needed. The truth is you probably already have everything you need. I got stuck in this trap, and had to dig myself out of it. I was the one that was constantly buying things that I did not need.
Find Out The Reason Why You Want to Buy So Many Things
For me it was spending too much time on social media. I was following people whose job was too literally made me think I needed all of these things. This was not just their fault, it was mine. It was also because I was bored. I was using shopping as a hobby. It was something that I saw as fun. So figure out the reason why you buy things first, and then why you want to stop.
Try a No Spend Month
This is a great idea to make you see how much you are addicted to buying things. We did this, and only bought the necessary things for the month. It was so helpful to make me see what it was that was triggering me, and that after a month I did not want most of the those things anymore. It is interesting to see how flippant our minds can be in the moment. If you give it a months time to intentionally thing about it, then you often times will not want it anymore.
Declutter
Try decluttering your home, and see how it feels without so many things. You will be less likely to buy more things. You will also be able to see just how much you actually have. A lot of us think that we don’t have that many clothes, and then if you put them all on your bed you realize just how much you have. It is a good reminder too, of which items you are wearing, and not wearing. You can do the same with kitchen items, or bathroom items. I know that I found a huge benefit from doing this with my wardrobe, the linen closet, the coffee cups, children’s clothes, and toys.
Give yourself a 24 hour delay
This kind of timeline is a good happy medium for making sure you are not impulse buying something. Often times the emotions are taken out of the situation, and you can see just how much you actually need that item. Some people will do a longer period of time, like 30 days for larger purchases, or several days. It is something you have to figure out what kind of amount of time works best for you.
Spend More Time Learning to Be Content
The best way to be content is to read the Bible. If you are spending time with God, and reading scripture you automatically become more grateful for what you have. It is hard to want to buy more things, when you read the passages in the Bible about not having an abundance of possessions.
Also, giving to someone else that you know has less than you can often times make you more content where you are. Such as helping out a needy friend, or doing a missions trip. These things often give perspective to us that we do not need as much as we thought. Especially if someone else has less than we have, and they are more content.
There is a scripture in Philippians that where Paul talks about being content in all circumstances.
Philippians 4: 11-13
11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry,whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+4&version=NIV
Unsubscribe From Emails and Influencers
There is an unsubscribe button at the bottom of every email so that you can unsubscribe from stores, and companies that often send you ads. This can be a huge trigger for some people who regularly check their emails. Not to mention this helps declutter your incoming emails. You can also add things to junk mail, if you are no longer wishing to see them.
If someone on social media is always sharing products that you end up buying. It is a great idea to unfollow them. This has been tremendously helpful to me, before the days of social media I was not tempted to shop nearly as much. What you don’t see you don’t want. Try this out, and you will definitely see how helpful it can be.
Only Buy Things With Cash
Using credit cards often gives us the illusion that you have more money than you do. If you use cash you will physically see the money going out. This can also be done with your debit card. Our culture has definitely started using credit cards more than we should.
Getting out of debt, and only buying what you need and can use is such a huge blessing. Our own family is in the process of doing this. It is not easy, and takes a lot of will power. I highly recommend using Dave Ramsey’s course, you can find tons of his free content on youtube.
Buying Less Will Improve Your Life
Not only will buying less make your home less cluttered. It will also your life more simple. When our family minimized our home we felt a huge weight lifted off of us. Our home felt less stressful. Things were cleaner, and we had less to maintain.
Buying less will help you to spend less money. This can especially be helpful if you are trying to get out of debt. Debt is such a consuming thing that often times makes us have to work more to pay for it. The interest from debt alone is a lot. We pay more on one item than we would have if we had paid cash.
Stopping the habit of shopping will give you the freedom to pursue things, that you were not able to have the time to do before. As a Christian this allows our family to focus more on Christ. To focus on giving our time, and money to others. This is something our family is still in the process of doing, but as we continue to do this the benefits have reminded us of why we chose to live this simple life.
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