What I Could Have Bought (But I Didn't)

I am not a shopping kind of person. My mother never instilled in me the craving for shopping (thanks, Mom) and I often find myself one topic short when I converse with ladies.

Nevertheless, I too have my moments of wanting, contemplating, considering and deliberating between needs and wants.

I try not to buy the thing I like straight away. I prefer thinking about it first and the simpler my lifestyle becomes, the more I deliberate. I am aiming for a moment when there will be less thinking of buying. Then I will know in my heart that I have truly simplified my life.

Until then, I have decided to show you objects that have been tickling  my fancy but yet I have decided I could live without them.

Living in the forest was easy. I didn't have many shops around and so deciding whether I needed those red flats was absolutely off the list.

But the challenge of simple living cannot be confronted while  hiding in the wilds where there is no temptation.

True simplification can be achieved right in the midst of the shopping center, in front of the sixty-first pair of shoes you crave, next to the lady who just bought that ridiculously expensive clutch...

So, back to civilized life.

From the forest I found myself in a walking distance to the largest shopping center in Scandinavia. I don't like its 190 shops. But it's there. I avoid it because I hate the artificial air along its almost 1 mile of corridors and 8 floors. The amount of people is unbearable and yet, simply because of its proximity I happen to walk in it from time to time.

And so today, here is what I could have bought but I didn't.

NB. This is not a shopping fast. I am not even challenging you to buy nothing for a month or a year. I am simply sharing with you the way I live and my thoughts, hoping that I might encourage you to think twice before you spend your money next time on something that will never be used.

The first thing I saw today is that extra travel bag from Lucky Duck I can easily slide on the handle of my suitcase. It looks so lovely and it's orange (my favorite color), plus I am traveling in less than 10 days. Why not travel in style!

Do I really need it? Actually no. I have enough bags and rucksacks to fit all my hand luggage for the flight.

Well, the shoes. Touchy topic. ECCO is an outstanding Scandinavian company that produces some of the most comfortable shoes ever. They are also actively reducing their environmental impact and are employing the principles of reducing, reusing and recycling in their production process.

I've had an eye on exactly 3 pairs on this table for a very. long. time. I look at them every time I pass by the shop, just like today. But I still haven't bought a pair. The price confirms my belief that the shoes I have on my feet are good enough. At least for now.

Healthy bread rich in fibers. It is on offer but the plastic bag spoils the health effect for me. Blatant juxtaposition. Plus, all the E additives and colorings listed on the back destroy the effect of the spelt sourdough, rye flour, flax seed, oat bran, sunflower seeds. Not really healthy, if you ask me.

Finally, cherries! My favorite fruit. I can eat nothing but pounds of cherries the whole summer. These particular ones come all the way from Fresno, California. The number on the front of the plastic bag tells me that at least they are not GMO. Numbers on fruits starting with 4 means they are conventionally grown, i.e. sprayed with weed killers and chemical pesticides.

The amount of cherries in this plastic baggie would cost me about  $10. I'd rather wait for the season of Norwegian fjord cherries. They will be cheaper and I will know for sure where they come from and how they were raised.

Did I just save $191.60? You could certainly say so. But I don't view it from that perspective. I don't beat myself for wanting things either. I try to be objective and weigh my opportunities and decide how to spend my money so that it makes me feel best. Sometimes it takes a lot of deliberating.

How about you? What are your shopping habits? How often do you stop yourself from buying on a fling?