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One afternoon at my job a couple of years back, an alert popped up on my mobile device: my paycheck had come through. It was a decent sum for a student, so I proceeded with my usual payday ritual: I opened every shopping app on my device. From Amazon to Zara, you name it. Within the space of an hour, I had spent £90 on apparel, decorative items and a totally unused heavy blanket that I never used.

A short while after, I went online again and purchased a hairdryer. I already owned one, but reasoned an extra one couldn't hurt. Then I included LED strip lights and two pairs of shoes that didn't even fit me. This wasn’t new behaviour. In fact, I’d been infamous for it since I started earning.

Whenever I felt stressed, exhausted or uninterested, I would doomscroll until it always culminated in an unplanned shopping binge. My excuse was constantly: “It's only £5.” But £5 turned into £10, then £20, and so on.

I was never entirely certain about the reason. Maybe it was due to my upbringing in a low-income family, where we’d go months without purchasing new outfits or anything to decorate the house. So any moment I had extra money, there was always a subconscious yearning for new and thrilling things. Or possibly, and definitely more likely, I was just financially irresponsible and succumbed easily to capitalism’s demands.

A Revolutionary Approach

Eventually, I opted to experiment with something new. Prior to buying any item, I’d put it in my digital cart, wait 24 hours, then decide on whether to finalize the purchase. The greatest advantage of this method was that it gave me time to reflect – an action I’d never done before. For the first occasion since adulthood, I started asking myself: “Do I truly need this? Can I afford it?” More often than not, the response was negative.

If I accessed Amazon, Depop or Zara and discovered products lingering in my cart, I’d remove them and start fresh. Using this method, I stopped acquiring things that I knew deep down I would never utilize. I once wanted to purchasing three board games, but after waiting before going to the store, I understood I never actually engage with board games.

I also wanted to buy a single-use camera for my first trip to Croatia. After pausing I recalled I possessed a phone, like everybody else, that has a perfectly good camera, and therefore did not need to acquire a separate camera.

The Enduring Benefits

It also signifies I am more selective about the things I do buy, and I can at last look at my financial records devoid of feeling shame or embarrassment.

Of course, there have been times I’ve slipped back into old habits – it's human nature. The difference now is that I can recognise the warning signs early, particularly when I’m hastening into a purchase. I’ve realised boredom is a strong trigger. It’s perhaps the primary driver of my impulsive expenditure.

Consumer culture exploits this boredom and our need for immediate gratification. That’s why, in hindsight, compelling myself to halt before buying has felt unexpectedly freeing. Gaining control over my urges and reaffirming that I don't have to spend my hard-earned money on unnecessary products feels as revolutionary as it is straightforward.