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One afternoon at my job a couple of years back, an alert popped up on my mobile device: my salary had come through. It was a fair amount for a student, so I did my usual when payday arrived: I launched every retail application on my phone. From Amazon to Zara, the list was endless. Within the space of an hour, I had spent £90 on clothes, decorative items and a completely useless heavy blanket that I never used.

A short while after, I returned to the internet and bought a blow dryer. I already owned one, but reasoned another wouldn't be a problem. Then I added light strips and two shoes that weren’t even my size. This wasn’t new behaviour. In reality, I’d been notorious for it since I started earning.

Whenever I felt stressed, exhausted or uninterested, I would doomscroll until it always ended in an unplanned shopping spree. My justification was constantly: “It's only £5.” But £5 became £10, then £20, and so on.

I was never completely certain why I did this. Maybe it was because I grew up in a low-income family, where we’d go months without buying new outfits or anything to brighten up the house. So any time I had some disposable income, there was always a subconscious desire for new and exciting things. Or maybe, and definitely more likely, I was just bad with money and gave in readily to capitalism’s consumerism.

A Revolutionary Approach

In the end, I opted to experiment with a novel idea. Before buying any item, I’d place it in my basket, wait 24 hours, then decide whether to finalize the purchase. The best part of this method was that it provided me time to reflect – an action I’d never taken. For the first occasion since adulthood, I started asking myself: “Do I truly need this? Can I afford it?” Most of the time, the answer was negative.

If I accessed Amazon, Depop or Zara and discovered products lingering in my basket, I’d remove them and begin anew. Using this method, I stopped buying things that I knew deep down I would never utilize. I once wanted to buy three board games, but after a waiting period before visiting the store, I understood I never actually play tabletop games.

I also wanted to buy a single-use camera for my first holiday to Croatia. After waiting I recalled I possessed a smartphone, similar to most people, that features a perfectly adequate camera, and thus had no requirement to buy a separate device.

The Lasting Impact

It also means I am more selective about the things I do purchase, and I can at last review my bank statements without experiencing guilt or discomfort.

Of course, there have been occasions I’ve slipped back into old patterns – it's human nature. The key change is that I can recognise the signs sooner, especially when I’m hastening into a transaction. I’ve come to understand boredom is a powerful trigger. It’s perhaps the biggest driver of my impulsive expenditure.

Consumer culture exploits this boredom and our need for immediate satisfaction. That’s why, looking back, forcing myself to pause before buying has felt unexpectedly liberating. To be able to have command over my impulses and reaffirming that I don't have to expend my hard-earned money on unnecessary products feels as revolutionary as it is straightforward.