By Helen Chevreau, Hub Staff

As millennials, we often feel pressured by both the media and our peers to look and act a certain way. It’s a general rule of thumb that if you’re in your twenties or thirties, you’ll feel the strain of wanting the newest and best something at least once. Many of us will crack under pressure and eventually purchase that new iPhone (even though our current one works fine), or that new pair of jeans (even though we already have a pair in that colour).

The thing about succumbing to these societal pressures, though, is that for the most part, at the end of the day, we don’t feel better about ourselves after making these big purchases. In fact, a lot of the time, it’s quite the opposite. We see the shiny new product and our first reaction is “I need this now.” We can convince ourselves the price is irrelevant, and that it will pay for itself, or that it’s a necessity. But how frequently is that true? Do we ever really need to bow to those pressures?

Stop, Drop, Don’t Shop

It seems there is a trend emerging in the financial millennial blogosphere wherein bloggers enact a “shopping ban.” The terms of the bans vary by site, but the general premise remains the same:  a new consumption philosophy rooted largely in the theory of not purchasing anything.

“Mrs. Frugalwoods” of the blog Frugalwoods, for instance, is well on her way to going three years clothes-purchasing-free. Continue Reading…