HOW TO STOP SHOPPING | MINIMALISM | NO BUY | LOW BUY

Hey friends, welcome back to a new video. Today I'm sharing with you guys 5 tips on how to become more resilient when it comes to your shopping urges. So I've been on a no buying clothes challenge for a little less than a year now and I'm right now at a point where I hardly hardly ever crave buying any clothes or anything, which I'm really happy about, so this challenge isn't even hard for me at this point, and I want to share with you guys what I learned, a few tips that I have for you, and I'm sure you can do it as well, and at the end I'm going to answer some questions that you guys have sent me. So the number one tip that I have is to know your why. Now I say this for pretty much any challenge or any cause you want to pursue, know why you want to do it. Be really passionate about it, and if you're not sure about why you want to do it, or you don't have a very strong why, then I encourage you to find one. So for example when it comes to shopping or buying clothes, is it maybe for environmental reasons, maybe you watch some type of documentary that teaches us on the impact of consumption, maybe it's for humanitarian reasons, so maybe you've learned about how there are people being exploited and have horrible working conditions and you don't want to continue to support that, but maybe it's also just because you want to save money. But don't just say saving money as your reason to stop shopping, go a little bit further. Why do you want to save money? Are you saving up for something specific, maybe for a forever home, or maybe for education for your future children? Be really clear on what your why is, why do you want to do this challenge, and don't just think about it. I really encourage you to write it down, it really makes a difference mentally. Write it on a post-it note, it can just be one sentence, and post it somewhere where you can see it regularly. So maybe on your bathroom mirror, just to remind yourself so you know what your motivation is behind this. So for example for me personally, I really wanted to stop buying clothes for actually all three reasons, so for one environmental, also humanitarian reason, also to save money because I have a specific financial plan for myself to gain financial freedom in the future. Something else you really need to think about writing down is your rules and your goals. So what is your goal for this challenge? Don't just say I'm going to stop shopping because that is far too vague, be really specific. So for me I said I want to not buy any clothes until the end of 2021, and I also had some rules or exceptions that I made for myself. Again, write that down, make sure you're really clearly communicating your expectations and your goals to yourself. Then number two is to understand that most of the times your shopping desire or your urge is just a habit. So all that habit is, is a behavior that is repeated often enough that it's become automated. And the way a habit works is there is a cue, there is a craving, the response and the reward. So the cue is kind of like the trigger, you need something that triggers your craving. So for example the cue could be that there is a sale going on, so that triggers your mind to then have the craving of, you really want to use or utilize the sale to your advantage. Then the response would be to give in to that craving, to then shop on sale. And the reward would be to have satisfied that craving, to know that you have utilized the sale. But for example a different trigger or cue could be being stressed, that could maybe want you to de-stress a little, do something fun and that could lead to craving buying new stuff. So the important thing is to identify your trigger, I would say everyone has a different trigger or cue and it is really hard to go against a habit because it's so ingrained in our brain. So the easiest thing is to avoid the triggers because then you're not even going to have the craving. So for example for me a big trigger or cue was other fashion Instagram accounts. They have amazing ideas but it did trigger this desire to shop in me so I unfollowed all types of fashion accounts. Then also browsing clothes was a big trigger for me so I deleted all types of browsing shopping apps and really distanced myself from these potential triggers and that just made it so so so much easier. Then you can also make it really difficult to follow through with the habit. So for example maybe you could delete shopping apps if that's a place where you shop regularly. Delete your payment information or hide your payment information, just think about steps you can make to make the process of buying stuff less enjoyable and just physically harder. Then on the other hand we want to kind of build the good habit of not shopping and we can reward ourselves when we manage to not shop and resist. Every time you are able to resist an item for example a pair of jeans that would have cost maybe $60 then you can take $60 that you kind of saved because you didn't buy those pair of jeans and put that into a piggy bank and you can kind of watch your piggy bank grow every time you resist an item and that might potentially really motivate you and make it more fun to not buy clothes in that sense and you can use that money maybe to save or invest or maybe you can treat yourself to a massage or save up for a trip you've always wanted to take. You can really be creative with that. Then tip number three is to think about what you have rather than what you don't have. So a lot of the things are just about perspective. So a lot of the times we want to shop because we see other people have these things that we think I don't have that and we see that gap between they have that, I don't have that and we want to close that gap and that kind of gives us the urge to shop. But instead of focusing so much on what you don't have try to focus on what you do have. So try to practice gratitude. I know it sounds a little silly but for example with clothes you can think about how thankful that you are that they keep you warm or that they are a creative outlet for you or that it's a way that you can express yourself through. So just try to shift your mindset and be a little more grateful for what you do have. And when it comes to creating outfits maybe you see someone wearing this certain outfit that you'd love to recreate but you don't feel like you have the pieces to recreate it. You might not have that specific skirt but maybe you have something else that gives off the same look or energy and you can kind of put your own twist on this outfit when you recreate