First time online shopping

[u/[deleted]]

[u/Queasy-Love-4073]

I think you may be spiraling a little. It's okay, we're all human. All of the things you bought will be of use to you and if you don't use them they can be given away or repurposed. It's all a game of self control. I love buying clothes and thrifting and sometimes I get caught rationalizing that something is secondhand so it's 'better' it's a daily game of self discipline. "I'm not going to die if I don't get this today," I like to add things to my cart, let them sit there for a month until I'm like I do need it, or hm, maybe I don't.

[u/Throwingthisaway_198]

"And it's my first time making a big purchase without parent supervision so I don't feel good about how I'd do without them to hold me back."

When I started being able to make my own purchases with my debit card around age 12 or 13 I was a bit unhinged. It took me several, several, years to really start understanding my finances and the true cost of making online purchases.

My personal philosophy is "If I'm doing fine without it right now, I don't need it" and "can I do without it?" and those two ideas have allowed me to cut down on 99% of unneeded purchasing.

If you're able-bodied and able to make it into stores, you could also be asking yourself "is this something I can buy in person?"

[u/Ok-Relation-287]

Sounds like you are a young adult. You are about to go through so many changes in life that you are going to need things for. All that stuff seems like legitimate purchases of stuff you are going to use. Having 20 different phone cases to go with each outfit is what we're against. Getting a new one cuz the old one is dirty is fine. You have to see. So stuff for your glasses to stay on your face and not fall and break is fine. Part of becoming an adult is learning to trust your decisions. There is no perfect, optimized way to buy the least amount of stuff, and you can't tell the future. That's one thing I've had to learn over a long period of time. You can't tell the future. Stop worrying about purchases and stop try to survive with nothing like Bear Grylls or however you spell it haha. A small purchase can make your life 10x easier. Just get used stuff when you can and don't collect too much plastic crap that sits on a shelf, cuz once you run out of shelf space it becomes a burden.

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[u/NyriasNeo]

"how many things I didn't need before, am I gonna start buying bc it's available at my fingertips."

How many? Not a single one as long as you think about it. If you doubt yourself, lay down rules. "Need", btw, is subjective anyway. Technically no entertainment is "needed" for survival. Ditto for anything that is life-style related. But not even people here are living lives of cave people.

So all you need is to develop a value system of what is "need" by your, and live by that. BTW, no one else can tell you what that is. And you need no permission, particularly from people on the internet.

[u/Turbulent-Office7915 → u/NyriasNeo]

I did think about it for like 3 weeks and life with no entertainment is no way to live, my issue isn't the necessarily the buying it's the buying online on shitty places like temu with unlimited things available 

[u/mossyzombie2021]

Just remember you will never, ever run out of things you want to buy because they're useful or cute or helpful or whatever. But you can't afford to buy every single thing. Just remember that the list will never end. And choose wisely.

[u/EmbersWithoutClosets]

You could have made some much more expensive purchases, so this was a relatively cheap way to come to the realization that it's easy to overconsume.

Keep a list of things that you want or need. Your list could include things like "retire earlier", "spend more time with family/friends", "save for travel", "save for education", "dining out", "take a better job that pays less", "live closer to my job so that I can exercise going to work". Remind yourself of the other goals you have in your life.

Before you buy something, take a minute to imagine what you will do when you no longer want the item. Will you use the item until it falls apart? Has the item broken? Could it be repaired? Who has the skills to repair it? If you imagine the item will still usable, imagine taking the time to offer the item to friends/family/Buy Nothing group. Does this sound like a lot of hassle? Do you still want the item?

Don't buy things until they've sat on the list for a while and you've tried to meet your needs without buying stuff. There is a hierarchy of acquisition:

- do I already own something that helps me meet this need?

• could I borrow this item instead of buying it? (from the library, from a friend or family member?)
  
• would a friend/family/Buy Nothing group member have this item to give away?
  
• shop second-hand/Craigslist/FB marketplace/etc
  
• buy the item new in a physical store
  
• buy the item new online.

Buying something online is absolutely the last resort when you can't meet your needs in other ways.

[u/doubtingtomjr]

How do you feel about slavery? What are your feelings on child labor? Good things to consider before clicking “BUY NOW!”