9 Things I No Longer Purchase
I admit that when I was younger, I definitely had a spending problem. Anytime I had “extra” money in my bank account I’d start searching the internet for anything that looked appealing. This left me with a bunch of stuff I didn’t love or use, and a less than impressive balance in my checking and savings accounts.
As time has gone on, I’ve put a lot of effort into spending my money intentionally and only on things that I’m 100% sure I want. This has resulted in a bunch of items that I haven’t bought in years. Today I’m sharing a list of 9 things that I no longer purchase.
Cleaning products for different uses
If you go into the cleaning section of any store you’ll see a bunch of different products catering to specific surfaces or areas of the home. There’s bathroom cleaners, toilet cleaners, hardwood floor cleaner, and a bunch of others. I personally don’t believe that all these different surfaces need drastically different cleaning products, so now I only purchase an all-purpose cleaner and use that everywhere.
Sales
Sales are the ultimate marketing scam and I try my best not to shop them. Now I’m not saying that I never buy anything on sale, but I no longer purchase something only because it’s on sale. I keep a running wishlist in my planner of all the things that I’d like to purchase so that when I see a sale, I cross-reference it with my list and then decide if I’m going to purchase anything.
Shaving Cream
Shaving cream was something that I used to swear by back when I was in high school and college. Now I just use body wash or conditioner as an alternative, which saves me from buying another product and works just as well.
Only physical books
I’m a huge fan of books and reading. In the past, I only read physical books and was kind of against e-readers, until I was given my first Kindle about 9 years ago. Since then I’ve become addicted to my Kindle, reading around 335 books in those 9 years. Now I’m not totally against physical books, but I keep the number of physical books that I purchase very low in an effort to save my wallet and be mindful of my space.
Soda
I admit I was a soda addict when I was in college, but thankfully I’ve broken that really bad habit. Now I mostly just drink water from a reusable water bottle which saves me so much money as well as being way healthier.
Manicures & Pedicures
I’ve shared before how I used to get my nails done every two weeks for almost a year. While I no longer take part in this beauty practice, when I look back I’m annoyed that I spent around $1,800 on this habit that I really didn’t care that much about in the first place.
Also, side note, I took up this habit when I was in the height of a depressive episode and was not receiving treatment. While it kind of bugs me when I look back at the amount of money I spent on this, I also realize that these services helped me in a super low time and I don’t regret it at all.
Magazine subscriptions
Magazines are relics at this point but when I was in high school my favorite part of the month was when my Seventeen magazine came in the mail. This left me with a collection of about 40 magazines cluttering my shelves by the time I’d aged out of Seventeen. I’ve since gotten rid of my magazine collection but I know a good couple of hundred dollars went into it.
Meal delivery subscriptions
I’m not a huge fan of cooking so about a year ago in an effort to inspire myself I purchased a meal delivery subscription. While the 2 recipes that I made were delicious, I quickly lost my interest before making all the food that came in my shipment. I was then left with a bunch of specific amounts of ingredients that took me about 9 months to finish using. So some people might find inspiration in meal delivery subscriptions but I’m not one of them, so I no longer pay for them because I know they will just sit in my fridge/freezer and collect dust.
Copious amounts of makeup and toiletries
The category of products that I overspent in the most was makeup/beauty/body products. I would go to Target, Ulta, Sephora, and Bath & Body Works, and buy anything and everything I wanted. The speed of my purchasing was way quicker than the speed of my consumption, resulting in having bottles upon bottles of unused products. Because of my past, I’m super vigilant when it comes to new purchases. Now I only buy a new product when I’m out of my current version which saves me so much money.
So there we have it, 9 things I no longer purchase! Let me know in the comments what things you no longer purchase. Thanks for supporting the blog!
