I Quit Shopping For a Year

At the beginning of this year, I decided to give up shopping. I banned myself from buying any clothes, books, music, apps, decorations, shoes, experiences, solo-lattes, meals out (beyond one a month), stationary, alcohol, new makeup or skincare, etc.

When people hear of someone giving up shopping, their mind goes to either one of two places: they’re either in awe and believe the person just did the impossible, or they roll their eyes in disdain and claim they have always been on a no-buy year because they’re poor and that’s how they live.

I am in no way rich. I have lived on minimum wage my entire life, but my little income didn’t prevent me from shopping. I still bought myself books and clothes on a semi-regular basis, I would purchase in-app updates for the meagre price of 99p without a second thought, and if I saw some a new skincare or makeup product I was interested in, I would buy it without giving a second thought to the unused makeup lying at home.

Much like unconscious snacking, most people are in denial about how much they buy. They may think they don’t buy anything at all because they don’t have designer handbags or the latest trainers — but they’re still shopping on a casual basis. They’re still buying more things than they need, whether it’s a new set of highlighter pens or that cute ring they saw on sale. People consume things…