Transcription
Shopping addiction, oftentimes something that's joked about, especially in the luxury community here on YouTube. Which I don't find anything wrong with it, but I do believe that there are a lot of people that actually do struggle with this, me being one of them. And finally realizing this, I wanted to make a video about it and just talk about my struggles and how I've dealt with them and how I've turned everything around.
Now, luckily, I never racked my credit cards up or went into debt to buy things such as clothes or bags or shoes. However, when I realized that most of my days were consumed with shopping and browsing hours and hours online to always look for the newest and best thing, I realized that something wasn't quite right. Or when I walked into my closet and it was so overwhelming that I just didn't even want to get dressed. Or when my friends came over and came into my attic of a closet and were like, "Wow, this isn't saying you have so much clothes." That's when I realized that this isn't actually normal. And most people have a much smaller wardrobe and are still very happy, and they don't spend hours and hours on the internet looking for the next best thing to buy.
Now, I've been on YouTube for a good amount of time, probably about six years. And I do want to say that YouTube probably started creating some of this problem. Because when you're creating content and when you are talking about fashion and luxury like I am, you always kind of feel pressure to keep up with, I like to say, "keep up with the Joneses." And you know, kind of buy the newest and best thing and always have the newest bag. And if you followed me for a while, then maybe you've seen me unbox a lot of bags on here, a lot of SLGs, a lot of jewelry items, a lot of clothing items. And then you have maybe also noticed that within the last few years, that has drastically gotten down. And that's for a good reason because I definitely had a problem. And I was tired of spending hours and hours and hours on the internet and constantly being consumed with the thought of shopping and buying the new and best thing. And a lot of the times, some of the things that I would buy were just very trendy and not timeless pieces. And so I wouldn't love them forever. So I ended up with this huge closet and this huge collection that I didn't really love. And, um, yeah, it took me a lot of growing up. It took a lot of time to realize what was going on. And I also think that a lot of the times when this happens, there's a bigger problem. For me, I don't know if it was boredom or if I was trying to fill a bigger void, but it definitely went beyond shopping. Um, I mean, it was to the point where I was getting packages daily. New shoes, new clothes, new things from H&M, new luxury bags. And whenever I got that new item, I instantly felt the itch to get the next, especially when it came to bags. And I really had to sit down and have a really deep conversation with myself and just, you know, realize that there's more things to life. And and that this is a problem. I am very big on self-control. And whether it comes to my diet or just daily life things, I want to be someone that is like, has good self-control and is very disciplined. And usually, I am. But when I wasn't able to stop buying and consuming and buying and consuming, I realized that something was wrong and I had to make a change. So I just, in today's video, want to give you guys a few tips on what I personally did to to help myself and, um, to just enjoy life and stop constantly thinking about shopping. And I know it's hard with today's world with social media, especially TikTok, Instagram, YouTube. We're always things are always pushed on us to buy the next best thing and the newest thing. And I'm kind of at a state now where I want to enjoy the things that I have. And where if I do buy things, I want to buy things that I'm going to keep long-term. And if I do buy a nice big item like a bag, I don't want to buy another bag within the next couple of weeks, do you know what I mean? I just want to be able to be in control and to enjoy the things that I do buy without already thinking of the next. Because if we're honest with ourselves, that is not a good feeling, regardless of what your financial situation is, to hunt a bag down, get it, and then not even be able to really be satisfied with that and already watching the next thing. Um, so anyways, I hope today's video is going to help you out a little bit. I hope you like it. If you do, definitely give it a thumbs up. That helps my channel out a lot. Leave me a comment. That also helps. And yeah, let's just jump right into it.
Okay, so there are six things that I want to touch on that really helped me. And I do want to say that if your problem is bigger than what mine was, you might want to seek professional help. I think therapy and counseling, I feel like everybody should do therapy and counseling regardless of if you have a shopping addiction or think you have some sort of addiction. I think it can really benefit any and everyone. But I think therapy can really, really help as well. But, um, starting off with point number one, which I think is something really important and not a lot of people talk about, and that is realizing the problem. In order to fix anything, in order to make a change in anything, you have to realize that there is a problem to begin with. You know, when there's people that are addicted to certain things and their family members are pushing them into therapy or their family members are addressing it, they kind of have a hard time changing the situation. They have a hard time getting out of what they're in. And that's because they themselves don't realize that there's actually a problem. But once you realize that there is actually a problem, that is really going to help you out a lot in in making that change and sticking with it. There's a really good book I want to recommend to you guys. I will leave it on the screen right now and I'll also leave it in the description box down below. I I have it as an audiobook and it really, really helped me a lot. I thought it was a fantastic book. So if you're struggling with anything like this, I think you could really benefit from this book. So that is definitely the first step in my opinion.
