Shopping is absolute indulgence in many cases and sheer
necessity at times. It’s a kind of activity that falls under both ‘leisure
& responsibility’. Whether your kids want new school bags, your kitchen
needs some add-ons like micro-wave for speedy work or you need a winter dress
good enough to protect you from cold – in all these cases it appears to be a
necessary act to go out and spend some real good amount to buy these items.
But when you are shopping to buy a gift or get something for
yourself, it’s a kind of treat. The term for it is Retail Therapy! It intends
to make consumers feel good out of their shopping experience. A study points
out that shopping activates key areas of the brain, boosting your mood and
making you feel better – but unfortunately, only for a time being. Many cases
have been there when after shopping, regret creeps into your mind, making you
feel depressed instead of being cheerful for the things purchased. A normal middle
class person complains of feeling guilty after he/she had splurged some amount
on items which they later realized were not ‘necessary enough’.
One such case comes from the online world – Mrs. XYZ says
that, “With all these websites for shopping online, I’m literally 'window'
shopping everyday for clothes. My problem is, I have a habit of saving money
and never spending it...which is both good and bad because I always add stuff
to the shopping cart but don’t actually buy them until later (most of the time
they go out of stock)...when I buy too much I feel guilty.”
So what is the
solution to all of this?
Shopping should ultimately make you feel happy and content.
It should fulfill your desires for indulgence, necessity and also having a
really good time, getting to know about new arrivals. You often come across
things which you’ve never encountered before in the market, and thus you tend
to buy it out of curiosity and excitement. Instead, analyze your lifestyle and
ask yourself these quintessential questions:
1 – Is this item of some value to my life?
2 – Will it improve my living style or help me in any way?
3 – Is the cost worth it or am I getting carried away due to
the decorations and
feel-good environment around?
4 – What will it make me feel once I have reached back home
along with this ‘item’?
Once you’ve studied the answers in your mind, you know what
you should do with ‘it’. Avoid remorse and lower your risk of overspending.
Just be happy after shopping in every way!
