3 Benefits of Being a Minimalist Shopper
We have recently gone through a whole wave of huge sales from 11.11, Black Friday, 12.12 and are probably not done yet with the anticipated pre-Christmas last-minute rush in malls decked in boughs of holly. However, you might have also seen the below poster floating around social media as you went about your online shopping purchases:
Alas, we are so used to seeing shops display big sales or ongoing promotions that we forget that we could actually save tons of money by just not spending it on unnecessary items fuelled by the holiday and consumerist craze all over Singapore. With Chinese New Year coming in early 2020, start your “Spring Cleaning” early by keeping these benefits of a minimal lifestyle in mind:
1. Less Stress in Life
We might not notice this, but trying to keep up with your own spending habits stresses us more than just our wallets. When we seek instant gratification or covet what other people have, we add additional stress on our shoulders by always comparing our lives with others and never feeling satisfied. We work harder and try to earn more money, but if we can’t make enough money to cover our expenses, we land ourselves in more debt that accrues interest when we can’t pay off our credit cards in full. This creates an endless cycle of stress and desire, and it reaches a point where we have to ask ourselves if this is really what happiness is about?
2. Focusing On Quality Instead Of Quantity
We are used to the availability of cheap, massed-produced products that we shop and live by the popular local adage “Buy And Throw Away”. We buy many duplicate items without pausing to think if we really need them because they “are so cheap anyway, no harm buying”. This creates a lot of wastage, especially for items with an expiry date such as beauty products- we end up just taking a trash bag and dumping whatever we haven’t used yet after 1-2 years. Moreover, cheap items have a tendency to break easily and we throw them out after a few wears or uses. Why not consider investing slightly more money in better quality and well-made items that can last you at least a decade or more? It saves you the hassle of continually going out to stores and clearing out your house, a cycle that could actually be draining in many ways.
3. Emotional and Physical Freedom
By stopping this endless cycle of buying and throwing, we create all sorts of different freedoms. We can be emotionally free by not chasing material wealth, not coming home to a cluttered house knowing you have to pack up or throw things out, and releasing yourself of stressing about those precious minutes lost in the morning getting ready for work amidst a messy space.
We have physical freedom when we can move around our homes freely and not be expected to keep upgrading to a bigger space to fit all our worldly possessions. Physical freedom when you have the financial capabilities to pack up and go travel if you wish instead of worrying about your debts and everything at home.
So consider carefully the next time you decide you need a fifth pair of shoes or tenth set of plates for your home- it might set you back more than just a few dollars.
Read: Effective ways to stop procrastination