Shadowing Practice: How to Stop Wanting to Buy New Things | Minimalism - Learn English Speaking with Video

One video I made a while ago was how to stop wanting to buy things.

And I wanted to sort of revisit this idea, but specifically talk about upgrading, replacing, and just buying things we don't necessarily need.

This list will basically be a few things I wish I knew

when I first got into minimalism and frugal living and how they were and frankly still are, keeping me from bringing new things into my life,

and spending where I don't need to.

But first, if you're new to my channel, thank you for stopping by.

Here we talk about minimalism, frugal living, tech, and things of that nature.

So if that sounds good to you, and you end up liking the video, Be sure to like and please emote on the subscribe button, Let's get started.

The first tip I have here is stop browsing for fun.

This was something that was easy for me to dismiss because I didn't realize how much I actually did it.

I remember just casually browsing on Amazon or the Nintendo eShop to see what was on sale.

And once in a while, I would come across something that wasn't even on my radar for purchase, and I had zero desire for when I opened up that shop.

but whether it was just a really good deal or something I was convinced would bring me some temporary joy, it was enough for me to sometimes buy it.

I had a moment of clarity during one of these sessions, and I really just asked myself why I was even browsing on one of these places in the first place.

Shopping seemingly seems to be disguised, or not even disguised, as a hobby these days.

So once I realized that all these websites and places

that want me to spend were literally designed to be fun and make spending more enjoyable,

ultimately I learned that browsing for new things and shopping for fun really just isn't that fun.

Bye.

Remember that wanting things is often about emotion, not usefulness.

And when I say emotion, in my experience, it's usually about coping with some sort of boredom or stress.

Boredom creates fake problems that spending feels like it might be able to solve

and stress feels like it can be temporarily numbed by buying something that might spark a moment of joy for me.

I needed to learn

that obtaining new things really wasn't a good way to deal with any sort of emotional problem I might have been facing.

What it took for me to personally turn this around was just to simply separate my wants versus needs, and making sure pretty much any decision emotionally wasn't really a good idea.

You know, it's been a while since I had a random intermission in a video and just thank you guys for watching.

And I feel like it's way overdue, so...

Thank you guys for watching.

Let's get back to it.

Reuse your favorite things intentionally.

This is a point I'm actually really excited to talk about

because revisiting my favorite things a few times a week or even

if it's just a couple times throughout the year has in some cases felt like I'm rediscovering them all over again.

This basically applies to anything that I own from games to clothes to tools for work.

But I think a key part of this was realizing that the novelty of new things fades pretty quickly.

and that getting more time and use out of my favorite things only deepens my appreciation for them.

Part of this appreciation comes from when I discovered Wabi Sabi, which is a philosophy that embraces imperfection and wear.

That taught me to love stains or tears that accumulate on my clothes or backpack.

to the dents or scratches on some of the other things that I use daily.

It really just makes me feel like I'm getting my money's worth when my favorite things are getting used more intentionally, and it makes me appreciate them a lot more.

Remember that novelty fades fast.

I kind of just brushed over this, but let me elaborate for a minute.

I think this applies more to spontaneous or impulse purchases, but I'm sure we've all had scenarios where we purchase something and the novelty or excitement fades rather quickly.

That in itself kept me in a loop of buying things, always chasing for that short -term excitement and that would lead to basically instantaneous buyer's remorse.

When I think about all my favorite things that I use often, all of those items had a lot of thought and even waiting periods behind them.

And that helped me make sure I wasn't making this purchase for the short -lived excitement or novelty.

Moving forward, I recommend just paying a little bit more attention to purchases to see if they actually have intentionality behind them.

Create a routine that doesn't revolve around consumption.

This one can be pretty simple or complicated depending on your current routines.

What I mean by that is that I, over the years, curated a routine that ultimately avoids constant spending and always wanting to buy things.

i know for me i was always most vulnerable and spending prone

when i had no hobbies or projects going on during those periods of my life

and it's pretty easy to be convinced that having any sort of fun

or beginning any hobby requires some spending to just get started And to be fair, to a certain degree it might.

I've talked dozens of times about free things or nearly free things to do,

but this point is more about trying to reduce or eliminate the triggers in your routine that lead to consumption.

Whether that's eating every day at a restaurant, or going all in on gear when you're just trying out the new hobby or activity.

Things like walking, reading, drawing, cozy gaming, cooking, exercising, listening to music, or just organizing your space,

these create satisfaction without feeding those consumer cravings.

Realize that owning fewer makes your favorites stand out more.

To me, this is one of the unmatched best things that came out of decluttering and becoming a minimalist.

