10 tips for shopping self-care
Black Friday I took my happy little anxiety-riddled tail out and braved the stores and I found myself running a checklist in my brain the entire time. I felt I should share it in the event it might benefit someone else. :)
Make a list - Go into your shopping experience with a set list of items to look for and knowledge of where to look. Wandering hither and yon through the winding aisles trying to make your decisions on the spot can ramp anxiety like nobody’s business. Once that list is resolved, then you can make the decision on whether to linger and browse, or to check out and preserve your sanity.
Know your budget - Don’t overspend more than you can afford, and have a plan in place to lessen financial burden if you do. Set yourself a budget that you can work with - such as ‘I will not buy more than $40 worth of comic books per store’ or ‘I will not spend more than $100 overall no matter the item list’ - and while you’re at it…
Establish a threshold - If its sales you’re after, check the non-sale base prices first, and then set a threshold for how much of a sale you’re willing to work with. Is the $200 TV you’re eying worth it if it’s 20% off its base price, or would you rather buy the $200 TV that’s 50% off base?
Limit your impulses - If you’re hindered by transportation or budget or even suffer from shopper’s impulse (buying anything in sight that has a sale tag, regardless of whether you need it), try bringing a fixed number of reusable bags, only as many as you can carry fully loaded by hand. Tell yourself, anything you buy must fit in those bags, or else don’t get it. It helps!
Plan your route - if your list takes you to multiple stores, make a route plan. Decide how many items are in each store, where the store is located in conjunction with the other stores, and how to get there with the least amount of traffic, parking hassles, and other transportation issues that might make nerves worse off. Don’t ping-pong all across town multiple times.
Manage your time - Know when your destinations are open, and if the sale is a ‘doorbuster’, the time limits. Prioritize your urgency. Is the doorbuster for the crock pot that lasts till noon worth getting up at 6am? It also helps to put a limit on how much time you spend looking for items in any given store. I myself mastered a 1-hour Black Friday Target run this year - 1 hour from in-the-door to into-the-line - by following all the above tips.
Remember to eat - consume something substantial but light before you begin a shopping trip, and if you plan to be out all day, bring snacks of a nature that you know will not upset your systems. Too much food will just make you sleepy, and too little food will make you cranky. You’ll feel better for it.
Hydrate the hell up - no, seriously, bring water. Bottle, sippy cup, in-store drinking fountain: use them well, use them wisely. Only thing worse than a hunger headache is a dehydration migraine.
Be polite - it takes 5 seconds to smile and say hello before making a request, or smile and say thank you, to the overworked and stressed storefolk that are allowing this madness to occur for your benefit. Speak softly and carry no sticks. I guarantee they will probably smile back and be more helpful.
Don’t panic - In most instances, anything you’re probably after is probably something you’ve been looking for quite a while, but were willing to wait for a lower price. Therefore, it is probably not vital to your continued existence (though you do want it very badly.) If the store is run out, or the sale is not enough of a deviation from the base price, or someone less composed than you is hoarding all the fleecy tees and hissing like a dragon, do not stress, do not yell, do not take your frustrations out on the storefolk. Try online, or check back later, or see if the price is matched somewhere else less dragon-infested. And if all this fails you, take a deep breath, and accept the situation. Wait for the next sale. It might even be a better deal.
I’m not saying that everyone can benefit from this list, but I hope for those it does, that it helps you survive the shopping experience this holiday season and mayhap even for all types of shopping excursions as well. (the bag limit works great for anti-impulsing groceries in my experience.)
