Tam Patachako, a 25-year-old from Norwich, has made big changes to her shopping routine in the last two years. She’s taken a lot of steps towards making more eco-friendly decisions. Once a SKU junky herself, she had turned into her own worst nightmare, buying compulsively and never using what she purchased. Patachako dropped £90 on clothing, home decor, and even a weighted blanket that she never used. That’s when it dawned on her that she would have to drastically change the way she shopped.
Having grown up in a family that couldn’t always afford the basics, Patachako went literally months at a time without new clothes or any of the comforts of home. This upbringing shaped her perception of spending. Now as a young adult, she was used to creating online shopping carts filled with all sorts of goods. After being left for a full 24 hours, she could then choose to book or not book. This approach may have given a short-term excitement boost but was almost never responsible for real transactions.
That all changed two years ago when her phone buzzed with an unexpected alert. It told her when her paycheck was deposited, triggering another shopping spree. In the name of research, she purchased enough LED strip lights and two pairs of shoes that didn’t even fit her. She would convince herself that her spontaneous buys were okay by saying, “What does it matter, it’s only £5.” To her, those little amounts looked like free money. It’s amazing how fast these small expenditures piled up, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars wasted on unnecessary purchases.
It wasn’t long before Patachako realized a troubling trend in her own shopping habits. She regularly had to delete virtual shopping carts on all her favorite sites including Amazon, Depop and Zara. She understood that a lot of those things had just lingered there with no idea of anyone actually buying them. It was during this process that she began asking herself a critical question for the first time since reaching adulthood: “Do I actually need this?”
This change in thinking was at work when she considered buying three tabletop games even though she hardly plays them. A friend of mine has recently decided to get into photography. As she thought it over, she struggled to justify if this purchase would really improve her experience.
In her ongoing quest to make more intentional purchases, Patachako discovered the importance of meeting your impulses at their source. It became obvious that £5 would soon max out at £10 and then even £20, forcing her to reprioritize. Only days after research online, she was ready to purchase the hairdryer. This time around, she was much more intentional about the purchase.
A simple photo of Patachako window shopping at Loris Parfum in Norwich chronicles her Newark developments for savvy spending. Her story is a powerful reminder of the importance of being intentional when we spend. Home equity raises all the lessons about how personal history affects our financial choices.