It’s easy to get swept away by impulse in a society where almost everything is accessible with the tap of your fingers. Yet if we pause, take a step back, and look at all the unnecessary purchases we’ve made, a sense of guilt and shame surfaces.
If our unused items could talk to us, they’d probably tell us it’s time to practice mindful shopping. But how exactly do we go against our consumerist impulses? Let this article be your guide.
Understanding the Benefits of Mindful Shopping
Being mindful about your shopping habits isn’t just about making better financial decisions. While this is a huge factor, being mindful also helps you combat the subtle psychological manipulations that are at play in the e-commerce space. Think of all those moments you bought something you didn’t need just because it was on sale.
Impulsive shopping not only negatively impacts personal finances, but it can be damaging to the environment as well. If reducing waste is something you care about, then cutting down on excessive online shopping is the right move for you. Finally, taking control of your impulses can also have effects in other aspects of your life that have something to do with consumerism.
Aligning Purchases with Personal Values
It’s time to sit down and think about what you value when it comes to your items. Do you lean more on quality and sustainability? Do you care about brand messaging and a company’s commitment to ethical production?
Selecting products that only align with your values might not directly make you buy less stuff. But what this does is add something to think about before any purchase, which is the point of mindfulness. Maybe you’ll discover that you’ve been purchasing items that are not in line with what you care about.
Quality Over Quantity: Investing in What Lasts
It’s very tempting to buy whatever is cheap because most people want to save money where they can. However, the cost of constantly replacing cheap items can be a lot more than it would cost to purchase a higher-quality product. Think of every purchase as an investment for long-term practical use.
Be careful, though, as a hefty price tag does not automatically mean an item will be of good quality. Do your due diligence in reading reviews, checking if the materials are listed on the item description, and digging deeper into the brand’s reputation. This might take more time than usual, but this delay is necessary to make the correct purchase choices. Importantly, taking the time to do this research might reveal that you don’t actually need the purchase at all, which is also a win in mindful shopping.
Cybersecurity & Safe Online Shopping
If you’re not careful while shopping online, you will likely be exposed to certain risks. Phishing scams, data breaches, and account hijacking are some of the most common dangers you’d have to worry about. Imagine being excited to purchase a limited edition item for half the price, only to find out it was a scam to steal your credit card information.
So, aside from mindful shopping, there are several ways to avoid online shop fraud and scams. The first one is by using a virtual private network, or VPN, to encrypt your internet traffic, preventing hackers from intercepting your data and seeing what you’re browsing online.
The second tool is a password manager, which not only stores and generates strong account passwords but also effectively prevents account hijacking. How? The autofill function of a password manager won’t trigger if, for example, you’re visiting an Amazon clone website.
In the worst-case scenario, if your sensitive data has already been stolen and spread around the internet, you can make use of data removal services to take that info down. Something like this should be the last resort and won’t be necessary if you follow the other security measures mentioned.
Think Twice Before You Click “Buy”
It’s time to slow down on those purchases and only buy the things that really matter to you. With the tips and tricks we provided you with in this article, become a conscious shopper and practice proper security measures while looking for great deals!
