Become A Conscious Consumer
Have you ever considered the psychology of buying? More importantly, have you ever considered your purchasing patterns? Being lucky enough to be born in a developed country, our world is full of material things. Some are great purchases that fill our life with value and others, well – they were a great idea at the time.
The culture of Treat Yo’ Self
We’ve all made a NEED purchase when really, we’ve just had a bad day, felt less than cute and wanted a purchase hit. Welcome to the need vs want consumer vortex. When we need something, this means it’s a ‘value buy’. It helps us in our day-to-day life and for those of us lucky enough to be comfortable on the survival front; it means consciously buying something with the knowledge that we will use it because it makes our life better. When we want something, its value is questionable. It may be useful but is it vital to our day-to-day? Probably not. Here is where Treat Yo Self becomes a significant contributor to landfill, debt and a life full of excess. Living in a society where wants and needs are interchangeable means you live in a world of choice, unlike many people on our planet Earth. It also means you have an opportunity to make your choices count.
Become a conscious consumer
Being a conscious consumer means you are using your buying power with a considered approach. The first step? Identifying what your needs are and what are your wants. Taking some time to understand your buying patterns and what category they fit into can make a massive difference to your wallet and the environment. This isn’t an easy task, but committing to buying as a conscious consumer might be the best first step you’ve ever taken.
Use your privilege of choice.
Here are some great places to start in exercising your purchasing consumer power:
Reduce waste:
Become more conscious of your waste by re-using packaging or purchase a substitute you can use again and again. Using glass coffee cups, mesh shopping bags and using glass containers in your fridge/pantry – all these products can be used over and over for the same purpose. By doing this, you are significantly reducing your waste, saving your cash dollars and helping our planet.Shopping Local:
Not only will you be helping smaller businesses thrive, but you are helping to reduce the GHG emissions associated with goods transportation and packaging. Often it’s the local trade products are the healthier and sounder option for yourself, as well as for the community that you are supporting.