I have buyer’s remorse

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Buyer’s remorse is the sense of regret after having purchased something. It usually occurs after the purchase of an expensive item. It’s a real thing, we've all experienced it and it hurts.

For me, and a lot of other people, the minute you walk away after buying something for yourself, there is instant guilt and/or regret. For me it’s even the littlest thing, like this one time (at band camp), I was looking for a particular eyeshadow brush and found the perfect one. It was $5 and I said, nah not worth it… What! (But that was me being a cheapskate as well).

But now that I have three jobs - this one, retail and a paid internship - I’m reeling in the moolah which mum strictly and surprisingly successfully encourages me to put away (most of it) in a savings account that I CANNOT touch. I literally can’t touch it unless I’m desperate because she has it. It’s so helpful and so much easier to save that way!  Take advantage of your parents for as long as you can, you won’t regret it. But also love and respect them and take care of them immensely if they do things like that for you.

Recently, having gotten my full refund back from my cancelled ski trip to Mount Hotham, and half from the Port Lincoln trip we didn’t get to finish, I had a lot of money in my possession. A lot. So, what did I do with it you ask? I, being a responsible young woman who wants to be wary of her future endeavours and be able to eventually buy a car, or rent an apartment, or travel, put most of it away in the semi-untouchable savings account. And splurged on the rest. This splurge was rational and very well-deserved since not being about to leave the state for a dream trip and having to leave a peaceful holiday, and being sick and missing my internship! But also because I’ve worked hard this year both physically at the workplace and mentally so I feel like I deserved it. Plus, we were in lockdown, so what else was I supposed to do.

Here’s what I bought:

  • Three pairs of pants from SHEIN (all different colour plaid).
  • 2 pieces of jewellery from Etsy, earrings and a necklace, which cost me almost $200 (I know, absolutely ridiculous).
  • A Beatles (the band) oversized t-shirt from Cotton On (it has embroidered flowers on it, it's so cute).
  • A lip gloss from Mecca, plus a body scrub so I could get free shipping.
  • A knit jumper from Princess Polly. It came the next day, they’re so quick!
  • A Gryffindor Oodie! Always wanted one and I’m a big nerd.
  • Enola Holmes the book, because I LOVED the movie (if you love a historical movie, watch that one, it’s so sweet!)
  • A few pieces of clothing from Country Road but I have to since I work there and have an awesome discount.
  • And lastly, and I can’t believe I did it… A Nintendo Switch.

Do I regret any of this? Surprisingly not. I am honestly pretty content with these purchases. Maybe that means I’m having some sort of life crisis but who knows? I admit that after I bought the Nintendo Switch, I did wake up with instant regret. But the more I play it, the more I love it. All this stuff are things I did NOT need. But now that I’ve done so much at once, I will not be spending any more money this year. Or buying anything over $50. So why do we experience buyers remorse, that’s the question here… But this question will be answered next time. I hope this has encouraged you to splurge a little, I’m sorry (not sorry) if I’m a bad influence.  

Tagged in What messes with your head, shopping, Student health, mental health, health and wellbeing, health, Wellbeing