5 Ways to be a smart consumer and start saving on purchases

We are surrounded on all sides causing signals a desire to buy something: TV commercials, on billboards, advertising in public transport and even in your own phone. Shops attract discounts and enticing goods. The result is what we have not even thought of before, it begins to seem vital. Besides buying something new is nice. The very thought of it isNeural predictors of purchases we have the release of dopamine - a neurotransmitter responsible for the anticipation of reward.

But the acquisition of more and more things will make you happy. Quite the contrary.

When the house is accumulated too much, increasing stress levelsNo place like home: home tours correlate with daily patterns of mood and cortisol. When the disorder is more difficult to focusInteractions of Top-Down and Bottom-Up Mechanisms in Human Visual Cortex. and stickClutter, Chaos, and Overconsumption: The Role of Mind-Set in Stressful and Chaotic Food Environments. healthy diet. Add to that the feeling of guilt for the money - and you're not far from depressed. If you notice that the spend on shopping too much money, it's time to change the approach to consumption.

1. Understand what is behind your desire to buy something

Do not restrict the answer, "I just like to buy cool stuff": it is too superficial. Think that symbolizes to you or that the purchase (eg, status, professionalism, the opinions of others). Trendy gadgets may say that you do not want to lag behind the others, and soft cashmere things indicate that you are missing comfort.

When you have determined that the need for leads to wasting, look for other ways to satisfy it.

To understand yourself directly in the shopping time, try to apply the techniques of mindfulness. Say you're at the mall and are ready to buy something. Exit the shop and sit on the bench. Take three deep breaths and ask: "How do I feel?" If the answer you feel hunger, anger, fatigue, loneliness, It is possible that you tried to drown out the unpleasant state purchases and the new thing you do not need.

If an inner voice keeps saying, like a naughty child: "Buy, buy, buy!" - refrain from spending, you are not able to think rationally. And if you want to go to the store, just to dispel the boredom, better watch the video with seals. It will amuse you, calmEmotion regulation, procrastination, and watching cat videos online: Who watches Internet cats, why, and to what effect? and not hurt the wallet.

2. Make a plan and stick to it

So, are you going shopping. First of all make a list things that you want to purchase. Then assess the real need for each item. If a thing is not necessary, set next to it the number "0". If you need a slightly - ⅓, if you really need - ⅔, and if extremely important and necessary - 1. Now cut the list by getting rid of items that received a low score.

The next step - to record, with whom and in what stores you go, how much time and money to spend, and for whom will buy. If you go to a regular mall, consider the road that will reach, then imagine, in which departments will go. So you can help yourself in advance to avoid unnecessary temptations on the way. Highlight a limited time at each store to have not been able to walk and to consider everything that is on the shelves.

Take this plan with him and follow him. If you're going buying something online, Write down what sites will come and what keywords to search for. It is easier to do on paper, to hold it in front of his eyes while shopping. The remaining points of the plan are the same as for a conventional store.

3. Pause briefly before purchasing

This is not necessary when you take in the point of sale only bread and milk. But if you come only for bread, and scored a basket full, pause not exactly hurt.

The Council is particularly useful when you want to buy something expensive. Put the item back on the shelf and get away from it. Find a place where you can sit or stand quietly. If you are looking for products online, get away from the computer. And answer the six questions (you can even writing):

• Why am I here?
• How do I feel?
• I need this thing?
• What if I wait with the purchase?
• How I'll pay for it?
• Where will I store it?

These questions offered psychologist April Benson (April Benson), which specializes in consumer behavior disorders. They will give you time to calm down and weigh your decision. Buy only when you are sure that the thing you need it and you can afford.

4. Do not give in to emotions

The large grocery stores carefully think through the location of the goods to buyers to spend more money. Tasting products and prevailing around abundance cause a desire to try everything. A label such as "Limited Time Offer", "special price", "Things to buy" artificially cause anxiety, creating a sense that this is the last chance to buy this or that thing. And here we already bear her to the cash register, even if we do not need.

Do not let emotions make the choice for you. Slow down for a minute and ask yourself a few questions.

All of these bright colors and packaging to help me choose or hinder? Arises whether I have a feeling that my regular purchases are not good enough? I feel grateful for the diversity of the surrounding me or worry that choose that something is not right? Quite possibly, you will find that fold the product to the clipboard just from a sense of fear of being without something "right."

The same is true in a clothing store. If you see an amazing pair of jeans or T-shirt, do not rush to buy, how to be cool you have not looked. Consider whether you need a new thing indeed. Whether you wear it at least 30 times? If not, with a calm mind pass by.

5. Stop identifying yourself with what you own

The more things a man is, the higher in our understanding of its status. We often measure our their dignity by this criterion. It turns out that things are and how they are "good", decide what we represent. This destructive approach.

No matter how many things you did not, you'll never be fully satisfied. Otherwise, there would be no billionaires who feel unhappy. Separate your "I" of what you are buying - it is the key to sustainable consumption.