Window shopping is a fun relaxing way to pass time when you are out and about. Getting out of the house is important as it encourages physical activity and social interaction (If you are into that sort of thing). Window Shopping is a great way to entertain yourself while still being able to move around and chat, unlike movie theaters or expensive parks that can empty your wallet. The ideal window-shopping trip is one where you spend as little money as possible but maximizes the time and fun you have with company or even just by yourself. Walking up and down malls or strip stores is a great way to get that physical activity without boring yourself or getting lost in the wilderness. Shopping is fun but can leave you feeling guilty if you go through your budget too quickly. That is why window shopping is a great alternative for people who like to spend their time out of the house and save money doing it.
Tip 1- Mangos last.
Buy what you need first if you have any shopping at all. If you need food, get what you need first then look at all the new exotic fruit and vegetables that just came in or the new English tea cakes if you have anything left over in your budget, if not write down their prices so you can work it into your budget. This can apply to clothes too. Get what you need first, then have fun trying on the different shirts and accessories. Always try something on if you can before you buy it when it comes to clothes.
Tip 2- Leave it alone.
If you know you are incapable of walking out of that store without buying something, just don’t go in. Turn yourself around and walk straight back out those doors “little miss impulsive spending habits.” Temptation is strong as is the clearance rack savings, but you must be stronger if you want to save that money and actually enjoy an expensive free window-shopping trip.
Tip 3- Leave your wallet at home
Or just the extra cash, you should always carry a way to legally identify yourself. If you have a savings account, transfer that extra money into it. If you have a credit card, put it away. You can’t spend it if you’re not holding it after all. Try keeping a change jar and a running tally of how much you put in after a shopping trip. If you don’t shop with cash, keep the receipts as a reminder of how much damage you’ve done to your savings because when you window shop, you are not supposed to spend. That’s why it’s called window shopping. Unless your actually buying windows, then it actually is window shopping. Go figure.
Tip 4- Pavlov yourself
Nothing has been scientifically proven to work quite like classically conditioning yourself with rewards or punishments when it comes to changing minuet behavior. When you see something, you want to buy while window shopping, lightly pinch yourself or smack your wrist with a rubber band as a way to start associating the desire for unnecessary spending with physical pain to act as a subconscious deterrent. Reward yourself with something nice when you get home as a way to celebrate a successful window-shopping outing. Use a nice drink or pop in a good movie so you start to look forward to successful window shopping.
Tip 5- A loner has gotta be alone
Shopping is always more fun with friends, but shopping with friends is a lot more fun when you actually have money to spend. So, saving money when you shop by yourself is a great way to make sure you have that little extra when you’re out and about with company. If you always spend money with friends, try limiting window shopping to being by yourself so when you want to walk up and down that mall, you come out clean and with a better appreciation of alone time.
Tip 5 ½ – Do the exact opposite
If you are just that impulsive when you are by yourself, bring that friend group with you to bail you out of making those horrible spending decisions. This is tip is more for extroverts while tip 5 is geared more toward introverts. Or if you fall under both, just refer to tip 4, as that might be more useful to you.
Tip 6- It must be done
Clean out your closet before you go window shopping so you can remind yourself of how many outfits you bought but don’t wear because you bought them on a window-shopping trip when you shouldn’t have been spending money on clothes! Keeping track of what’s always in your cabinets, closet and shelves is a great way to utilize your time out shopping, but that is kind of the opposite of what this article is trying to accomplish, so moving on.
Tip 7- Don’t make eye contact, the kiosk workers can smell fear.
Avoid any and all eye contact with staff, employees, and other workers of the mall. While you might feel like a friendly conversation is an easy way to get to know what you’re looking at but the longer you talk to sales reps, the more time you’re giving them to convince you to spend your money. This is what they want, not what you want. Many shoppers feel emotionally inclined to buy something after talking to a staff member, which is the polite thing to do, but now you are in a situation where you’re spending money when you have set out not to, thereby failing the task. Walk around like you know exactly what you are doing the slightest sign of confusion can prompt an employee to try and come over to help. This is not what you want to do on your mission to waste time.
Tip 8- Have fun.
If you made it this far, congratulations, you have successfully completed the article. Your final reward is one last piece of strange generic advice. Just remember to have fun. Just because you don’t have money to spend or friends to walk around aimlessly with doesn’t mean you can’t still have a good time terrorizing the public with your shenanigans. Because, at its core, window shopping is a great (and totally free) way to pass the time if you have self-control.