They say the first step to eliminating a bad habit is admitting that you have one. I am ready to take that step. I have a bit of what you may call a shopping addiction. To be more specific, it revolves around online purchasing, and it is a multi-faceted habit that I am ready to acknowledge and work on improving. Having so many Internet stores at my fingertips, literally in my pocket, makes cutting this habit a difficult road.
I need to hear myself say that I have to stop buying a ton of stuff online; it hurts deep in my online shopping heart to say it though! As we approach Black Friday, I cringe at the thought of not buying lots of cool things from the comfort of my own chair, right from my Sprint iPhone 6 plus. After all, even the iPhone and it's unlimited data plan were acquired with the same habit I am now ready to knock today!
There are levels to my shopping habit. First, I identify something that I need. I eloquently substitute the word need, for the word want, but it's obvious that there is no need here, strictly a want. I mean, who needs a color changing LED light strip because they are on sale for $20 with free shipping? I do! OK, fine, I don't need them, I want them. Feed me more! Therein lies the first step of my shopping habit: identifying the habit and wanting to break it. My habit has a routine too, like many habits often do. I start by checking all of my regular online spots for a deal on the item I want. The first challenge and one that I really enjoy, is finding the absolute least expensive deal on the product and of course, that includes free shipping. It doesn't even matter if it's not a major purchase either. I will literally surf from site to site for an hour looking for the best price and then, search even more for a working coupon code to save another few bucks. It isn't about the money either, it's about the challenge. Once I have narrowed it down, I make the purchase. That's the first rush I get too, when I click "pay now" or "order now" and it's on the way. The challenge of the hunt, the thrill of the pursuit, the challenge of getting the best deal. Oh wait, I just bought a slow cooker, how is that even thrilling? It just is. Okay, Okay, but it doesn't stop there. Remember I said there was levels to this? Here comes my favorite one. Wait for it... After about a week of ordering things that "I needed", I wait for the boxes to come to my house. Sometimes, if it was a good week, the boxes will pile up and it feels like Christmas!
I am clearly the champion of online shopping
Everybody knows how fun it is to get mail. Just imagine how fun it is to get packages, every single day, with lots of cool stuff "you need" from the Internet! Sometimes, I would order so many things that I would forget what was in the boxes and the added element of surprise would make opening them that much sweeter. I used to be an eBay junkie, then I moved up to Amazon. Now, with Amazon Prime and free shipping, the stuff I order often arrives the next day. It's that almost instant gratification that keeps me coming back. It's so much easier than going to the store. It's that impulsive nature of the whole process that sucked me in. If I was to rely upon making all of my purchases by going to a brick and mortar store, I'd surely not "need" so many things that I am most certainly buying for all the wrong reasons.
I am ready to kick the habit though. As a matter of fact, I'm starting right now. But first I need to renew my Amazon Prime membership, just got a text message that it was about to expire...