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One afternoon at my job a couple of years back, an notification hit on my phone: my paycheck had been deposited. It was a fair amount for a someone still at university, so I proceeded with my usual payday ritual: I launched every retail application on my phone. From Amazon to Zara, you name it. In under 60 minutes, I had spent £90 on apparel, decorative items and a completely useless weighted blanket that I never used.

A short while after, I went online again and bought a blow dryer. I already had one, but thought another couldn't hurt. Then I included LED strip lights and two pairs of shoes that didn't even fit me. This wasn't a new pattern. In reality, I’d been infamous for it since I started earning.

Whenever I felt stressed, exhausted or uninterested, I would doomscroll until it always ended in an impulsive shopping spree. My justification was constantly: “Oh well, it’s just £5.” But £5 turned into £10, then £20, and so on.

I was never entirely sure about the reason. Maybe it was because my upbringing in a poor family, where we’d experience months without buying new clothes or anything to decorate the home. So any moment I had extra money, there was always a hidden desire for novel and thrilling things. Or maybe, and almost certainly, I was just bad with money and gave in easily to capitalism’s consumerism.

A Revolutionary Approach

In the end, I decided to try a novel idea. Before acquiring any item, I’d place it in my digital cart, wait 24 hours, then decide whether to finalize the purchase. The greatest advantage of this method was that it provided me space to think – an action I’d never done before. For the first time since adulthood, I began questioning: “Do I actually need this? Can I afford it?” Most of the time, the response was no.

If I accessed my shopping apps and found items lingering in my cart, I’d clear them out and begin anew. By employing this system, I stopped buying things that I knew deep down I would never utilize. I once considered buy a trio of games, but after waiting before going to the store, I realised I never actually play board games.

I also wanted to buy a disposable film camera for my first trip to Croatia. After waiting I recalled I possessed a phone, like most people, that features a perfectly good lens, and thus had no requirement to buy a separate camera.

The Enduring Benefits

It also means I am more selective about the items I do buy, and I can finally look at my bank statements devoid of feeling shame or discomfort.

Naturally, there have been times I’ve relapsed into old habits – it’s only natural. The key change is that I can identify the signs early, especially when I’m rushing into a purchase. I’ve come to understand boredom is a strong trigger. It’s probably the biggest motivator of my reckless spending.

Modern culture exploits this idleness and our need for instant satisfaction. That’s why, in hindsight, forcing myself to pause before purchasing has felt strangely liberating. Gaining control over my impulses and remind myself that I don’t need to expend my hard-earned money on non-essential goods feels as radical as it is straightforward.