The Inspired Shopper

The latest edition of The Inspired Shopper is now available! If you haven't bought it already, this is a great time to buy. You can buy it cheaply and easily on the Amazon website. At only $2.99 it's an absolute steal. I'll keep it at this price for the time being, but I may put it back to its original price, $5.99, in the future.

If ethical shopping, decluttering, thrifting and saving money are the theory, then Inspired Shopping is the practice. Whatever the changes you want to make to the way you buy, they start with a willingness to slow down and listen to yourself, and an openness to the unexpected. This mindset is what Inspired Shopping can help you achieve.

This brand new edition contains more advice for conscious shoppers than ever before. It fully incorporates the smartphone and internet as part of Inspired Shopping. There's more  information on making the shift to ethical shopping and ethical fashion on a budget, and loads of up-to-the-minute resources for thrifty, frugal and fair shopping. There's also commonsense advice on:

saving money
decluttering
knowing your consumer rights
shopping safely on the internet
giving inspired gifts
buying an appliance, car and even a house
supermarket shopping
shopping with children, friends and your partner
shopping for those with 'too much' money.

If you've bought earlier editions of The Inspired Shopper, I'm happy to send you a mobi file (ie suitable for the Kindle) of the latest version. Just drop me a line at caetem@yahoo.com and I'll explain how to provide verification.

Not quite sure but intrigued? Here's some more info about what's in the book and how to buy it.

Until next time!

Shopping online, or just browsing, is great fun. But because it is so convenient, it’s all too easy to fall into a delicious trance from which you wake hours later, having bought up the entire stock of Heavenly Homewares or Car Accessories R Us! Below are some useful tips for staying grounded when buying online.

* Ensure there is some natural light in the room. Open all blinds and curtains to let the day in.

* How are you sitting? Are you comfortable? Adjust your posture so you’re not slouching. Hunch and then relax your shoulders and move your head in a circle, a few times one way and then the other, to loosen your neck muscles.

* Be aware of your body in space – the feel of your feet resting on the ground; your fingers as they type on the keyboard or touchscreen; your breathing; your backside sitting on the chair; your back leaning against the chair or hunching forward. Try to maintain this body awareness for the entire shopping or browsing session.

* Take note of the temperature in the room. Are you hot, cold or just right?

* Stay aware of sounds: traffic, a clock ticking, floors creaking, a heater or air conditioner whirring, the hubbub of an office, a child’s voice, a dog barking, your fingers on the keyboard. Don’t judge the noises, or focus on any particular one; just be aware of each sound and then let it go.

* Tune into your emotions. What are you feeling right now? Where are the feelings? Are they in any particular part of your body? Don’t analyse or judge the feelings, just acknowledge and let yourself experience them.

* Don’t try to do more than one thing at once. Don’t text someone or speak on the phone as you’re browsing or shopping online. Stay focused on what you’re doing.

* Take your time. If you find yourself wanting to buy something in a hurry, perhaps you’re trying to tamp down some hidden doubts about the purchase. Slow down and listen to any doubts you have. Work out where the doubts are coming from, and whether or not you need to take heed of them.

* Stay grounded during the purchasing process. If you decide to buy something, stay aware of what’s going on for you, both physically and emotionally, as you buy.

While the tips above may slow you down a bit, the more grounded you are, the more efficient you’ll become. And of course, these techniques aren’t just useful for online shopping; use them throughout the day to stay grounded and in the present.

I love sales, I'm not ashamed to admit. And I rarely come home emptyhanded when I go to one (although I'm always prepared to). But sales have certain dangers, and this was beautifully illustrated in an article (aptly titled 'War'!) published recently in The Age newspaper by fashion writer Janice Breen Burns.

Breen alerted readers to a major trap that can beset the bargain hunter. On a shopping trip with her daughter, she bought her a pair of jeans that she assumed were $50 off the original price. After she'd checked her credit slip and gone back to the store to correct the 'mistake' she thought the sales assistant had made, she was told that the pile from which her daughter had selected the jeans weren't on sale -- although they were next to a series of piles of jeans that were all $50 off. Sneaky to say the least.

A similar thing happened when she made a bulk purchase of her favourite undies, lured by a red 'Sale' sign that seemed to indicate they were less than half-price. You guessed it -- not a cent off.

There are a couple of lessons here. Sometimes when we're at a busy mall or a shopping strip full of stores having sales, we go into a kind of fog of consumer delight. That's exactly what the stores want us to do -- the store window displays, layouts, smell, fittings and signage are all designed to encourage us to spend. The red sale signs are particularly powerful, and there's something very primeval about bargain hunting.

But there are two things that can help you avoid disaster. The first is not letting the fog swallow you up -- staying aware of what's going on for you, even if it's just acknowledging that you're salivating at the thought of that shiny black sleeveless top that has a whole $20 slashed of it, and choosing to slow down a bit in your decision making. This is mindfulness.

The second is listening to that 'still small voice' -- your intuition. Mindfulness can help you go slowly enough to do that. Have you ever been about to race into a changing room or to a counter with your booty, yet you felt something wasn't quite right? You felt uncomfortable and you couldn't identify why. It may have been that the clothes item (or whatever else you were purchasing) just wasn't right for you. It may have been that the store's price signs were misleading and you were about to be duped. Or it may have been even more straightforward than that -- you simply couldn't afford to buy the item. Listen to that inner voice -- it may be irritating but believe me, it's your friend!