Making purchases naturally produces dopamine and can bring you some temporary good feelings – and for some people that has an addictive component where they have the need to compulsively buy in order to keep the good feelings flowing. Sometimes, people buy mindlessly or without regard to their financial situation and end up putting them into debt. If you’re spending mindlessly, you can create a dangerous habit that is difficult to break. To stop mindless spending, or to be more mindful about your purchases in general, there are two questions that you can ask yourself before making any purchase to be more intentional about your spending.
Question Number One
Before you make a purchase, first ask yourself if you love the item, if you’re going to use the item, and if you genuinely need the item. This will help you to determine if you’re buying the item on a whim – if you really do love it, will use and actually need it, then you’re not just mindlessly buying it on a whim. Think about the things that you likely have in your house that you never use, that are just sitting there taking up space and energy – these items wouldn’t have passed the question “am I going to use it”, if you had asked yourself that when you purchased it. So even if it is something that you love, if you’re not going to use it, it’s not worth buying it.
Asking yourself if this item is something you love takes a bit of practice. When you’re buying groceries for example, you may not particularly love that broccoli that you’re buying, but you still purchase it because you know it’s good for you to eat it for your health. Thinka bout these questions more for when it comes to your discretionary purchases. If you’re contemplating purchasing a sweater, take a moment to think about if you really love it – or is it just on sale, or trendy?
The third part of this question is if you genuinely need it – and there’s a large spectrum to need here. Needing something can range to the basics of life, such as shelter and transportation, to the self-care aspects of life – so think about your needs in general when you’re being mindful about your purchases.
The Second Question
When making a purchase, the second question to think about is if you’d still buy the item in question, if no one else ever knew you bought it. Often, we purchase things not only for our own needs but for the validation of others. We may buy a specific brand of clothing or vehicles, not because that is what we need or want, but because we’re looking to impress someone else or to maintain a specific status. It may help with your spending to slow down and think for a moment that if you’re purchasing in a vacuum of a world where no one else knew about this purchase, if you’d still buy the same exact thing, or if you’d perhaps buy an alternative.
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