“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.
Janet McMahon says
I did a year long experiment with buying nothing for myself for the entire year. It certainly change me in many ways. Read about it here:http://christianstandard.com/2014/01/less-is-more-a-suburban-mom-resists-consumer-culture-to-increase-her-generosity/
granitetgirl says
I have been shopping at yard sales, thrift shops, and similar stores where used or “preowned” items are sold for years. As a result I have way too much stuff because I am buying things at low prices or prices I can’t ignore etc. It is too easy to acquire things and ofcourse I see things I didn’t intend to buy as I roam the aisles and have to have those too.
It took time, but I finally broke my habit of checking certain thrifts once a week and I no longer rush out on Saturday morning to yard sales. I may stop if I drive by one or I may not.
I need more self-control to have a list and only buy what I need. In fact, I need more self-control to define “need” for myself. Serious decluttering is my next project.
Thanks for the reminders in this article.
Verity says
Oh, and we certainly wouldn’t describe ourselves as minimalists!! This approach can work for anyone.
Verity says
Great tips on avoiding mindless and excessive consumerism. In our household we have an ‘opt out to opt in’ policy, we’ve abandoned traditional consumer behaviours (shopping, allowing advertising to be the tune accompanying our days, and caring whether our clothes / car / household gadgets are cool), and have instead opted for no consumer debt, regular charitable giving, opportunities for travel and time to just live life! Thanks for the additional tips:)
Katty says
Joshua your blog is like a breath of fresh air. Thank you for taking the time and energy to write it and maintain it. Without this guidance, I believe I would have given in to my family’s demands and be as miserable as many of them trying to attain an impossible existence. It is so difficult being a minimalist when you are surrounded by people whose only goal in life is to possess more, and imitate the lives of celebrities. In my circles, I am the only minimalist I know. My friends, colleagues, and family are lovely people, but I am out of place with them. They are constantly advising me on changing my ways. I have yet to find a healthy balance between how I want to run my life vs what is expected of me by everyone around me. I know I will reach that balance over time. It’s just so lonely out here right now.
Holley Tygrett says
I love your blog, your thoughts, your writing – it is so much of what we believe but I can’t always put into words. I have been working with our six year old on the idea of contentment this week and this falls right into line with that. My husband is a pastor and he is preaching on spiritual margin this week and how sometimes things (and the care of those things) steal our time and energy and decrease the margin we have for God in our lives….I shared this post with him as well as it all works together with the same message.
Brenda says
So true. My mother once told me…
“The more you have, the harder you have to work to keep it”
Debbie says
Excellent!!! These are great ideas.
Shawn Heifert says
I struggle with this everyday. I am in an unusual position, I work in retail and the store in which I work, is probably my most favorite place to shop. Often I end my shift and then walk the aisles shopping. Another pitfall is that the brands that we sell offer crazy discounts to employees of the store. So justification is so terribly easy, because hey, I can get this insane deal. What happens is, I just end up with more stuff. Some of the practices I have begun to use is once I find something I “need”, in order to halt the impulsive purchase, I go home and try to find something that already does what that item does. If I find it, value it, and use it throughout it’s intended lifespan. Only replacing when absolutely necessary. Not because something new came along. I have also instituted the hiatus method. When I notice myself getting real bad, I ban myself from making purchases for a certain amount of days. The problem is the last time I did this, I literally counted down the 30 days, and probably went overboard after the self imposed restriction was lifted. It’s a struggle but I am getting through it. This blog helps me focus and make better choices. Thanks.
Chris Kuck says
After accumulating 20 years of “stuff”, and now throwing out 20 years of stuff in anticipation for a move, I realize how much money I’ve wasted on things I don’t need. This exercise has been quite sobering.