Yes, you’ve read it right and no, I have not lost my mind. I believe that you can curb your spending with Pinterest.
If you’ve been reading this blog for some time now, you know then that I am a shopper and a spender. Because of my shopping and spending habits, I stayed away from Pinterest as long as I could. I viewed it as a huge temptation, a Pandora’s box that once opened will drag me into a constant spending binge.
However, a few weeks ago, my own curiosity overpowered me, I succumbed to it, and signed up for Pinterest.
What is Pinterest?
Pinterest is a visual online pin board where you attach things, images, sayings and anything else that interests, amuses and entertains you. People share their own obsessions with each other. When you browse the web and see something interesting, you can share it on Pinterest with others.
Feeling voyeuristic? Then this social network, which is based on visual pleasures, might be for you.
You create your own boards, name them the way you like, and go searching for stuff to pin to your boards. Interested in cooking? Create a recipe board. Interested in crocheting? Create a crochet board. Interested in bikes? Create a bike board. You can create a board for anything you want. The possibilities are limitless.
Imagine your own online magazine that is dedicated to a certain purpose or interest. I, for example, have a house decor, photography, art, and travel boards.
No Mindless Spending with Pinterest
If you know me, you wouldn’t be surprised to find out that I also have two fashion related boards. However, you might be surprised to find out that Pinterest has not compelled me to spend more or go on endless shopping trips.
If anything, Pinterest curbed my desire to spend mindlessly and without a purpose.
Browsing Pinterest and pinning stuff to my boards made me more deliberate and focused on my style. I noticed that I don’t pin everything and anything that comes my way. I look, choose and evaluate. I pin only those pieces of fashion, art, house decor and photography that I really like.
Gradually my spending is becoming more deliberate and focused as well. Instead of focusing on sales, and ways to save money, now I primarily focus on my style and my goals. Then I start planning what I really want to see in my wardrobe. So far I did not buy anything. I am still building my imaginary closet.
Pinterest as a Retail Therapy Substitution
When do you go shopping to malls? I go when I am tired, stressed, happy, overjoyed, depressed, angry and, in general, when I am bored and have free time on my hands. I can be shopping any day, any time. Very often I go to the mall when I am in a bad mood. Retail therapy anyone? I think most of us have done it.
Shopping does improve my mood temporarily. It makes me feel almost happy. Temporarily. Retail therapy never has a lasting affect on me, and when its short-lived the results fade away, I go through buyer’s remorse. It is a never-ending cycle.
Unexpectedly for me, Pinterest became a substitute for retail therapy. It gives me the same feeling of satisfaction from finding an interesting piece of fashion or jewelry as actual shopping. Instead of spending my paycheck, I pin an image to one of my boards for further consideration. It might not be as satisfying as the actual act of shopping, but at least I am not spending money.
If you are like me, an emotional and impulse shopper, try browsing Pinterest. You might be surprised what it does for you.
There has been a lot of discussion around pinterest and it’s fostering of bad spending habits but I haven’t had any issue with it. I could see myself overspending on home decor in the future though because of all the pretty things on there!
I couldn’t figure out how to make Pinterest work. I’ll have to try again soon. I think this site would do very well with Pinterest. Do you get any traffic from there?
No, no traffic. But I use Pinterest for visual pleasures not for traffic generation. 🙂
I definitely agree. I have spent a lot of clever t-shirts in the past, and just pinning the designs to Pinterest helps me to share those designs I enjoy without having to pay (although, it’s worth noting that this mindset arguably keeps money out of the hands of the creators of the work that I enjoy, which will probably make for less of the work I enjoy in the future … hmm, maybe I need to rethink my mindset).
You got me confused there a little – is it a good thing or not?
Therapy through Pinterest? Now that’s a first!
Hahahaha! Some had to say it. Why not me?! 🙂
I absolutely love getting recipes off pinterest. It seems the best of the best dessert recipes are on pinterest.
I have a huge sweet tooth and for that reason I am staying away from desserts. I look at them, but I try to skim over them. They make me crave sweets and sugar. Not good!
Pinterest does have some pretty great ideas for how to save that dollar as well, it’s true. I for one don’t even think about shopping unless I’m on sites like that, though…so I have to be careful. No drinking and pinning…lol
Drinking and pinning would result in shopping and spending. 🙂
Cute logo btw!
I love Pinterest. Hopefully one day I can be as creative as others!
Love your new header.
You have your own blog. You are creative already!
I like Pinterest, although it does seem like some people only want to clean and eat “skinny” food.
What? What do you see there? I see desserts all the time. No skinny foods. 🙂 Maybe I am looking in the wrong place.
I have intentionally stayed away from Pinterest because I tend to find social networking sites like that addictive. That said, I like your idea of thinking of it as a virtual shopping trip!
So far it is wokring. I look around, I choose, I feel like shopping. 🙂
My wife is obsessed with Pinterest so it better not lead to bad spending habits 🙂
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Interesting! I recently wrote about how addictive Pinterest was, but I hadn’t thought of it as a money-saving tool in this way. I totally see what you mean, though. I also think it helps me consider whether to purchase something that I could obviously make myself with the right tutorial…it’s prevented me from buying countless picture frames and organizational items because I can envision myself finding a perfect Pinterest tutorial to create a similar item from reclaimed or inexpensive materials. So, I suppose it saves me money in more than one way! 😉