Intentional Purchasing

You’ve probably heard of intentional purchasing before and maybe you already know what it is. Maybe not, perhaps you’ve just heard of the term but never fully understood it. Either way, fear not, I’m here to help you through it and give you some pointers on being intentional with your purchases. 

Intentional purchasing is a conscious, thoughtful way of buying things. When purchasing something, it should align with your personal values, needs and long-term well-being. It’s trying not to act on impulse or convenience, but rather, consider the quality of the product, durability and ethical origins of the item. 

Furthermore, intentional purchasing supports sustainability and can improve your financial health. If that sounds like something that resonates with you, stick around as I help you understand some benefits of intentional purchasing and give you some tips and pointers along the way.

Making Intentional Choices

We all know how easy it is just to accumulate things. Over the years you find yourself collecting random things, some really useful which get used a lot, and others, well, not so useful which just get forgotten about and stuffed in a cupboard. Out of sight, out of mind, well at least that’s what you tell yourself right? 

The problem is there are only so many places you can store the Christmas and birthday gifts you didn’t ask for and those impulse buys which you had imagined being really useful. Studies show us that excess clutter can cause anxiety and increase our stress levels. I think we can agree, this is not how we want to be feeling in our home. Your home should be a sanctuary – a place of calm, not chaos. 

Being intentional with what we are buying can reduce the amount of ‘stuff’ that we have laying around. Really taking your time and thinking through purchases contributes to a tidier home. When you’re buying something, you should consider why you’re buying it. Is it a need or a want? Is it going to benefit your life positively? Asking these questions before purchasing, is not only going to reduce clutter in your home and life but it can increase feelings of contentment, happiness and life satisfaction.

Intentional Gift Giving

Think back over the years of Christmases and birthdays, how many of them have you received gifts that have never been used or were destined for the back of the cupboard? 

In that situation, you find yourself stuck, you don’t want to seem ungrateful but also your internal monologue is thinking, what on earth am I going to do with that? So you just accept the gift with a smile and a thank you, then once everyone is gone you store it somewhere and forget about it.

Lets try not to be that person when giving gifts, you can apply some of the questions from earlier to the gifts you’re buying. Instead of for yourself, think of the person you are buying for. You can even go one step further, instead of buying them a physical item which will take up space. Focus on experiences, subscriptions or even services. Below are some gift ideas that aren’t material:

• Tickets to concerts, theatre shows, etc.
• Book a class or workshop.
• Subscriptions to streaming services, flower deliveries, coffee shops etc.
• Memberships to a gym, cinema, zoo.
• Gift of time, help babysit, clean.
• Pamper experience.
• Dining voucher.
• Donation to a charity of their choice.

Guide to Intentional Purchasing

When you first try shopping intentionally, it can be difficult getting out of old shopping habits. Shopping intentionally is a mindset, a minimalist mindset. It’s not about scarcity but rather, focusing on what is important. As mentioned earlier, ask yourself questions before you buy, don’t just get something on an impulse – do I actually need this or is it a want? Will it be useful? Will it improve my life? One of my top tips when you’re buying online is to not press checkout immediately. Leave your items in your online basket for a day or two, if you’ve forgotten about it, chances are you don’t need or want it. Check back on your basket and reevaluate whether you truly need those items.

Have a list and stick to it. Going into a shop with a list will help you stay on track to what you actually need, don’t stray from this list when you are buying with intention. Along with a list, set yourself a budget, only spend what you need to spend. If you want to take it to the next level, you could withdraw the cash you need and leave the cards at home. That way you cannot go over budget.

Avoid sales, unless you know what you want to buy is going to be on sale. Sales highlight discounts to lure you in, but are you really getting a discount if you weren’t going to buy it in the first place? In addition, shop with someone you trust, someone who will tell you to stop when you’re going out of budget. Try to take someone who isn’t going to sway you to spend more.

The one-in-one-out rule, or even better one-in-two-out. When you buy something new, try to donate or rehome an older item to a charity shop. By doing this rule you avoid excess clutter within your home and reduce your consumerism.

Shop local and independent when you can, rather than giving your money to big corporations, you could help a local business grow. In addition, you are more likely to find something original at an independent store.

Do not stock pile and avoid duplications. Don’t fall for the multiple buys because they were on “special offer”. Buy what you need and what you intended to buy in the first place.

Finally, think ethically, if the item you’re buying is produced sustainably, are the people who make your product being treated fairly. If it seems too good to be true, question why it can be like that.

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