“Don’t buy what you don’t need.”
Consumerism is not a pathway to joy and meaning in life. This is not a new revelation. In fact, we all know it to be true.
If specifically asked the question, nobody would ever say the secret to a joyful, meaningful life is to buy a lot of stuff. Deep down in our hearts, we know we were made for something bigger—something more significant than mere consumption.
Nobody really believes happiness is directly tied to the number of things we own. Yet almost all of us live like it.
We work more hours than ever before, earn more income, but save less. Personal debt has increased dramatically over the previous three decades. And consumer spending has been exalted to a virtue in our society—even patriotic.
As a result, the average credit card holder now carries 4 different credit cards in his or her pocket. Shopping malls outnumber high schools 2 to 1. 70% of Americans visit a shopping mall each week. Televisions outnumber persons in American homes. Home sizes have doubled in the past 50 years. And consumer debt has risen to 35% of household income.
Will Rogers said it like this, “Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like.”
We never intentionally set out to buy more than we need or spend more than we make. But here’s the problem:
Mindless consumption always turns into excessive consumption. (tweet that)
And excess consumption results in more stress, more burden, more pressure to impress, more envy, less financial freedom, less generosity, less contentment—and I haven’t even begun to mention the environmental impact.
It is time to rethink our spending habits, rediscover thoughtfulness and intentionality in our purchases, and remind ourselves that happiness is not on sale at the department store. Buying more is not the solution. We were made for greater pursuits than material possessions. And our lives should reflect that truth.
How then, might we begin to rethink and challenge mindless consumerism in our lives? Consider this intentional approach:
1. Stop and reevaluate. Look at the life you have created. Are you finding the time, money, and energy for the things that matter most? Have your possessions become a burden on your life in any way? Slow down long enough to honestly evaluate the whole picture: your income, your mortgage, your car payment, your spending habits, your day-to-day pursuits. Are you happy? Or is there, perhaps, a better way?
2. Stop copying other people. Just because your neighbors, classmates, and friends are chasing a certain style of life does not mean you need to as well. Your life is too unique to live like everyone else. And if you think you’ll be happier by following all the latest trends in society, you are wrong. Just ask anybody who has stopped.
3. Understand your weaknesses. Recognize your trigger points. Are there certain stores that prompt unnecessary purchases in your life? Are there products, addictions, or pricing patterns (clearance sales) that prompt an automatic response from you? Maybe there are specific emotions (sadness, loneliness, grief) that give rise to mindless consumption. Identify, recognize, and understand these weaknesses. 51% of the solution can be found by simply recognizing the problem.
4. Look deep into your motivations. Advertisers play on our motivations by appealing to our desires in subtle ways. Advertisements are no longer based on communicating facts about a product. Instead, they promise adventure, reputation, esteem, joy, fulfillment, and sex. What inner-motivations are subconsciously guiding your purchases? What motivations (greed, envy) need to be rooted out? And what motivations (meaning, significance) need to find their fulfillment elsewhere?
5. Seek contribution with your life and usefulness in your purchases. To live is to consume. As contributing members of society, we are going to work and earn and purchase and consume. But we are more than consumers, we are contributors. Our presence on this earth ought to bring value to the people around us. Purchase only what you need to more effectively accomplish your unique role in this world—everything else is only a distraction. Just because you can buy something doesn’t mean you should.
6. Count the hidden cost of each purchase. Too often, when we purchase an item, we only look at the sticker price. But this is rarely the full cost. Our purchases always cost more. They require our time, energy, and focus (cleaning, organizing, maintaining, fixing, replacing, removing). They prompt worry, stress, and attachment. Henry David Thoreau said it best, “The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.”
7. Test your limits. Experiment with a no-shopping challenge. You set the terms—even the world’s biggest shopper can find one experiment to test their boundaries. Go 30 days with no consumer purchases, 60 days without visiting the mall, or 120 days without buying clothes. You set the specific challenge based on your needs. You will break the cycle of shopping in the short-term and lay the groundwork for greater victory in the long-term.
8. Give more things away. Your life will feel lighter. Your heart will feel warmer. The world will be better. And you will be reminded shopping is not the answer.
9. Do more of what makes you happy. Your possessions are not making you happy. Once our basic needs have been met, the happiness found in consumerism is fleeting at best. Instead, find what it is that truly makes you happy and do more of it. I find my happiness in faith, family, friends, and contribution. Your list may differ slightly. But either way, owning a whole bunch of stuff is almost certainly not on it.
Make intentionality your highest pursuit. Not consumerism.
Hobo Todd says
A little over a year ago I lost my job, as a result, and shortly thereafter my house went too. I put all of my “stuff” in storage where it still sits on the other side of the country. I’m currently in the process of donating all of that stuff so I can get rid of the storage payment. I no longer have any credit cards. My car is for sale since I no longer want the costs that come with owning it. I have (almost) whittled down all of my possessions to what will fit in my backpack. I do have a passport, which I’ll keep. My plan is to get back to what really makes me happy…travel. And with nothing other than a backpack, I’ll be completely free to do so. I also plan to volunteer with international charities as I move across the globe. Getting rid of literally everything has made me unbelievably happy. And I’m doing this at the age of 40.
Maatha says
I have friends that treat shopping as a social activity, or a cure for sadness. They never call me to go with them. I’ve been told I take the fun out of it. I recall, many yrs ago, a friend and her young daughter came for a visit. She told her daughter not to worry about using a coaster for her drink. “Nothing in here cost over $25.00.” That always stuck with me. I don’t recall being offended. I chuckle now. My reason for practicing a minimalist lifestyle may have begun out of necessity, but what a gift it has given me over the years. Many adventures, many memories and a certain amount of peace.
