Update

I have gone a whole month without buying anything for myself on the internet.  I haven’t gone back and looked but it’s possible that I haven’t done that since 2006 or 2007.  I thought initially that it would be really hard and that I’d slip up and have to confess, but it hasn’t been as hard as I thought it would be.  I imagine there will be times where it will be harder, but overall changing my mindset was fairly easy.

I’ve had one time that I can remember where I considered making a purchase.  My laptop (macbook from 2007) battery wasn’t charging correctly a few days ago and my mind turned immediately to wanting to purchase a chromebook online, but that passed within 15 or 20 minutes.  I was able to get my computer charging and all is well again and I’ve avoided spending 300 dollars.  I’m not sure if I would have bought a laptop out of impulse before, but I know I’m not going to now, which is clear progress I think.

Reading has become a good distraction for purchasing for me as well.  I’ve been to the library twice in the past few weeks.  I am an avid reader already, but I have really stepped up my frequency in November.  I put behind me several non-fiction books already (Parent Effectiveness Training, Your Money or Your Life, and a quarter of the 1000 page Arguably, Essays by Chrisopher Hitchens) and fiction (Breakfast at Tiffany’s and half of Lolita).

I feel like this kind of acts like a substitute in a way for buying.  It allows me to browse and find interesting things and bring them home much like I would on Amazon, but then I’m able to return them and also fill my mind with interesting ideas, situations, and characters.  I’ll keep updating the situation as I go. Hopefully I can make it through the holidays, though I will be purchasing a few presents for others via Amazon.  I’ll just be staying away from throwing things for myself in the shopping cart.