Last year I implemented an experiment where I defered all non-critical purchases for a grace period of 60 days, meaning that anything I decided to buy, I would put in my Amazon Shopping Cart and wait for no less than 60 days before purchasing just to make sure it wasn't some momentary and fleeting consumerist impulse that stirred me to want to buy the thing. I then would click the "save for later" and let the stuff sit in there. If I still felt like I needed or strongly wanted the thing after 60 days, I deemed it a worthy purchase, but most of it was forgotten about quickly after putting it in the "save for later" section.
That section, a year later, is many pages long and totals $3428. It is actually very entertaining to sift through it with a feeling of relief that I don't own all that crap, and almost wonderment that I at one point was convinced I needed it. It is doubly entertaining to know that my net worth has increased (or rather, has become closer to zero) as a direct result of not buying that stuff that I definitely didn't need. Actual Amazon spending was 1076. When I look through that list, it is all stuff that I am indeed happy to own, and almost all of it is pure utilitarian objects like bike tires, a sweatshirt, car parts, a printer because mine died, etc. With the exception of a $60 set of ceramic knives (that I do in fact use every single day), nothing frivolous or luxurious!
I now resolve to save myself the time that is represented by this pages-long list and quit this online shopping activity altogether, as it does represent a lot of time wasted. Has anyone else ever tried this?