Hippy says
How true this is! I always say it’s better to start out in life with nothing…then have something….instead of starting out financially sound and winding up with nothing. I am 51…and think I have ALWAYS been a minimalist….for once I am trendy ????
Lisa says
To comment on point 5, several years ago, I gave up mindless grocery shopping. I would wander the aisles licking up whatever looked appealing. We’ve all done it a million times. I’d go to my pantry and have all sorts of items, but nothing I could really make a meal with, or my fridge would have fruits and veggies ID long forgotten about. I was wasting food, time, and money. So, I decided I was going to use all the items in my pantry, freezer, and fridge before buying more. I had to get creative! I allowed myself to go to the store and buy only the necessary items to round out a recipe, restock on the essentials, like bread and milk. This was life changing for my wallet and my guilt about wasting food. I continue to live this way, although at times I stray. I’m not perfect, but am overall much happier with my method of shopping.
Barbara says
Yay! That’s my new goal.
Amy says
Good for you, bravo.
Barbara says
I have been doing all of my shopping online for many years now. Since following these blogs, not only do I keep getting rid of stuff, but I have learned not to buy more. Because I have shopped online, daily I would get e-mails from those vendors with ads for items on sale especially. I have now unsubscribed from these e-mail lists or redirected them to my spam folder.
I realized that not only was I buying too much but I was spending too much time looking t all the stuff being offered. It is wonderfully amazing what a little awareness can do.
On Netflix-take some time to watch-“Just eat it”-an amazing documentary on food waste. There is sooo much to learn here. When we waste food we also waste the resources going into producing the food. The good news is this kind of program shows that ppl are waking up to this problem and are beginning to address it. I invite anyone reading this post to use or donate all the food you have in your house before buying any more, including restaurant and fast food. Start with the produce which you can usually cook and or freeze b4 it goes bad. If you don’t know how, google it.
Aabha Datta says
Greetings from India! Been getting highly motivated by your posts and articles… I have literally put my Life on hold realising that there was a lot of clutter from all the homes we had shifted from..
Stopped buying a long Time back.. but unnecessary stuff in the form of wealth was blocking a lot from entering my Life. A long way to go.. but it’s a start n it feels wonderful!
God bless you Joshua.
Denise D. says
I do question the “more malls than schools” comment. In our area, malls are closing because of internet shopping. However, I’ll give you the “more TVs than persons per household.” My husband and I in retirement, have four TVs which somehow we have inherited. I know that when one goes, it will not be replaced, but I must say that I never had a TV in my bedroom UNTIL retirement and I kind of like it now!
Linda says
I used to “want” a larger than 32″ flat screen TV. Then we cut the cable and hardly watch tv any more. “Want” vs “need” remains the biggest question!
Large shopping malls are not doing well in our area, but there are new little strip centers going in everywhere!
Michelle says
In our small town there are two high schools and one mall. There used to be three high schools but the school board amalgamated two into one. The creation of mega schools skews the numbers a bit. It also helps create a captive audience for companies to advertise to.
Bev says
Love this! My sister and I and our mother had to clear a 8 room home of moms 90 years of “stuff” contained in every drawer, closet, cupboard, trunk, basement, took us 5 months with a lot of tears, laughter, and some disagreements..but it got done. I decided that anything I brought into my home I would use it or that I could see it and not pack it away in the basement. My kids helped to by taking some of the things too. Lots went to charity and garage sale. It made me think that I’m not going to put my kids thru this. So decluttering my own home is starting to happen!
Linda Lysaght says
Awesome. I have had this exact experience and I just need to de-clutter my life.
Peggy White says
Working on number 8! Though I have gone past the stage of shopping and buying more , I have trouble letting go of what I have!
Some things I am saving for my children or grandchildren. Some I keep thinking , I am going to need as soon as I let it go! ( Like I said I am a work in progress)
Alison says
Give things to your kids and grandkids now. Let them enjoy them while you are alive to see it.
Linda says
After retiring and downsizing, we found out that our kids don’t want our stuff either! We weren’t honoring our loved ones with keeping stuff in boxes in the attic and basement. When your kids don’t want our stuff, wejust give it away and let someone else enjoy it.
Deb says
Ask them if they actually Want what you are saving for Them! You might be( sadly) surprised that they have no need or interest.
frank says
So we lived on 50% of what we make.. paid off the house in 6 years, invested almost everything in stock market ETF funds and retired in 18 years!.. Boom done. No more employers pushing me around, I have my whole life to myself an my Wife. I have never cared on hoot for keeping up with the Jonses, never had a car payment and did all my own repairs. To this day I have not hired a car mechanic or any other trades person, we even doubled the size of our house with our own bare hands while working full time. Now at 52 (wish I had started earlier) neither of us have to work another day in our lives and the more crap we don’t have the better we feel..:)
Antonio says
That’s is exactly my goal. I’m 35 now, I paid my house in 4 years, I’m now investing in real estate, and planning to retire in 10 more years. I do pretty much what you do, I wash my own car, I don’t spend money on things I don’t need, so hopefully at 52 I don’t have to work either.
Scrouge says
Tell younger folks you meet about this….it’s like a duty!….drives my spouse crazy but I feel obligated.
Fay Foster says
I love this post Joshua. Thank you so much for your wise thoughts and especially for sharing them. This is a great encouragement and motivator to me.
Linda M says
Amen!