4 Ways I’m Cutting Back on Online Shopping

When I first became a SAHM/WAHM (stay-at-home mom/work-at-home mom), I thought that I could save a lot since malls wouldn’t be as accessible to me compared to when I had to go to the office. However, I forgot to consider one of the Internet’s gifts — online shopping.

So even if I barely set foot inside malls these days, I’m sad to say that my shopping expenses did not go down much, all thanks to online shopping. Aside from the popular shopping sites (hello Lazada, Shopee, Zalora), online stores on Instagram are not making matters any easier. Add to this the fact that a smartphone is every mom’s must-have item for short “me-time” breaks in between breastfeeding or taking care of the kiddos, adding to cart at any time of the day becomes just too easy.

However, I’m trying to turn a new leaf this year and cut back on online shopping, especially impulsive online purchases (a cart gets filled real quick just because I want to make the most of shipping fees). Mainly because (1) I want to gain better control of my finances, and (2) I want to declutter our home (and life!) this year. So no more unnecessary purchases = no more unnecessary clutter for me. So how do I plan to cut back on online shopping? Let me count the ways:

Give my credit card a break.

For starters, I’m sending my credit card off to a much-needed vacation, preferably somewhere I couldn’t reach it. But seriously, I’m deleting my credit card information from my most frequented shopping sites/apps and perhaps even Paypal. Checking out is just too easy when all it takes is one click to pay. I’m hoping that if I ever do shop online again, the few minutes it takes to grab my wallet and input my card information is more than enough for me to come to my senses and stop.

Let the items sit on my shopping cart for three days.

Or even more. For online shopping forays this year, I vow to let the items sit on my shopping cart for a few days at least before clicking check out. Doing so will hopefully allow me as much time as possible to reconsider if the item/s in the cart is/are needs or wants.

Edit my social media feeds.

Especially Instagram. Admit it. More than half of our impulsive (or even not) online purchases can be attributed to Instagram posts — yes Influencer marketing works. So I’m going to try and nip this in the bud by just following my friends and family on Instagram (ok, I might move the public personalities I want to follow into a separate account and will just check that *as needed). This way, I will hopefully lessen temptations whenever I’m surfing social media feeds. Out of sight, out of mind.

Lessen time spent on social media.

Granted, entertainment options can be limited for a mom who’s on breastfeeding duty and has the use of only one arm, but to stay away from shopping sites and tempting Instagram posts, we have to find alternatives. One, read. Yes, it can be hard to turn pages and hold a book with just one hand, but the good news is, we can also read ebooks via various apps on our phone. So, ready your reading lists! Two, watch movies or even Korean series. But only if you have earphones (wireless ones are great so you don’t have to wrangle with cords) at your disposal so you won’t disturb your baby’s sleep. Three, games! Just find one that you like — whether it’s puzzles, word games, Pokemon, or even RPG, any one of these can help while away your time. And last but not least, sleep! No better time to catch up on those zzz’s than while your little one is also sleeping while on the boob. So go ahead and take that beauty rest, mama.

That’s it. So who’s game for this online shopping diet? Any other tips? Do share! 😋