Covid online shopping has become so popular that Amazon is now the biggest company in the world and has started expanding drone deliveries and Amazon Go stores where you can check out without a cashier.
For me, I personally am not someone that buys things that I don't need. I used to like to burn a hole in my pocket when I was younger but now I know what a hard earned dollar is and I try to save my money.
I don't purchase extras as I like to call them. By extras I mean I don't purchase fabric softener sheets, lint rollers, boxes of tissues or fragrance scented garbage bags. I make do with the things I have and don't need to spend my money on the added bonus of having my living room smell like a Hawaiian tropical mist because it doesn't really do anything for me. I can do without.
I think I've become this way because I know what it feels like to have to do without growing up and honestly I wasn't missing much when I wasn't able to afford individual wrapped cheese slices and microwaved bacon.
As a single mother hustling my way through law school and working a part-time job I'm trying to make my children's life better and I don't purchase a self-cleaning oven because I know a little bit of elbow grease works better.
I am surprised that I can even afford to have a bed frame underneath my mattress, something that I never had growing up, I could just as well keep my mattress on the floor but I know I'm doing well for myself now because I'm able to help others and that's the only time that I like to spend my money. I can do without a big screen TV because that is not my idea of a luxury, a good book on a sunny breezy day is my indulgence.
I'd much rather spend my money on things that I need that can help my family get by. Things that keep us healthy, simple necessities, like food in our bellies and clothes on our backs. Not the kind of clothes that cost over and above what they are worth just because they have a swooshy label on them either, I mean clothes from the thrift store.
I'm the kind of person that thinks that even the thrift store is overpriced. I teach my kids that they are foolish to be spending the last of their money on such expensive items that they don't need only to put their money in the pockets of the people who are already rich, it's best to just save for something they can use, not something they can brag about.
Don't get me wrong, I recently invested in a pair of Birkenstock sandals but only because I knew that they were good quality and that they will last me years and years and I'll probably wear them until I run them into the ground.
With the economy in such unpredictable turmoil its best to be smart about our money and do away with the things we can do without.