Philosophy of “Enough”
We live in a society that praises and facilitates the consumption of “stuff.”
It is easy to order anything we want and have it at our door in less than 48 hours. We have at our fingertips the power to buy “stuff” like never before. We only need to have the money to pay for it or someone to extend us the credit.
In “retail therapy,” also known as “emotional spending,” we go shopping to feel better. We go shopping when we are sad, excited, depressed, and even bored. We buy things for the satisfaction we get when we make the purchase. Like a bad hangover (that arrives on your next credit card statement), approximately 50% of shoppers regret these purchases. In the past, these types of impulse buys were usually small ticket items that a retailer would display near the register or check-out lane. With the age of online shopping, this is no longer limited to low price items and, in reality, can be anything. It is estimated that over 40% of online sales are impulse buys. What we lack as a society is what I like to call “Shopping Discipline.”
For example, let’s say you decide that you are going to begin hiking on the weekends. Most of us already own a pair of sneakers that are well suited for this type of leisurely weekend hiking as a beginner but instead of starting with what we have, we decide that we need a new pair of “hiking boots.” We go either online or to a specialty outdoor store and purchase our new pair of hiking boots, but we have yet to even go on a hike! We walk out of the store, feeling good! We just spent an extra $200+ on hiking boots that we most likely do not need for the type of flat trail hiking we will be doing, but we feel good.
Think about the last time you decided you were going to begin something new. A new project, a new hobby, or activity? Are you guilty of going out and buying “stuff” initially without really knowing what it is that you will need? Couldn’t you have used some of the things that you already have? We are all guilty of this!
Marketers know about our lack of shopping discipline and how to exploit it. Have you noticed that there is ALWAYS a sale going on? When we see something “on-sale” or on “clearance,” most of us will buy. With online shopping, we have “Flash Deals” or “Deals of the Day,” all designed to get us to buy more stuff, especially when we are bored. The ability to say “No” to a “sale” is a skill we all must learn, and the sooner, the better, in my opinion.
If we do not realize this, this impulse buying leads to overspending, which leads to more stress because we have more bills to pay. If we are like most people, we are paying for these items with money we do not yet have using a credit card; this means that we are also paying anywhere from 15 – 20% in interest per year, if not more on these “deals”! Since we do not have any money left over at the end of the month, we put off saving for retirement or our kid’s college. All this extra “stuff” leads to clutter in our homes. Many studies have shown that a cluttered home makes us feel stressed, anxious, and depressed, feeding the cycle all over again.