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Hi everyone, it's Hannah Ross. Welcome back to my channel. And in this video, I am going to explain how you, yes, you, can stop shopping. And when I say shopping, I mean impulsive shopping, or shopping way beyond your needs. And if you clicked on this video because you need some help, you are not alone. There is a study showing that 73% of Americans say most of their purchases are spontaneous, AKA impulsive. Do you know how much money this directly correlates to every single month? $314 on average per American per month. Bottom line is, I want to help you save that money. Just, just like Little Dicky says. That's actually one of my favorite songs. I love that rap song. Anyways, enough jokes. Let's get into these tangible tips. Some of them you're going to have heard time and time again, but they are worth noting. Some of these are really outside the box and get you thinking in a completely different way. And I'm going to start with those oddball ones. To me, they relate more to the mind, to the spirit. So let's get into our first tip.
The first way you can limit your shopping is by stop thinking that the world revolves around you. Trust me, the more you think about yourself, the more you will spend on yourself. The more you are consumed with your own life, your own image, the more you will spend to maintain that lifestyle and that image. You will shop more on yourself. So if you can really work on that thought pattern that the world revolves around you, that's a great place to start if you want to stop shopping.
Next up, spend more time with the people that you love. The more you do this, the more you get connected, the stronger interpersonal relationships you have, the less you're going to be thinking about yourself. It's like magic. Where the more you spend time with your close loved ones, money stops becoming this like self-indulgent thing and starts being the exact opposite. You'll see your spirit of generosity, of giving, like really start to increase. And plus, you're not isolated, you're not alone. You probably won't be using shopping as a coping mechanism as much. This tip could also include getting connected with your community, maybe taking a volunteer position. That will also help to strengthen this feeling of giving back, of self-service, of not wanting to spend that money on you, of wanting that money to go somewhere else.
Another way to stop shopping is to find what really bothers your ego and challenge it. And I mean this in a financial sense. The best way that I can explain this is through an example. I am a gift giver. And many times, I give gifts just out of my little heart. I know it's right, and my soul. And then sometimes I give gifts out of obligation. Sometimes I really want people to like me. I want them to smile when they see me. I want to make sure that I kept the status quo. And when I give gifts out of obligation, it's because in some way, I am serving my ego. So don't get me wrong, I'm not saying gift giving is bad. I think it's absolutely beautiful to share. But just check your heart posture. And for me, a lot of the time, like I said, especially in the past, I was serving my ego, not serving the person who I was giving the gift to. So find what is like a sticking spot financially for your ego and really try to challenge it. So for me, it would be experimenting with and not bringing a gift every single place that I go.
Another way to save a lot of money is to start understanding what is an essential in your life and what is just a want. I see this all the time where people start to think that their wants, even if they really, really want it, is actually a need. True needs are like having some basic clothing, having, you know, clean drinking water, a roof over your head, and food. And when you start making these categories very clear here, it can help prevent you from shopping. Because if you tell yourself that you need something, you are far more likely to actually go through with the purchase. If you say that it is a want, for instance, it's going to be a lot harder to spend that money. So getting a clear delineation between what is an essential for you and what is a want is a great place to start if you want to stop shopping.
And next up is stop comparing yourself to others. Now, this isn't as easy as snapping your fingers and saying you're not going to compare yourself to anyone else. No, this begins with deep self-work. Finding a fullness in yourself and where you are at in life financially is definitely going to be a fundamental piece and getting you to kick that shopping habit. Because you'll see your neighbor get the new luxury car, you won't need it. You'll see your best friend move into a way nicer house than yours, you won't desire it. You'll see, you know, your mom even have all of these trendy, cool new clothes, and you won't desire them. So taking the first step on this like self-work, self-healing journey is definitely a great step if you want to stop that shopping habit.
Next up, and this is a big one, gaining self-confidence can really, really help you stop shopping. Again, this is no easy feat to just gain self-confidence, but it's worthy to A, think about, and B, potentially start working on. Because when you stop shopping, when you go against the grain, you are counterculture. Someone who is counterculture is inevitably going to experience a lot of pushback. But the good news is, the more you dive into this counterculture when it comes to finances, the easier it's going to become for you. You will naturally gain confidence the further along you get. And along the way, you might gain so much confidence that you want to share what you've learned, you want to share how you have been able to stop your shopping habits.
So the out of the box tips now are out of the way. And let's move on to the next category, which are these things that you can physically do that are very tangible and actionable. So number one, do not fall into the trap of buy now, pay later. Now, I don't know everyone's circumstances, and some people might actually need this, it might be a necessity. But if it is within your power whatsoever, or you are spending on things that you do not need, avoid buy now, pay later. To me, it's nothing short of like a mental trap. You think, "I just, I'm gonna pay $15 for X amount of months." But you don't see the pain, the pain of the full cost of that item. It's so much more digestible if it's taken in chunks. And that is absolutely going to lead to more shopping. So don't download the apps, don't click that you want Afterpay. If it is within your capacity whatsoever, please avoid the buy now, pay later options.
