I used to shop for a hobby. No big surprise there, right? I’ve got over 25K in consumer deb so that should be a given.
But somewhere along the lines, in our culture shopping for a hobby seems to be quite a popular pastime. It’s so easy to go into the mall ‘just to look’ and come out with something that you don’t really need, but also can’t afford.
The solution?
Keep out of the store. This is harder said than done, because it’s a habit and trying to break the habit takes time and effort. But if you can get out of the stores – whether online or phycical malls, over time you will find that you don’t miss the shopping and you can fill your days with more profitable pastimes.
I used to shop all the time. I grew up in a mall in my 20′s as both an employee in many retail stores, but also as a shopper in those same malls too. The mall has many great qualities about it. It’s warm in the winter, cool in the summer. You can get there easily as most malls are out in the suburban areas offer ample free parking – as opposed to inner city shopping where you have to walk outside from shop to shop AND usually pay for parking as well. There’s fun food to eat. Chances are your neighbours and peers will be there. It’s a fun social activity. The trouble is: it’s costly.
It should come as no surprise to you that home audio is my thing, and many of the cables I’ve recently been selling on eBay came from either ebay or other sites dedicated to home audio. It’s taken some willpower to stop visiting those sites. There was always a good deal on something that I ‘needed’ pretty much every day on those sites. If you recall, I once owned 27 tennis racquets – all bought on eBay over time. Shopping is fun. No doubt about it.
How to break the habit? Just stop going to the mall. I know, it’s not easy and you won’t be able to resist every day, but if you do, when you do shop for fun and can afford it, it’s much more enjoyable than shopping just because you have nothing to do and always end up at the mall by habit.
I’m finding that I’m currently reading more. Yes, I buy the books and I’ve got some work to do there as I could start going to the library instead to save further, but I buy my books online and buy the electronic editions which are less than half the cost of the physical books. I’m also buying books that are educational, either in personal devolpment or to enhance my skills in some way. I’m investing in myself, instead of investing in stuff I don’t need. The kicker is I still get to have that “I bought something” high from shopping but I’m paying for a tool to invest in myself to improve, which is always a good thing, instead of blowing it on a six dollar cookie in the food court.
I’m also researching in making my own speakers via some night school course in the new year. I think it would quite an accomplishment to say “see those? I made them?”, instead of “See those? I bought them”. This allows me to further enhance my skills, and scratch my itch for high end audio at the same time. Win-win. If you factor in the costs of the schooling, and the materials they still won’t be a cheap pair of speakers but I will be investing in myself, instead of just bidding on eBay and waiting for the Fedex guy to show up.
So next time you’re on the way to the mall, just for fun – ask yourself do you really need to go? Is there something else you could be doing with your time that would be just as enjoyable but less expensive? or that would get you out of the habit of constantly shopping just for shopping’s sake?
I’m finding that it’s really been a worthwhile effort to break the shopping habit. Remember: spend less is half the equation to get out of debt.
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