How do you stop yourself wanting all the things?

[Gettingabitnippynow]

I’m not a materialist person at all, but have just been to pick up a few Christmas bits for Dd and I just want all the things. They’re not particularly expensive, but would be to buy them all. Christmas candles, Christmas mugs, pjs, teddies, wooly hats, jumpers etc etc. Do you all buy all these things or just ignore? I realise it’s a bit silly to buy new every year and a waste when I have last years xmas mugs and pjs.
Just wish I was wealthy sometimes!

Does seasonal decor go into landfill, though I keep my seasonal decor and use it year after year after year.

A lot must go to landfill every year though as the sheer quantity of it in the shops means people can't possibly be keeping everything they buy and just keep accumulating more and more.

Used to be that you would go shopping for a specific item when you needed it . Nowadays people go shopping as a pasttime in case they see something they like the look of . Fatal mistake from a financial view and for an environmental one . I used to be able to buy anything I wanted without concern but circumstances have changed . Beside I have got too much of everything and my DCs are warning me that they don't want it all. I could start my own Xmas shop as I have accumulated so much over the years. But I still love looking and have to remind myself that I don't need anything .

Exactly. I always calculate how much time I’ve had to work to earn £x to buy x. It ends up not being worth it.

Dead easy. I visualise the money in a bank account instead. I take a few moments and really focus on transferring the money from the current account into savings almost as though I’m in a shop looking at the items. I taught myself to do this years ago after a short period of a bit too much spending.

I like buying stuff too OP and theres so much nice things around. I think Im going in to buy something for someone else and think I'll keep it.

I have really spent so much this month and will do next month , anything I’ve wanted or thought others would like I’ve bought . I always do this time of year .

I've never been an impulse buyer. I was brought up with the mindset to 'have a think about it', which puts me off buying 99% of the time. I don't earn much more than the minimum wage, so I'll look at something and think 'I'll need to have worked x number of hours and minutes to afford that, is it worth it'? I have a couple of winter/fair isle jumpers which I've had for years. I love the fair isle design and could find plenty more I'd like to buy, but realistically I don't need more than a couple, so I will bring these out every year until they get worn out.

Candles are consumables, so I don't see the harm in buying one in a winter scent each year and using it up. I just pick one I really like the scent of, rather than getting sucked into buying multiples. Quality over quantity makes me happy.

This sounds interesting. When you say visualise transferring the money as if you're in the shop looking at the items, do you mean this is what you do when online shopping? Or do you mean you're in the physical shop and you imagine transferring money into savings?

https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/37368020/martin-lewis-ban-unnecessary-christmas-presents/

Christ, what a fun sponge. Some of us keep and use all of our stuff and it makes us happy. Who's he to dictate what's tat and what we should give? I give my niblings vouchers so they can buy the tat that they especially want, which brings them joy and which they use. (Usually books and posh makeup.)

I have things I take out every year that I think I will
always keep, but still loads of new stuff that I thinks pretty, or if I redecorated it would look good, or themes etc. just cos I look doesn’t mean I want it or need it or will
buy it. It’s just looking, just imagining, picturing things. Chill folks.

Depends I buy Christmas pjs every year but I usually wear them November - February not just Christmas. It’s a massive waste otherwise

@abbynabby23 For how long have you been buying Xmas PJs every year? Just wondering if you have an awful lot of them by now 😂 Or do you chuck some out to make space for the new ones?

Continuously for the past 5 years for all family 😂 Me & the kids wear them a lot. My DP only in December otherwise he finds it ridiculous haha. To be honest, some of them have wear them out, other than I didn’t wear much cause I already had plenty I sold them on Vinted so still space for new ones 😂

If I’ve been looking at things online, I go on to my banking app instead and transfer the ££, taking time to look at the savings balance. If I’m in a physical shop, I’ve either just thought about transferring the ££, or more recently I’ve actually done it on the app and walked out of the shop. It’s sounds a bit Scrooge-like, but what I’m trying to do is give myself a little emotional lift by adding to my savings rather than buying stuff.

I love christmas decorations & have been collecting ours since we got married 22 years ago. We even have paper ones my dh made us in the early days

Definiteiy not tat to me, they are precious memories. Each year i add to it & always bring a tree decoration back if we come across them on travels.

I also love cups / plates / serving dishes & have 3 collections on the go. They all get used regularly.

I love beautiful interiors & often buy small objects in antique shops / flea markets abroad.

I also adore clothes but have zero interest in fast faahion. I buy less but the best quality i can afford & i really look after my stuff & keep for years.

Books & travel are my main financial splurges though & they are life enhancing & transforming for me so i prioritise them

Fine, but most of us have to think about the cost!

Interesting! I might try that. Thanks!

@abbynabby23 You must have such a lot of pairs of pyjamas assuming you also have non- Christmas ones 😂 It’s sad that some have worn out in less than 5 years, and that others were surplus to requirements and had to be got rid of (great that they went on Vinted though I guess, but maybe easier to just not buy them in the first place!) These are the sorts of considerations that lots of people take more seriously now because we are becoming more and more aware of the amount of waste being generated, along with the environmental and human impact of cheap items being made by poorly paid workers in distant countries. Or maybe I’m making an assumption, and your Christmas PJs are actually made in the UK by an independent company, from some sort of native organic fibre! 😂

It’s hard to have these sorts of conversations without sounding like one is lecturing (and such conversation is often met with a slightly aggressive defensiveness and righteousness from the Shein and Temu fans), and obviously it’s a free country and people can buy whatever they like, but I do wish people would think a bit more carefully about what, when and how they buy.

Until your post my life was complete.

Just added to basket plus also a “Hug Doug”

… inevitably I will now find £9.15 of some other tat to buy so I get free delivery

I resist easily because I don't want my house filled with shite

I've just realised that it appears society has possibly conjured up two stereotypes that probably don't exist.

Firstly, The Tat Buyer who gets loads of tat and then puts it all out for landfill a few weeks later.

Is this really true? Don't most people use their things to death and try hard not to waste their money in the first place? And don't most people recycle or take things to charity shops, or take part in the secondary market, now that we have ebay and such? I'm sure there are some people who are wasteful, but I'm not sure that it describes most people. Why is society convinced that so many people are wasteful? Maybe I'm wrong, and I see it that way because my parents used/wore their things until they fell apart, and so do I. In fact, I've been known to sew holes in my jeans up before buying a new pair. I also wait for sales and get any discounts I possibly can by signing up for all the emails etc. I am a buyer rather than a saver, but I don't just buy stuff and then fling it out a short time later.

Secondly, The Carefree Divorcee.

There's a stereotype that people don't work hard enough at marriage and they hop over the fence for what looks like a greener life with not much thought. Again, I don't think this describes most people. Yes, there are serial marriers, but I think most people cherish and value their marriages deeply and stay long after the marriage's sell-by date, often making the best of a hopeless situation and wasting years to keep it together.

Just my random thoughts!

see it that way because my parents used/wore their things until they fell apart, and so do I.

But most people don't do that. People can't be arsed with repairing and mending, they just chuck and buy new. When I was wee it was standard to keep old clothing and use them as kitchen cloths. Who does that any more? When was the last time you heard of someone taking their shoes to be re-heeled? The problem is that the things we buy have declined so dramatically in quality too.

Thoroughly recommend the book Less by Patrick Grant who judges on the Sewing Bee.

Same here, in fact my favourite Christmas memories are of actually making decorations both at home and school.