Next up is to keep your credit card limit extremely small, or to not have a credit card altogether. If it's an extreme case, maybe a credit card isn't for you. But that's not something I would readily suggest because credit score is really important. So you don't want to close an account that you have had for years and years and years. So extreme cases, sure, maybe don't have a credit card. But limiting your credit limit, like really making it quite low, if you have bad shopping habits, bad shopping tendencies, should help you to reduce the amount that you're shopping. If you see that you can spend $20,000, that doesn't feel like your money. And it's just digits on a screen. Anyways, who cares? You are going to be more susceptible to spend more money closer to that limit. If you keep it really small, it's like a band-aid solution. It's not gonna solve the root cause of why you're shopping so much, but it will help to prevent shopping in the meantime.
Next up, this is coming at it from a different perspective, but it is very easy. And that is just to write out your savings goals and put it somewhere that is clearly visible to you. There might be a chance that you keep this in your mind when you are doing that shopping. I would go so far to say that if you put it on a sticky note, you can even take it with you and put it on your wallet when you go shopping. If it's at home, you can put it next to your computer so if you're online browsing, it might prevent you from shopping. Whatever the goal may be, make sure to just make it reasonable, attainable. But the most important thing is to make it visible. It could be another line of defense for you to stop that shopping habit.
Next up is to delete yourself off email lists. I know you have heard this one time and time again, but just right now, stop this video. Pause it. Set a date. Set a date that has, you know, life admin events on it. And go through your emails. And not only delete ones that are just marketing emails, but go and unsubscribe from all of these places that you have chosen or not chosen to sign up for their newsletters, for their marketing. It is a pain, but it is so worth it. Because these things work. They spend money on advertising for a reason. It works. If you weren't even thinking about new makeup, and then poof, you got an email on your phone that says Sephora is having a sale, you are so much more likely to go and spend this money that you would not have otherwise. So delete, delete all your previous emails just to clear the house and unsubscribe from all of these mailing lists.
Probably one of the biggest tangible tips, delete or severely limit your use of social media accounts. We did already talk about that comparison piece, and of course, that is huge on social media. But I am also talking about just the sheer volume, the amount of advertisements that you are going to come across on these social media platforms. Not to mention that the algorithm has found the perfect product for you to get you to spend money. So it is totally okay to delete your accounts, to like, pause your accounts, make them null and void for a little while, or to severely limit your usage on these social media platforms. You have to think about it from the advertiser's perspective. These are the perfect platforms to get you to buy. People are on them constantly. It is as easy to buy as a click. People have more than one social media platform. They have the algorithm on their side. It is very hard to put up your defenses against all of that advertising. So my suggestion, like I said, would just to be quit, limit, reduce.
This is a simple one, but it's just to delete any apps, any and all apps that relate to shopping whatsoever. In my opinion, there is no reason to have these apps for stores. To me, there is no reason to have an Amazon app or a Sephora app or any other store app. You would be surprised at just how taking the extra step of opening that storefront in a regular web browser will deter you from shopping. So deleting those applications all together is a really easy thing that you can do in two seconds that can help you stop shopping.
And next up is to limit window shopping, or more broadly, just limit those physical places that you go that are danger zones for you. Alternatively, you could be the type of person that goes to like a Target just to go to Target. Target is the cutest place on planet Earth. Like, there's so many cute little cheap trinkets that again, is such a dangerousome, at least for someone like me. If you put yourself willingly in that scenario, it is so much more likely that you are going to shop. So instead of going to Target just to go to Target, you could go to Target only when you need things from Target. You could try going to another store that doesn't elicit the same feelings, make you spend as much, or you could order online if that works better for you. So being aware of these danger zones for you and being hyper vigilant and or limiting the amount that you're in these positions is a great place to start if you want to stop shopping.
All right, my friends, well, that is it. Those are all the out of the box and in the box suggestions, tips, and tricks that I have for you to stop shopping. And take it from someone who is borderline a shopaholic to now a minimalist, you can do this. It is going to take a lot of hard work, but it is so worth it. And any habit can be broken, including a really strong shopping habit. So all of these tips are not going to be applicable to every single person, but I do hope that you found some value in this video and at least one tip really resonated with you. If you did happen to get value out of this video, feel free to give it a like. If you like me, if you like the content that I'm producing on this channel in general here, then definitely consider subscribing. It would truly mean the world to me. Well, thank you so much for being here, and I really hope to catch you in my next minimalism video. Bye for now, everyone. Bye. Thank you.
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