When I look around the house at all of the “stuff” I own, I realise that I was ‘influenced’ to buy the majority of recent purchases. Everything from kitchen gadgets, to clothes, to cosmetics – I was buying things I didn’t need, but was convinced that I did.
Now don’t get me wrong, I have a huge respect for people who have managed to make a career (or make any money) from promoting products on Social Media. I also know that most people that I choose to follow on Social Media give honest reviews and are not intentionally trying to put any of their followers into debt.
However, it was my own lack of self-control that allowed these purchases to happen; allowed me to be influenced. Making the decision to spend less, and more importantly waste less, has enabled me to stop the bad habit of spending “just because”.
I do still follow the fashion, lifestyle, food and beauty bloggers that I admire, I just now know that I don’t need to have the products that they’re promoting. I enjoy seeing the new clothes, the latest makeup and the fancy homewares. But my ‘shopping trips’ happen in my own wardrobe, my ‘beauty salon appointments’ are at my own dressing table and I am influenced to use the things I already have 😊
If you’re at all like I was, just take a few minutes to think about the ‘why’ behind your purchases. Ensure that you are spending consciously and with good reason. Ensure that by buying something new, you’re not letting something else go to waste. Be more ‘influenced’ into using what you already have.