In the past, I was an extremely unfocused shopper. I loved to browse for deals, and I was easily enticed by sales. I didn't know what I truly needed or wanted, and as a result, I bought everything I thought I wanted. Once the clutter started accumulating, I realized I had too much, and I hadn't truly wanted most of the things I had purchased. That's when I started taking steps to becoming a more focused shopper. In this post, I share three tips on how I did that.

Tip #1: Unsubscribe from retailer email lists

Unfocused shoppers can be very susceptible to fear-based sales or marketing tactics like "Limited quantities available!" or "Sale ends in 24 hours!" or "80% off!" These marketing tactics prey on your fear of missing out. Yup, your FOMO. By unsubscribing from retailer email lists, you can become blissfully unaware of sales you are missing out on, on things you don't need or want. I unsubscribed from ALL retailer email lists when I first started to curb my shopping. I've since re-subscribed to a few retailers, but I've started feeling a bit tempted by sales again, so perhaps it's time to re-unsubscribe.

Some of my friends have a dedicated email account for junk/retail marketing lists, and this can be a good strategy too.

Tip #2: Avoid window shopping and online browsing

One of my favourite pastimes used to be going to shops and browsing to see what goodies were available. This is a huge no-no for unfocused shoppers. I ended up buying tons of stuff I didn't need. At the height of my unfocused spending, I even knew I didn't want some of these things, but I bought them anyway. That was such a strange time in my life, and I'm so happy I no longer feel the urge to window shop.

In my (very old) beauty ban tips and tricks video, I shared a strategy that involved online browsing, where you go through all the motions of picking out items to purchase and putting them in your cart. The key to this strategy is to close the browser and do something else before confirming your purchase. Invariably, your desire for those items will fade over time, and you won't end up going back to make the purchase. Since I don't browse as much these days, I don’t need this strategy very often anymore; however, I did a couple of times recently and it still works for me.

Tip #3: Keep a well thought out list and stick to it

I never used to shop with a list, but now I almost always do. I try my best not to go off-list when I shop. Recently, I showed myself shopping at a Chinese supermarket and I went off-list to buy a jar of pickled vegetables. I even said, "I'm going off-list" in the video! I later regretted it because those vegetables weren't very tasty. It was only a $2.99 lesson, but it stuck with me.

In terms of online shopping, I still try to meet the minimum threshold for free shipping, but I don't look at off-list items like I used to — that's how I accumulated pineapple shot glasses and a whole host of other things I didn't need. Now, I purchase one or two more of the items that were already on my list that I know I will use up rather quickly, like toothpaste or dish soap.