it. I think it's a great way to kind of develop your own sense of style instead of just emulating what other people are doing. For example if you don't have a certain belt that you want to use maybe you can use a scarf instead to use as a belt. You can really be creative and experiment. I personally found a lot of fun in this part of having a small closet trying out new things kind of challenging myself to create completely new outfits with things that I've owned for years and years. Tip number four is to have a support system. I would say it's pretty hard to do this all by yourself. It's far easier if you have a accountability partner, someone who can be honest with you and say hey you do not need to buy this. We all need someone like that so find someone that can not necessarily do this with you but just be there for you and support you mentally. And tip number five is that time is your friend. For example if your shopping trigger is stress it might be a little hard to completely avoid stress because it's not as easy as for example avoiding certain social media channels. So when you've encountered your cue or your trigger and you now have that craving of wanting to shop something this is going to be really hard to resist but you can do it and when it comes to this step I would say that time is your friend. So I for example have a rule that I do not buy things the same day where I come up with buying it if that makes sense. So there was an instance where I was for some reason really into battery candles like not real flame candles and I wanted to buy them suddenly I had this huge urge and this whole list of reasons why this was a good idea and I was really talking myself into this but I stuck to my rule and did not buy them today. I thought to myself okay I'm sticking to my rule I'm not going to buy them today but I am definitely going to buy them tomorrow. Well what do you know tomorrow comes around and I'm a little less intrigued to buy them because we're so emotionally stuck in or attached to this item it's always a good idea to take some time off and to detach yourself from that emotional situation. So take some time at least sleep on it and then the next day maybe you have enough strength to wait another day just try to I guess drag it out as long as possible because the longer you wait the less it will be an emotional decision. So sometimes I even wait for months before I buy things with my computer I waited a year because most of the time the thing that we crave and want isn't necessary so try to detach yourself from it emotionally I know it's really hard. This is also a place where an accountability partner can be really helpful that can help you wait at least one day or even better a few days. So these are my tips and now I'm going to jump over and answer a few of your questions that you guys have sent me on Instagram so be sure to follow me there because I often ask you guys for your input over there. So I'm going to keep the keep the names anonymous just because I don't know if you want me to share your name. So the first question was how to distinguish a need and a desire slash want in the moment. So as I said it's really difficult when you are so emotionally attached in the moment. In the moment I always have a really rational reasons of why I need this but in the end it's always an emotional want. So it's hard to distinguish in the moment so I would say to wait. As I said time is your friend I would say to wait at least a day, two days, three days or even better because after one day you're still a little emotionally attached. Looking back I'm always glad I waited and in the end did not buy the item. Then someone asked how do you get excited with a minimal wardrobe. That's a really good question because I totally understand this rush that you get when you buy new clothes. It's like it's Christmas you get a package that you get to unpack and there's this excitement of this new item but the excitement always wears off. What I found is I need to find the excitement within things I already have and a way that I personally get that is by creating new outfits that I've never worn in this combination. So I really challenge myself to be creative and to combine things in a way that I've never combined them. Even though on some days I might look a little crazy it's a creative experiment. Then someone else asked what can I do instead when I feel the urge. So as I said it's really difficult when you've already entered into the craving stage. So I would say to definitely wait as I said wait at least a day but in the moment try to detach your mind from the item. I know that we're usually super excited and we're thinking about a thousand things. We're really excited about when we have the item or outfits that we want to create using this but try to do something else that you enjoy. Maybe go for a walk, read a book, get your mind off of that because the more you get into the cycle of this is going to be so great I can't wait to buy this the more it's going to be difficult to remove yourself from that emotional situation. And as I said wait the longer the better. Then the last question you guys sent in is how do you find and continue to find contentment with the stuff you already own. I would say it's all about perspective. Try to think of it as I have so much great stuff instead of there's so much stuff great stuff I don't have. So I concentrate on the things I do have. The excitement and the rush that we get isn't necessarily specifically from that new item. It's because it's something new in general and we can create new things without physically new items if that makes sense or for example creating a new outfit using the same items but because it's a different combination for our brain it feels like wow this is new this is so exciting. For example even a simple thing as tying a silk scarf into your hair that can make it feel super new or layering necklaces in a different way maybe changing up your makeup or when it comes to home decor placing one item that was in one room in a different room or maybe rearranging your furniture that can make things seem new even though the specific items aren't new. So that was all for today. I really really hope that I could help you guys in some way. If I wasn't clear at one point or another be sure to leave follow up questions or additional questions down below. I will definitely message you guys and try to help you out as much as I can and feel free to write me anytime anywhere everywhere. I always love talking to you guys. Thank you so much for watching today's video and I'll see you guys in my next video. Bye!