The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, and Discovered Life is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy in a Store

kept so many things, and consumed the wrong things, all because I never felt like I was good enough. I wasn’t smart enough or professional enough or talented enough or creative enough. I didn’t trust that who I was or what I brought to the table in any situation was already unique, so I bought things that could make me better.

I wanted to be surrounded by those who valued living over working, spending time outdoors over spending time online, and doing things for themselves over paying for every possible convenience.

I realized I had spent the first 29 years of my life doing and buying whatever I could to be someone I thought I should be.

At the end of the day, remember this: The success of your shopping ban will depend on the stories you tell yourself throughout it. If you think it’s hard, you run a higher risk of quitting and even binge-shopping after. But if you appreciate what you have and actually use what you buy, the results could be life-changing.

I’d catch myself dancing in the kitchen as I waited for my coffee to brew. I sat a little taller at my desk, while I worked to cross off every last task from my to-do list. With my shoulders back, I took deeper breaths that filled my lungs and my body with hope. The end was near and I could finally breathe again.

However, I decided to also set a stretch goal for myself. Stretch goals were something I had first learned about through reading personal finance blogs. People set them to challenge themselves to accomplish something even faster than they thought they could—by stretching their limits, so to speak. I had set stretch goals to pay off my debt sooner.

Every purchase I make is carefully considered, not done on impulse.

compulsive shopper. I was a compulsive binge consumer of everything, really, including food and alcohol. I didn’t even know how to stop myself from binging on television for hours on end, something I wasted all the rest of my time in my 20s doing when I wasn’t out actually getting wasted.

Because I was only allowed to buy one new sweatshirt, as an example, it had to be the best. Not the best brand or the most expensive or the highest quality. It had to be the best for me.