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!

I’m obsessed with mugs in general so I always get myself a new Xmas mug every year! Asda do great ones and at £2.50 or £3 it’s no biggie. As for the test, whilst I get what you mean…. I’ll save my money towards a holiday!!

I wait. I used to be terrible for just buying stuff. In the last week if I had purchased the lovely bits I wanted to i would have easily spent £80. Now the urge has passed. If after a week or so i still really want the item then I will tend to buy it.

I want stuff too, but remember the joy is fleeting- then you’ll just have to buy another - where does it end?!

I do think of the earth and what we are doing to it- eg when you throw something away - “There’s no such thing as ‘away’ “
or, every piece of plastic you’ve ever touched probably still exists….

I get a similar - or maybe better- feeling of joy from making things , that’s my top tip!

I think my attachment/sentimentality towards things I already have is usually just stronger than my attraction to the new stuff, I attach memories to stuff. The rest of the family are the same and look forward to getting their special Xmas things out again.

I do love the shops around Xmas but it's amazing if you don't go near them for a few weeks, how much you realise you wouldn't have bought otherwise and you're just being seduced into it. Maybe have a read about the retail industry's psychological tactics in terms of how they design their stores etc, really interesting and being aware of it helps you notice when you're being drawn in!

I must be missing this gene because I feel no compulsion to buy all the Christmas tat in the shops at all.

we don’t have Christmas mugs or pyjamas or anything like that.

I like nice things for sure but I don’t think of that as nice things. I enjoy buying a nice pair of new shoes or a cashmere jumper. That sort of thing.

Sorry Op, but you are kidding yourself
You definitely ARE materialistic. You long for enough money to buy tat you acknowledge you don’t need
That’s the absolute dictionary definition of materialistic!
Its not your fault though - you (and all of us) are being manipulated by commercial forces

And I use them all year round!

I find ‘stuff’ depressing and just think of the waste and landfill it’s creating. The sheer amount of sequins in M&S sent me running for the hills. What’s it all for? What has any of it got to do with Christmas? Bah humbug! 🤶

I hate clutter so the vibes I get are more like "God, I hope nobody brings that crap into the house"

I listen to the Money for Couples podcast. Ramit talks about living your "Rich Life", which in essence is aggressively cutting back on all the crappy day to day spend, so that you have money available for the things that truly bring you joy and contentment. More often than not, buying tat, meals out/takeaways, subcriptions etc is a person's financial downfall. Trying to focus on ultimate financial goals (comfortable retirement, paying house off, occasional family travel) has made me absolutely ruthless about buying anything unnecessary. And yes, when it comes to seasonal decor I totally endorse the landfill concerns of others.

I find it online, add to shopping basket, then don't buy it.

I never want anything Xmas branded, as you can only use it for a couple of days a year!
I do "covet" certain things but, as you get older, you learn to buy better quality, so you spend the same amount of money for much less stuff. Too much stuff is depressing. One of my weaknesses is top end stationery - I recently had a tidy up and now have a drawer full of lovely notebooks, brought back from all over the world. I know I have to use (some of) them before buying any more!

It's just the disconnect between "take a reusable bag, fill your own water bottle, use paper straws" and the aisles and aisles of absolute rubbish in places like Home Bargains and the acres of plastic clothing.

Perhaps you cant get everything, but its fine to get one or two things to satisfy your seasonal yearnings and not be a complete Grinch. It also helps now that everything seems to have a very long lead time....eg Christmas stuff starting appearing in the shops here a couple of weeks ago. So by getting one item every two weeks and adding to the store Ive gotten in previous years, Im starting to build up a lovely festive store of decor and decorations. Its not a quick fix or instand gratification but it works.

I want the things 😂

Have a cooling off period. So see the stuff tell yourself you'll go back for it in a couple of days if you really want it. Once you're out of the environment designed in every way to maximise the appeal of the stuff, you will think more clearly.

The clutter in your house was once money in your pocket; that money you earned was once time.

Assess your priorities; its just crap that will clutter your house.

There is a big difference between WANTING something and NEEDING it.

This is so true. I have had a tricky financial year with one thing and another and this month is the first month in forever where I have no financial commitments (aside from the usual mortgage and bills). I have realised how much money I fritter away on crap that I don't need. Christmas is saved for all year long but I am absolutely not wasting money on crap neither of my DC need this year.

Will those xmas mugs etc really bring you happiness? I doubt it.

Think of the slave labour that made most ot it and the toxic landfill most of it will become.

It's all just landfill.

I don't get any dopamine rushes from shopping. Except maybe for groceries when I buy sometimes good like favourite chocolate or something like that.

We have what we call the three day rule. If you see something you want (but don't need) you have to wait three days before you can buy it. 99% of the time you don't care about it any more.

I know the 'want' feels enormous at the time, but it really will disappear very quickly if you ride it out. Shops (online, real world, and that 24/7 interactive shopping channel that calls itself Instagram) are all designed to take advantage of the wave and make you buy stuff you don't want, not really.

I always ask myself what happens if I just don't buy it.

and how will I feel afterwards if I do?

All of the xmas tat is destined for landfill. You are just buying landfill waste.

You exercise your self discipline and just choose not to buy it. It’s not actually very hard.

Reaches for the smelling salts, at the thought of all the box set gifts, full of tot, no one really wants, apart from 12year olds, being given as presents this Year, only to end up in charity shops, or the bin!

Every time I get tempted with seasonal honewares I ask myself where they will live for the other 11 months of the year, then put them down again. I get it OP - I was in a garden centre at the weekend and there were some lovely autumnal and Christmas cushions and footstools but it's just so unnecessary when you think about it.