The demand for online shopping has perceptibly increased since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the whole nation and with the restrictions that were put in place. Currently, online shopping is the safest way to protect ourselves from being infected by the deadly virus. However, even without the pandemic happening, our daily lives are already exposed to the abundance of online sales and advertisements be it through our gadgets or the television.
Although online shopping is convenient and easy, it can be unbelievably costly whenever we make any unplanned purchases.
Some people are able to control themselves when buying things online. However, there are also people who develop an addiction to online shopping. For these people, online shopping has gotten them completely out of control, causing troubles on their finances, relationships, and even their long-term goals.
Hence, if we are among those with extreme preoccupations and cravings for buying and shopping online, let’s have a look at these three beneficial tips that we can apply to curb our online shopping habit.
1. Focus and prioritize more on what you should be doing
The frequency of our online shopping might be increasing during this COVID-19 outbreak, together with the tremendous offers and discounts everywhere, we probably will spend more time scrolling and looking for numerous things.
In this case, it is better to tell ourselves to focus and prioritize more on what we have to do instead of wasting time looking at those online sales.
In other words, all we have to do is to convince ourselves that there are many things/tasks/actions in which we are supposed to do first rather than going through every page of the online stores or our favourite retailers’ websites.
2. Think and decide thoroughly before making online purchases
These are a few questions that we can use to ask ourselves before buying things online.
“Would I pay full price for this item or would I pay my sacrificial price for this item?”
“Do I have an immediate use for this item?”
“Am I going to wear or use it frequently?”
“Have I exceeded my monthly budget because of online purchases?”
This strategy certainly will help us to overcome our intention to make a compulsive buying. Therefore, we need to think wisely so that we are able to make smart decisions when buying things online.
3. Divert yourself or your mind with more interesting activities
Another tip that may help you to curb your habit of scrolling through websites and frittering away time looking at unnecessary items is by doing other stimulating activities.
There are many other activities that we can do to distract ourselves. For instance, we can still browse on other beneficial websites such as online learning platforms, educational websites, and financial news sites to enhance our knowledge and get the latest updates on the current situations.
On the other hand, we can always do our favourite pastimes such as cooking, watching movies, doing exercises, and spending quality time with our family or loved ones at home. In this way, we will definitely be able to control ourselves.
In reality, shopping online certainly has its perks. We can purchase any items from the comfort of our office or home. This indicates that we don’t have to make several trips to numerous different stores. It truly saves our time, energy and lets us escape from the aggravation of sitting in traffic.
What matters most is we need to utilize the convenience of online shopping effectively by prioritizing our needs rather than wants. We just need to have the willpower to manage our spending and finance prudently.
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