A soul torture: three years since I broke away, do I still buy things?

A: Of course I do, but I buy a lot less.

Q: And how much money did you save?

A: Not much money. It’s just that …… buys “better”.

Q: What do you mean by “better”?

A: Look down, today and talk about “as a breakaway person, when I was shopping, what I was thinking”.

I carefully studied my shopping records, using my powerful classification ability, found that the items bought are actually two categories: essential and non-essential items. Let’s look at them separately.

Necessities:

Most of the necessities are daily necessities and must be there, but there is a problem that it is easy to buy in advance and overbuy because of sales. The house we live in is still quite expensive, so there is no need to turn every inch of space into a supermarket warehouse. The home is a little empty, not only the living environment will be open, the heart will also be bright. The empty space to store more favorite items, or potted flowers, are more pleasant life ah.

After I figured this out, I resolved not to be tempted to reduce the price of daily necessities until I ran out of stock at home. Before I run out, such as toothpaste, I will first put it in the “daily necessities shopping list”, and then buy it back when shopping.

I don’t have to worry about “buying too much” because I find that every time I go shopping, I always find a few on sale, buy it! If you are worried about your usual one just no discount, you can pay attention to its discount information after the current tube is more than half empty, as soon as the event, immediately start. Note that only one tube at a time is enough, a dozen to move home, you can only use these “old” things for a long time to come.

If you’re left-brained, you can calculate how much and how often you need to use common necessities, which is what I did when I bought my contacts. After trying daily, monthly, seasonal, semi-annual and annual contacts, I found that monthly was the best for me. It’s a very recognizable time of year, and it’s the most acceptable for me in terms of price and hygiene, so I settled on monthly.

So do I buy monthly? Of course not, I don’t have that kind of time …… 12 pairs a year, separate 3 times to buy an average of 4 pairs at a time, this frequency is more appropriate. So I chose the “March 8 Goddess Day”, “June 18” and “Double 11” three large promotions, each time to buy the amount of the next few months, to ensure that I can use the next event When the next event, it is OK.

There are also essential items that are not daily necessities but are used relatively frequently, so you can also use the above method to purchase. For example, underwear and socks, fall clothes and underwear, functional clothing and hobby consumables, like I have handbook supplies and drawing materials.

In addition to making a list, a more efficient way to buy these items is to choose and fix a few favorite brands and stores. Because of familiarity, so shopping will be faster, without the interference of too much information; and usually we only pay attention to these points of the new and special offers on the line, saving a lot of time and energy.

There is another category of “necessities” to buy more trouble, involving a lot of factors, to choose, such as wearing clothes out. And this category, it is often the culprit to make us blindly buy waste money. Sometimes because the guide “open-minded” type of praise, sometimes because the model looks good, sometimes because I do not have a XXX and caused by irrational consumption. This problem has always bothered me before, but in the end it was the planning and organizing that gave the best solution.

After I finished the round of self-organization of clothes and studied the Planning and Organizing for Beauty workshop, it became very clear what kind of clothes are suitable for me and what kind of clothes should not be touched. So every time I buy clothes, I will “set a preconception” and then “go straight to the target”!

For example, last year at this time I found myself wearing a pair of winter boots that were very old, so I planned to buy a new pair. First I determined the style, according to my personality characteristics, I fit Chelsea boots; because I often drive, so I want a short heel; observed the trouser type of most of my winter pants, to determine the height of the boots in the ankle bone above a little; winter pants only black, dark blue and white three, that black is the most suitable; do not like complicated decoration and design, simply want the most simple models.

As you can see, I almost had the boots I wanted completely conceived.

After the “think first” session, I walked into a familiar mall and went straight to one of the brand counters I was familiar with, and luckily, I found it right away. From finding them to trying them on to buying them, it was only ten minutes. A year has passed, and I wear these boots very often, with a full sense of use!

Some of you may ask: how detailed is the imagination, will not be unable to buy? Ha! Don’t worry, this is an era of great material abundance, whether online or offline, there is always a pair to your liking! If you are still worried, then relax a few elements, such as determining two or three alternative colors, two or three alternative fabrics, or whatever.

Non-essentials: There is a concept of life (and a very famous book) that has been popular for a long time: “Live Only the Necessary Life”, and of course, have only the necessary items. But as far as that goes? Practicing detachment is what allows us to live more easily and comfortably, not to condemn ourselves to become ascetics.

Non-essential items, yes, we should have them! Because it is very special to us, his presence gives our life some cheerful rhythm and colorful glitter.

How to buy such items is considered “rational”? It is very simple, before buying some rational thinking (except for those who are particularly fond of it and are particularly excited not to buy it, those you grasp depending on the economic situation): buy it, what can replace the existing? What is better than the replaceable items? Is this the one I like the most? Is this improvement in quality of life within my financial reach? Is the desire to buy it a trend to follow, or is it really necessary? If I don’t buy it, will my life suffer because of it? Is it easy to take care of after buying it? Will the quality of life be greatly improved? Is there a suitable storage location? What is the frequency of use?

After thinking about it, if you are sure, then buy it. This morning, after some such thinking, I placed an order for a microwave oven and a small rice cooker, the value is very high Oh!

If you hesitate, just give up, the fate has not yet arrived. Or, let’s put it on the “shopping wish list” or store it in the shopping cart for a cooling off period before making a decision. My Harry Potter co-branded pajamas, let’s put it aside first ……

Finally, if you want to “downgrade consumption”, you can try to cancel the aimless shopping, and spend the time on more meaningful things, such as reading, learning a skill; also, please allow yourself to have a blind buy stage, always go through trial and error, but also allow yourself to occasionally “make “.

You see, what I call buying “better” is actually more to your liking, closer to a comfortable and enjoyable life.