7 Tips to Save You When You Feel Like Shopping

By Karen Trefzger

Fall is around the corner, and if you’re anything like me, that can make you feel like shopping.  New clothes, new home décor, those pretty autumn-themed dishes, cute earrings, a fragranced candle – you name it, we may just feel we need something new to celebrate the change of seasons.

But every time we follow this need-to-shop impulse, we may be adding to our clutter.  We may be adding to debt (or at least reducing what we can save or give).  We may be giving in to our desire for more, more, more (and doesn’t that look like a simple case of greed?).

I know it’s fun to get something new.  At first, it feels amazing.  You tell your friends, maybe even post pictures on social media.  But very quickly, that new thing becomes background noise, and then you need the next purchase to feel the excitement all over again.  You never find satisfaction.

Instead, let’s think of ways to renew our appreciation for what we own and take advantage of all that’s available to us.

7 options to control needless spending

1.  Get outside.

We were created to live on this earth, and its perfect design already takes into account our desire for both variety and stability.  Each season has its gifts – all new and yet familiar.

So get outside and enjoy the roadside wildflowers (they won’t last long). Relish summer’s variety of sunny skies and thunderstorms, fresh cool mornings and long warm evenings. Look for birds building nests and babies loudly demanding to be fed. Can you drive to the country and visit a farm stand for the freshest produce?

Go on a walk, a bike ride, a hike, or a picnic today.

2.  Swap belongings.

This might be an old trick you use with your children’s toys:  box up some of the things they don’t play with as often and store them for a few months.  Then when you bring them out again, it feels like everyone got a bunch of new toys!

Guess what – this works with adults too.  You know how when you put up the Christmas decorations your house feels new and noticeable, even if the decorations are the same ones you’ve been using for years?  Get that same feeling by swapping framed photos, wall art, lamps, throw pillows, and other small decorative items.  You can even swap chairs, side tables, and other small pieces of furniture.  Move things from the living room to your bedroom to the dining room to the guest room, entry hall, or home office.

As you do this, you can handle and dust everything, and make sure it’s something you really love and want to keep.  Then you can enjoy noticing your same belongings in different surroundings and different groupings.  It’s a way to keep everything fresh and in the spotlight, because you got out of a rut and shook things up a bit.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://nosidebar.com/7-tips-to-save-you-when-you-feel-like-shopping/