I got fed up yesterday.  I bought something online which didn’t work. It cost me 20% to return it.  If I’d purchased it locally, I could have tried it out and known how it functioned – either would not have purchased it, or would have returned it immediately.   Last year I had credit identity stolen.  That was not the first time for either of these incidences – so I quit.

Quit?  Quit what?  I quit using credit and shopping online.  I’m doing it for a year with the hope that this will prove I don’t need the credit card, and don’t need to shop online.  It may cost a few more pennies here and there to shop locally – or to substitute what I cannot find locally – but I’m willing to try.  I don’t care if I don’t get points, and I don’t mind that I’ll get less emails (I’ve unsubscribed to all the sale ads to reduce temptation), and I don’t care if I can’t satisfy an order-it-now urge.

Simpledown is the new word for 2011.

I’ve “fasted” from shopping for 30 days and 90 days in the past as gifts for my hubby.  I also did a one year fast from my (at that time) favorite clothing store.  Interestingly enough, I no longer like to shop there.  It seems that while I was in the habit, the sale prices seemed desirable, and now I wonder what on earth I was thinking.  I’ve already created a chart to record the things I run out of that I might usually have ordered on the web.  I’ll complete the former price, the new price wherever I find the item and compare at the end of the year if I really saved money or not.  I know just not having the monthly stress will be a treat for the hubby.

I put this under mind, as in mind over matter, but it could also qualify under emotions, don’t you think?