5 Things This Former Shopaholic Isn't Buying in 2026
Financial guru Christina Mychas used to have a six-figure debt, but she paid it off and has now established herself as a successful YouTuber. Even though she is much better with her finances now, the former shopaholic still looks for ways to save money. These are some of the expenses she is cutting back on this year.
Online Shopping
Mychas spoke in one of her YouTube videos about how she is scaling back on online shopping. She is no longer buying non-essential products online, and that forces her to visit in-person locations if she wants to buy clothing, makeup, or other non-essentials. She only does online shopping for essential products and avoids online shopping and scrolling in the mornings.
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"Online shopping creates this opportunity for me to buy more things than I really should have," she said in the video.
It's much easier to buy a product from your home than it is to drive to your local store. Getting out of your house just to buy a non-essential item takes a lot of work. It also requires far more thought than buying something with one click, and that has helped Mychas further reduce her spending.
Lazy Takeout
Mychas doesn't believe in avoiding takeout entirely. She's a fan of buying takeout on Friday nights after a long week of work, but it's better to make your own food most of the time. She mentioned that takeout food doesn't align with her fitness goals, since you can eat healthier food if you make it yourself with whole ingredients.
The financial guru also expects takeout food to get more expensive with time. The quicker you can ditch this bad spending habit, the more money you will save in the long run, especially as costs go up.
Backups
Many people buy backup products so they are ready to go when the current product expires. Makeup, toothpaste, and hair conditioner are some of the products people buy in bulk so they never run out of the product. However, Mychas is against buying backup products and says she won't do it this year.
"Having so many backups creates a backlog," she said. She believes that you shouldn't buy something unless you need to replace it now. Only getting things when you need them reduces the amount of clutter in your home and lets you save more money.
New Items
It's not always possible to avoid buying new items. You will want new toothpaste instead of a secondhand source. However, Mychas defaults to secondhand first when it comes to items like clothing. Secondhand items are a lot cheaper, especially if you expand this category to used cars. When it comes to clothing, Mychas asserts that you can find unique styles and cooler products if you look at secondhand items.
However, she also warned against buying duplicates instead of the original item. While she is a fan of secondhand products, duplicates of expensive products usually aren't as good. She has ended up buying the original product after initially settling for the second-best option, resulting in extra expenses and clutter.
Buying Products at Full Price
Mychas doesn't just eliminate spending categories. She also opts against buying products at full price when possible, especially for non-essential items. She prefers to wait until a discretionary product she wants is available for sale.
Businesses run discounts for all types of holidays. Black Friday, spring break, and 4th of July discounts are some of the opportunities that result in lower prices. As you shop with a brand more often, it gets easier to tell when that company will run deals. For instance, Amazon always does its multi-day Prime Day event in July, which results in substantial discounts across various product categories. Waiting for these types of discounts to buy products saves money and enforces delayed gratification.
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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