Consumer Who? Consumer You!

This past year, I did a large amount of shopping and I thought about what type of consumer I am. I believe I am an individual consumer. I like to purchase things that I like for myself to satisfy my wants/needs at that moment. It is rare that I impulse shop; I pretty much purchase things that are missing in my wardrobe or something that I had on one of my wishlists. When it comes down to my shopping habits I do not just shop to shop, I weigh things out and sometimes will sleep on it before I make a purchase. When shopping for clothes for example, I try to think about what is in my wardrobe at the moment, “Will I wear this soon and often?” When it comes to sneakers and handbags I think differently. Sneakers I go with if it’s cool and I like the color design. For handbags I look at if I have that color in my collection, the style and the brand.

When I am purchasing something I look at how is the product being marketed. Whether I am in a store or on a website, I see how the store is set up or how the clothing or shoe is styled and if I like the product. After I buy something I put it away until it is time to wear or use it.

On Christmas my family and I watched the show Hoarders and it was an eye opener for me. Normally I will go through my clothes at the end of the season and let go of things I did not wear or can not wear anymore. After watching that show, it made me really look at my spending and how I have been holding on to too many pieces that I was not wearing and could not wear anymore. Since then I have been room by room, cleaning and getting rid of things that I do not use or have not worn in a long time. I came to a realization that I need to change my spending habits so I do not accumulate so much and let what I see take over my spending.