Welcome to reThinkable - my Sunday newsletter where I share actionable money tips, strategies, and resources to help you make smarter money moves.

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Hey friend,

Things have to change.

If everyone on Earth lived like the average American, we’d need 5 planets to sustain it.

There’s no way our planet could handle all the Stanley cups, TikTok trinket trends, fast-fashion hauls, and takeout containers we’ve come to treat as normal.

That just goes to show how much money we spend on things we don’t really need.

I like to think I’m pretty mindful about consumption. I didn’t grow up with money, so I’ve always been careful. But moving recently proved me wrong.

As I packed up my apartment, I found clothes I forgot I owned, trinkets from trips, and enough stray chargers and cords to wire a small office.

Beyond being bad for the planet, all this consumption quietly drains your wallet too.

The economy today runs on frictionless buying. One click brings anything to your door before your brain even registers what you’re doing. You can even finance your impulse hauls and late-night burrito orders with Buy Now, Pay Later plans. Monthly BNPL spending jumped 21% year-over-year, and nearly half of users paid late in the past year.

Overconsumption has become so normal that the average American household owns 300,000 items— like old phones in drawers, clothes worn once, mugs, and plastic toys. You know, stuff that will eventually end up in a landfill. And all those “little” purchases add up: Americans spend about $18,000 a year on non-essentials.

That’s why today I want to share a few strategies I’ve been using to buy less, save more, and do my small part for the planet.

5 tips for mindful consumption

The opposite of overconsumption is mindful consumption: being honest about what you’ll actually use and what you won’t.

Here are 5 small ways I’m practicing it in my life.

1. Add friction to spending

Big corporations spend millions making buying effortless. The less time you have to think, the more you spend. One study found that shoppers who enabled one-click purchasing increased their spending by 28.5% on average.

Make it harder to act on impulse. Turn off one-click buying on sites like Amazon, remove your cards from Apple Pay, and delete saved payment info from your browser. If you have to dig out your card and type the numbers, you give your brain time to catch up with your spending.

2. Audit your environment

Most mindless spending starts with exposure—a flash-sale email, a targeted ad in your feed, or someone online showing off something that you “need” (even though you found out about it 1 minute ago). 

The best thing you can do to avoid falling into this trap is to limit your exposure. Unsubscribe from promo emails, unfollow influencers and brands that constantly push products, and mute or hide ads whenever you can. The fewer buying cues you’re exposed to, the less you’ll buy.

3. Participate in a low-buy or no buy challenge

If you’ve been wanting to buy less, turn it into a challenge. Low-buy and no-buy challenges have become popular online and can help provide some structure.

It’s simple: pick a time frame and make your own rules. Maybe it’s 6 months of no new clothes, secondhand only. Or no impulse Amazon buys until January.

There are communities on Reddit where you can find some ideas & support like r/nobuy or r/Zerowaste.

4. Declutter

Take an afternoon to go through your stuff and be honest about what you actually use. Set aside things you can donate, recycle, or safely dispose of.

If you haven’t used something in a year, that’s a pretty good sign it’s time to let it go.

Decluttering is about being mindful about what you actually need. A cleaner space helps you see what you already have and quiets that constant urge to buy more.

5. Reuse & Fix

One of the biggest culture shocks I’ve had traveling through Asia and Latin America is how much people actually fix things. You’ll see phone repair shops, cobblers fixing shoes, tailors mending clothes. The first instinct isn’t to throw something away, it’s to make it work again.

In the U.S., that can be harder, but it’s still worth trying. Before replacing something, check if it can be repaired, traded in, or repurposed. Many brands offer take-back or repair programs like Apple, Patagonia, and REI. And if it really can’t be fixed, look for ways to donate or recycle it properly.

The point is to pause before replacing. Sometimes a small repair can save you money—and keep one more thing out of the landfill.

Mindful consumption is all about being aware and thinking through your decisions. 

You’ll still buy things. We all will. But if you can slow down long enough to ask, “Do I really need this?”, you start to take back control.

To making smarter money moves,

— Vincent Chan

Cool things from this week

• Smart money tip of the week: Avoid falling for this at all costs.

• If you DO have to buy something, always double check if there are "cashback" opportunities. Cashback is like always getting a discount. You buy stuff you were going to buy anyway, and you get money back. That's why I've been using ​Rakuten for years now​ for my online shopping and right now, they have a limited time promo where if you spend $50, you get $50 cashback, so basically free money. If you want a quick tutorial on how to do this, reply to this email "Cashback."

• I just discovered ​Buffalo Ranch Popcorn​ from Trader Joes and it is one of my new favorite popcorn flavors (sorry, caramel). The only downside is it's pretty high in saturated fat for popcorn.

Vincent Chan

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