Pretty big claim right?
I don’t think I can claim to have ever reached true shopaholic status, where I bought multiples of things so I wouldn’t run out, or I would buy everything I saw online that someone randomly reviewed.. but I definitely have had my phases in and out of where I did things like:
- Shop for fun
- Shop out of boredom
- Always have to enter a shop and leave with something
- Spend money I didn’t have (as a student in debt, I had no business buying clothes every week)
- Spend on a whim
- Get really excited about my latest project, buy all the expensive things for it, then lose interest a month or two in…
.. you get the idea.
And the one thing to stopping a spending addiction that worked for me?
Building wealth
Full stop. No notes.
That is it. Build wealth.
“OH COME ON…”
No, seriously.
Once you start saving and investing that money into low-cost index funds, leaving it and not checking on it every day or even every month if you don’t want to, and you hit that first milestone of $1000 saved, then $10,000 saved, and eventually to the point where your gains every month are an extra $1000 without you having done anything… it is an exhilarating dopamine rush.
It also helps buffer any shopping addiction because you think twice before buying that “cheap” item. $15 is $15 after all.
Once you start seeing what your money can do for you, you will be less inclined to shop.
And when you ARE inclined to shop.. well, you have the money to do it.
I was talking to a friend the other day who came out of similar circumstances as I did, and he said:
What gives me the most pleasure and satisfaction these days, is earning a low income ($50K more or less), and having built all of this wealth behind me as a buffer to the point where I can now, literally buy what I want.
I can go into most dealerships I had dreamed of going into, and drop $75,000 on a car and it doesn’t even make a dent in my overall net worth.
And that.. is the ultimate flex that gives you internal satisfaction and happiness.
It buffers your emotions when you go to a store and you’re touching another sweater you likely already own in multiple versions, and you suddenly stop and think: No. It isn’t special enough to spend my wealth on.
It will give you such a high to the point where you aggressively and actively save even more so that you can then release the hounds (so to speak) and take all sorts of limits off your budget for everything in your life.
Groceries?
Just buy those raspberries.
Buy two packs.
Your child eats them like candy and you don’t even get any when they’re through?
Buy 5 then.
Need to replace the water heater?
Okay. Let’s call someone in and do it.
Want to go out and grab a quick lunch with a friend unexpectedly?
Sure, what time?
You will even order the appetizer AND the dessert if you want to (or not, maybe the dessert is better elsewhere..)
Want to go this weekend to see some friends out of province?
Okay. When can you go?
Your life literally becomes THAT EASY.
So yeah… you can still like nice things, shop and spend your money, but you will now feel less of a pull because you are grounded in wealth building, and you know how freakin’ hard it was to get to that point.
SO WHERE DO I START?
Or you can start reading these books.. they’re for Canadians, but actually anyone can read it and just look up the equivalent information for your own country.
Enjoy.