Are you on the project of improving your financial well-being? Did you know that being a conscious consumer is a big part of being a financially responsible adult? We will explain the trick of being a conscious consumer in a sec but let’s first understand what a conscious consumer is.

A conscious consumer is a person who makes purchases intentionally and mindfully. Being a part of the consumerism-driven economic realm we are made to believe that we need to buy this and that. The marketing strategies make items a must-have for us even when we can do easily without them. A conscious consumer prevents himself from over-engaging in the purchase of unnecessary items thereby preventing himself to indulge in the cycle of storage, use, recycle or discard. This does not entail that a conscious consumer is necessarily a minimalist. Rather, a conscious consumer is aware of his needs and concerned about the outflows of income more than an average person! So, metaphorically speaking, conscious consumers rephrase Shakespeare’s famous quote to this:

To shop or not to shop, that’s an important question!

We are here to help you to make your shopping a mindful and fun experience rather than a money-draining experience that brings you shock every time you receive your credit card bills. Here are some ways that can help you to become a mindful individual:

1-    Are You Penny From The Big Bang Theory?

Remember when Penny, the famous character from the comedy sitcom TBBT

• was hoarding so many clothes and was running out of space?
• She wanted cute pink shoes, but they cost her an entire month’s rent, but she succumbed to the whim and attraction.
• She spent money that Sheldon gave as a loan on a beret! (Online Shopping)

These few attributes are the ones that you should not possess. It is okay if you have them, but it is time to rectify them. Penny’s friends help her to donate clothes she does not need, and we are here to help and guide you in a similar but creative manner. You do not need to think about getting rid of your stuff right away. Firstly, you must be fully aware of the stuff you have! Time to peek in your closet. Whether you make it a rearranging spree or a cleaning spree, you must have a look at the stuff you have and sort out what you need and what you are hoarding.

Once you find all the useful and fancy stuff you have, you’d have ideas about how to use them for example, you’d have many ideas on how to style that cute denim jacket of yours! This would help you to restrict your inner desire to purchase every season! When you have everything, you need why block your money in more stuff? From a psychological viewpoint, excessive stuff and hoarding of material possessions indicate emotional baggage or trauma. Time to reflect right? Coming back to mindful shopping, a peek in your closet gives you a real picture of items you have and makes you reflect on all the things you bought but never really use. Now ask yourself, should you need to buy anything more? A Big NO.

2-    An Embargo On Purchase For A Month!

If you are living from salary to salary or if you need to alter your financial decision-making habits, then time to use some behavior reinforcement strategy. For all the times you have made an impulsive purchase, restrict yourself for the coming month by buying just the essential things and refraining from shopping at all! This way you will be able to trace how much percentage of your monthly income is consumed to support your living and how much is drained in mindless shopping! See? You are already becoming a conscious consumer!

3-    A Shopping List Is Your New Best Friend!

If you are prone to losing the track of items, you need and getting a cart full of stuff that was on display or sale at the Mart then hold it right there! This is not mindful shopping. It is wandering which is detrimental to your bank account. Develop a habit of making a shopping list. One way is to create a list every month for the monthly needs and then strictly follow that need. If you’d like to take baby steps towards being a conscious consumer, then perhaps a weekly shopping list would suffice. It would give you a chance to visit the marts on weekends if that’s what you love to do, and not waste any money! Being smart is fun right?

What you can do to cement this habit is to have a tiny row of treats at the end of your shopping list for week four which means rewarding yourself with a small treat, losing some embargo on unnecessary shopping, and getting yourself something as appreciation. Do not however step into a branded store! By treat, we do not mean a Birkin’s bag for sure! Maybe an extra bag of double-stuffed Oreos would suffice? We are leading by example because I just treated myself with double-stuffed goodness!

4-    Bulk Purchases

We often assume that buy 2 get 1 free type of offer makes us smart buyers. While there are a lot of benefits to making a bulk purchase, you need to be smart with such offers. What if there is an offer on a Big Bag of ketchup buy 2 get 1 free and you end up having 2 big bags of ketchup? Ketchup is an example, but you get the point, right? You need to think about the promotion. Do you frequently use that item that has an offer? Does the purchase affect your savings for real? And most importantly, check the expiry of these buy 2 get 1 free offers and think whether you’d be able to use the item within that span or not. Often such promotions are old stock clearance strategies or marketing strategies.

5-    Go Green!

Being a conscious consumer does not mean just being financially concerned. Mindful shopping included avoiding the purchase of goods that are detrimental to your health, or society. It means considering the life cycle of the product you are purchasing and ensuring that the manufacturing or usage does not involve adverse effects on the environment or even your health. For example, never buy carcinogenic products. Shun the use of plastic bags. Take your own bags for your shopping spree.

6-    Support Small Businesses

Sometimes the locally owned business offers great products at a great price. When you are buying an imported product then you pay additional money because that product has customer duties and other charges. If there is the same quality product locally available then support your national businesses. Support your friends who own businesses. For example, if there are locally grown oranges available and imported ones, get the locally grown oranges. They are delicious, they save your money, and they help your country’s economy.

7-    Every Sale Is Not For You

We think that if we have bought something from the sale then we have saved money. Did you take a pause and ask yourself if what you bought on sale was an impulsive purchase or did you need that item? It is a common perception that sales purchases are helping us to save money but maybe they are making your purchase unnecessarily. Maybe the sales are making you hoard stuff. Are we hoarders? We are smarter than that so do not fall for the marketing trap! Every sale is not for you to benefit from but rather your shopping list here can assist you! The shopping list for items that you need to buy and are waiting for sale can help you decide which sale is for you and which isn’t.

8-    Live A Quality Of Life

When you are restricting your unnecessary purchases, you are not deteriorating the quality of your life. You should buy to lead a good life but make sure that you are a mindful buyer! What we mean to say is that this article is not to stop you from buying clothes it is to stop you from buying extra clothes! You deserve a good life and you deserve to enhance your looks and lifestyle. That is an investment, not a burden. Be mindful but do not be a miser! There is a difference.

A mindful shopping makes you enjoy the experience of shopping, improves your financial well-being, as well as improves the quality of your life. It helps you to make an impact on society and save your environment. It makes you a strong soldier against the plethora of marketing scams and marketing traps. We have listed eight great ways to do mindful shopping but there surely are more ways than that! In what ways makes you a conscious consumer? Tell us more about the choices which make you contribute to your life, society, and our ecosystem.