One important thing decluttering taught me was that owning fewer things magnifies how much I like or appreciate something.

This might also just be a problem with my attention span, but when I was buying new and more things,

it just felt like my attention was being constantly divided amongst these new things.

And I hypothesized that one of the reasons I felt like this is

because my current things never got the chance to feel important or useful for me.

I really think a good way to look at this is

to think about before we were adults who had jobs and spending money, and maybe we were just more open to using things we already had

because we couldn't just drive somewhere and buy a new item.

But getting back on track, when I initially decluttered my life, I learned that for the most part, all my most important items can fit into a backpack.

And when I didn't have to focus on excess items, I could just focus on the most important ones.

This would absolutely keep me from wanting to buy new things because I simply wouldn't even be thinking about it anymore.

I would be happy with the essential few I was surrounded by and my favorites.

These were just a few tips on how I pretty much eliminated the urge to constantly want to buy new things, and I hope you gathered some value from this video.

Let me know if anything specific resonated with you, or if you have some of your own tips to share.

Anyways, as always, I appreciate the time you spent here, and I appreciate you watching.

If you did like this video and you like this type of content, be sure to like and consider subscribing to my channel.

and I'll see you next time.

📺 Same Channel

iPad mini 4 Years Later as a Minimalist | Digital Minimalism

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

6 Things I Wish I Stopped Buying Years Ago | Frugal Living

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students

✨ Recommend Video

190 sentences

Why practice speaking with this video?

This video offers valuable insights into minimalism and frugality, making it a great resource for english speaking practice. By focusing on real-life themes such as consumer habits and emotional spending, you can engage in meaningful conversations while honing your language skills. The speaker's relatable stories provide excellent context for practicing your speech, allowing you to emulate his tone and pacing through the shadowing technique. Additionally, discussing the topics covered can enhance your ability to express personal opinions, an essential skill for IELTS speaking practice. Overall, engaging with this content not only enriches your vocabulary but also builds confidence in speaking about increasingly relevant social issues.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

The speaker uses various grammatical structures and expressions that are beneficial for language learners:

“Stop browsing for fun.” - This imperative structure is effective for giving commands or making recommendations.
“Wanting things is often about emotion, not usefulness.” - This declaration utilizes a contrast to emphasize a point while also introducing new vocabulary related to emotions and decision-making.
“Revisit my favorite things intentionally.” - The adverb “intentionally” highlights the importance of purpose, enriching your ability to articulate decisions in conversations.
“The novelty of new things fades quickly.” - This phrase is useful for expressing the ephemeral nature of excitement and can help learners discuss similar concepts.
“Create a routine that doesn't revolve around consumption.” - This complex structure encourages discussing personal habits and lifestyle choices.

Transcribing and practicing these expressions will aid in mastering common constructions, pivotal for everyday conversations and examinations alike.

Common Pronunciation Traps

Certain words and phrases in the video might pose pronunciation challenges, especially for English learners:

“Browsing” - Ensure clarity on the "ow" sound, as mispronunciation could lead to misunderstandings.
“Emotional” - Pay attention to the stress on the second syllable, a common point of confusion.
“Intentional” - This word can be tricky due to the stress pattern and vowel sounds; practice it in your shadow speech.
“Novelty” - Focus on the "v" and "t" sounds, which can be easily overlooked.

Utilizing these identified words in your own sentences, and practicing with the shadowspeaks method, will enhance your overall pronunciation and fluency. Listening closely to the speaker and repeating the phrases will help solidify correct pronunciation, a critical element for effective communication.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	it's been · I've talked
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	be disguised · was surrounded

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: How to Stop Wanting to Buy New Things | Minimalism - Learn English Speaking with Video

iPad mini 4 Years Later as a Minimalist | Digital Minimalism

6 Things I Wish I Stopped Buying Years Ago | Frugal Living

How I Stopped Impulse Buying For Good

Why WANT something when you already HAVE EVERYTHING?

The Buy Nothing Rebellion is Growing... No More CRAP

Unfortunately, YouTube Really Is This Simple

9 Investments for Better Learning

how to make every day SO fun you don’t even have time to scroll

8 Minimalist Habits That ACTUALLY Work (even if you're not a minimalist)

Thinking of Quitting Coding? Watch This First

The Incredible Practice of Focusing on What You Really Want

Don't sleep on the "no buy" trend

Signs upgrading will make your life worse

8 Things I Did to Stop Wasting My Evenings After Work

Why practice speaking with this video?

Grammar & Expressions in Context

Common Pronunciation Traps

Grammar in this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?