Moving on to number two, which is practicing discipline. You, I feel like with anything like this, you have to work on your self-discipline. And you can do that even just, let's say you say you go to the gym and then you just never go. When you say to do, like stop. Say you do. Start with little things. Keep yourself accountable and practice discipline in your day-to-day life. Start with something small, like I don't know, maybe you say you're gonna go for a walk and you never go. So just start doing the things that you say you're gonna do and be disciplined. Establish a routine. Do that every day. I think having discipline is such a strong and important thing with anything in life. And once you practice that and really, really are determined and like get used to that habit, um, it can really help you out a lot, especially when it comes to this kind of stuff. Because when we impulse shop or when we want to buy the new and best thing, it takes a lot of discipline sometimes to be like, "Okay, I don't really need this. I am not going to buy it." And to just walk away from it. Trust me, I know it does take so much discipline. What helped me is that, okay, this might sound a little weird, but I'm gluten and dairy-free. And I don't think people realize how hard it is to be disciplined and not eat things sometimes that you really want to. Um, and this could be with anything, but I'm just using this as an example. And when I realized that I had the absolute mind and willpower to not eat gluten for years because it hurts me and to not eat dairy because it makes me extremely sick, and then seeing the benefits, um, and just knowing that I have that ability to be that disciplined, just really helped me a lot going into this shopping, shopping situation.
Okay, moving on to number three, which is a little bit of a tough one, but I think less social media is really helpful, at least until you get used to that self-discipline. Because social media is constantly pushing things on us, constantly wanting us to buy the newest and best thing. And just trying to to lower your phone time, your screen time a little bit, I think can really help because you don't have that constant, that constant temptation.
Moving on to number four, which is going to be asking yourself a very, very important question. This helped me more than anything. And that is, "Who am I making richer?" Am I making myself richer, or am I just making a company richer that doesn't need the money? And this doesn't go to like small businesses and things like that, but, um, you know, when you're buying a Louis bag and you already have 20 of them, I mean, do you really need another one? Maybe sell something and then replace it if you really, really feel like you need it. But always ask yourself that question, "Who is this purchase benefiting? Is it benefiting them more, or is it really benefiting me? Who am I making richer?" I think this is a really, really important question to ask yourself. Again, with anything, doesn't just have to be shopping.
Moving on to the next point, which is going to be, "Will this make your life better?" Will this purchase make your life better? Will this purchase benefit you and your daily life? And that again, is a really, really important question. I have had so much buyer's remorse because I've shopped so much and bought so many things that at the end of the day, I didn't need, especially luxury items. And buyer's remorse, not because I felt like I spent money that I didn't have, but because I just didn't have that self-control to be like, "I don't need this item." And then I had it, and in no way, shape, or form did it make any impact or change on my life. It didn't make me really feel better. What I really needed that day was maybe to go for a nice walk or read a book or do something else to fill that hole inside of me rather than shop. So really ask yourself, is this purchase going to benefit my life and make me feel better in, you know, any any capacity?
Um, moving on to the last point. I think we're at the last one. Let me look at my notes. Um, yes. So lastly, I want to talk about setting a budget. I don't like budgets. I never have. Um, but this is something that has really, really helped and kind of taken control of your spending habits and what you're doing and where your money goes to. For me, it was always shopping. Most of my money always went to shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping. And setting yourself a budget, it could be a monthly budget, it could be a weekly budget, however you want to do it. But that can really help. Again, that discipline is going to come into play. But setting yourself a budget and making sure you don't go over that.
Now, lastly, I want to say, am I still buying things? Absolutely. This channel, I'm still going to be showing you guys things, but it's just going to be less like it has been because I just don't think it was healthy for me. I don't think I was in a healthy place. And I feel so much better now, not feeling the constant need to purchase things and just being able to let my brain relax. And, um, yeah, being okay with not buying the newest and best thing all the time or having such an overwhelming closet where I literally can't even function in because there's just so much stuff.
Anyways, I really hope you guys enjoyed today's video. Again, if you did, please give it a thumbs up. I love you guys and I'll see you in my next one. Bye.