One of the best ways to stop spending and start saving is to unsubscribe from all retail emails in your inbox.
Picture this:
After a long day at work, you flop onto your couch, pull up your personal email, and begin clearing out your inbox. Suddenly, you are bombarded with sale emails: “30% off!” “Special Coupon Code Just for You!” “Limited-Time Event!” “Buy It Before It’s Gone”
Some retailers have even followed you home. Remember that Nordstrom, Sephora, or other online cart you left behind? That retailer is coaxing you to complete your purchase with an extra 15% off!
Sound familiar? Some people stay subscribed to retail emails out of inertia, or sheer laziness. Others see retail emails as a way to stay up-to-date with the latest deals and trends.
But what if I told you that simply unsubscribing from all your emails could not only save you money, but also change the way you shop? Here are 5 reasons you must unsubscribe from ALL retail emails.
1. Retail emails are tempting.
Even the most seasoned frugal shopper among us has temptations. Marketers are professionals, and they know how to get our consumer-juices flowing.
A surefire way to eliminate a source of temptation is to unsubscribe from their marketing. Because that is what retail emails are: marketing, addressed to you, straight to your inbox.
2. Retail emails cause clutter, which skews your decision-making.
A cluttered mind, home, and inbox can lead you to make rash decisions that aren’t in your best-interests. In the same way that a cluttered closet causes you forget what you already have, an inbox cluttered with retail emails causes you to wonder, baselessly, what else you are “missing.”
When your inbox is filled with unread emails from retailers, your mind can become scattered and unfocused. And without focus, you may find yourself clicking through retail emails and shopping. Eliminate the clutter and focus on your recovery.
3. Retail emails create a false sense of urgency and scarcity.
Retail emails prey on human weaknesses, especially weaknesses of those already prone to shopping addiction or terrible spending habits. One way this happens is through a false sense of urgency or scarcity.
Have you ever found yourself perfectly content, only to open up your email and notice that a HUGE sale is about to END TONIGHT, and you’ll MISS all the great DEALS? If this has ever been you, then you’ve fallen prey to the trap—and you must unsubscribe.
4. Retail emails offer “incentives” to get you to spend more money.
Did you know that when you buy something that’s 20% off, you’re not really saving money? Instead, you are spending, for instance, $80 for a $100 item, when you could have spent $0 by not shopping at all.
I know that sounds obvious, but it’s an important fact to keep in mind when a huge sale email hits your inbox. Because sometimes, when faced with that type of impulse, your rational mind can fall by the wayside. Trust me, I get it.
Think back to when your spending was at its worst. Did you ever justify your habits to yourself by saying, “It was on sale”?
Retailers understand this, so when they flood your inbox with sales and “deals,” they understand they are offering a little “gift”—sometimes literally, a “gift with purchase”—to incentivize you to buy.
Don’t fall for it. A sale is not an excuse to shop. Hit unsubscribe.
5. Retail emails prey on your need for self-care.
Lately, with mental health awareness on the rise (thankfully), and a growing understanding of the need for self-care, marketers have harnessed language meant for self-preservation in order to sell you garbage.
Now more than ever, retail emails harness language like: “Treat yourself!” “Self-care skincare!” “Do something nice for yourself!” At its core, it is exploitative–and it works.
Yet there is nothing more detrimental to your longterm self-care than mindlessly shopping and spending after being driven to do so by a beautifully crafted email, written by an expert marketer at your favorite retailer, after a long day. If you didn’t have those emails clouding your thinking, you could be more mindful if and when you decide to make purchases.
Ultimately, the best thing you can do for your self-care and your wallet is to hit unsubscribe, for the 5 reasons stated above. Once you do, a huge source of temptation will be removed, and you will notice your shopping decreasing, and your savings increasing.
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