I Stopped the Amazon Overspending Spiral With This Simple System

I need to be honest about something embarrassing. Last year I spent $3,847 on Amazon.

I didn’t realize the number until I looked at my year-end spending report, and I genuinely felt sick. That’s not including subscriptions or groceries. That’s just… stuff. Random stuff I “needed” at 11 PM while scrolling in bed.

The worst part? I couldn’t even tell you what half of it was. Drawer organizers I never used. Kitchen gadgets that seemed genius at midnight but useless in daylight. Three different types of cleaning products because I kept forgetting what I already owned.

I told myself I was being practical. I was buying things we needed. I was saving money with Prime shipping. But really? I was just addicted to the dopamine hit of clicking “Buy Now” and seeing that package arrive two days later.

The breaking point came when my husband opened the hall closet and an avalanche of Amazon boxes fell on him. Not empty boxes I’d forgotten to break down. FULL boxes of stuff I’d ordered and never even opened.

Something had to change. But every time I tried to “just stop shopping on Amazon,” I’d make it like four days before ordering something else. Clearly willpower alone wasn’t gonna cut it.

The Budget Planner I Actually Use

I’ve tried budgeting approximately 47 times in my adult life. Spreadsheets that were too complicated. Apps that required too much data entry. Envelope systems that felt restrictive and made me want to rebel.

Then I found this budget planner and it’s the first one I’ve stuck with for more than two weeks.

Here’s why it works for me: it’s PAPER. Not an app I can close and forget about. Not a spreadsheet buried on my computer. A physical book that sits on my kitchen counter where I see it every single day.

It’s got monthly budget pages where I write down how much I plan to spend in each category. Then weekly expense trackers where I write down what I ACTUALLY spent. Seeing those numbers side by side? That hit different.

The first month I used it, I budgeted $150 for “household items” (which was my category for random Amazon stuff). I spent $340. Seeing that written out, in my own handwriting, made it real in a way my credit card statement never did.

Month two I tried again. Budgeted $150, spent $280. Still over, but improving.

By month four I was actually hitting my budget. Not perfectly, but close enough that I wasn’t hemorrhaging money on impulse purchases anymore.

The planner also has sections for tracking savings goals and debt payoff, which I thought I wouldn’t use but actually did. Turns out when you stop spending $200 a month on random Amazon crap, you have money to put toward other things. Wild concept.

If you’re struggling with budgeting in general, I wrote about the brutally honest budget that finally worked after I failed at it about 12 times. The budget planner is part of that system.

The Shopping List That Saved Me From Myself

The biggest problem with Amazon is how easy it is to buy things you don’t actually need. You’re browsing for batteries and somehow end up with $87 worth of stuff in your cart that you didn’t even know existed five minutes ago.

I needed a barrier between “oh that’s cool” and clicking buy. So I started using this reusable shopping list that hangs on my fridge.

The rule is simple: if I think I need something, it goes on the list. It sits there for at least a week before I’m allowed to buy it. If I still need it a week later, fine. But 90% of the time? I completely forget what I even wrote down.

Turns out most of my Amazon purchases were impulse buys that I wouldn’t remember wanting three days later. The waiting period killed the urgency, and the urgency was driving most of my spending.

The magnetic part is key because it’s stuck to my fridge where I can’t ignore it. When I’m making my grocery list or planning meals, I see it. When something breaks or we run out of something, I add it right there instead of immediately pulling up Amazon.

My husband adds to it too, which has been helpful. We both see what’s on the list and can have actual conversations about whether we need things. “Do we really need a new can opener or can we just wash the old one?” Turns out we could just wash the old one.

This ties into the grocery strategy that cuts my bill by 30%, which uses a similar principle: planning ahead instead of shopping on impulse.

I Had to Delete the App From My Phone

This sounds extreme, and maybe it is, but I deleted the Amazon app.

I realized I was shopping on Amazon the way other people scroll social media. Bored? Open Amazon. Waiting in line? Browse Amazon. Can’t sleep? Scroll through Amazon recommendations at midnight.

That midnight browsing was EXPENSIVE. My judgment at 11 PM is terrible. Everything seems like a good idea when I’m tired and my brain’s resistance is low.

So I deleted the app. I can still access Amazon through my browser if I actually need something, but it’s just inconvenient enough that I don’t do it mindlessly anymore.

The first week without it felt weird. I kept reaching for my phone during boring moments and realizing my go-to scroll option was gone. But then I started reading actual books again. Wild.

I also realized how much of my Amazon shopping was just… entertainment. I wasn’t buying things I needed. I was shopping for the dopamine hit of buying something new. Deleting the app removed that easy access to retail therapy.

The One-In-One-Out Rule Changed Everything

Even with the budget planner and the shopping list, I was still accumulating stuff. Not as fast as before, but still enough that my house felt cluttered.

I made a new rule: for every one item that comes in, one item has to go out. Buy a new shirt? Donate an old one. Buy new kitchen gadget? Get rid of one I don’t use.

This forced me to actually think about whether I had space for new things. Physical space, yes, but also mental space. Did I really want to own another thing that needed to be stored, maintained, cleaned, organized?

Usually the answer was no.

This rule also made me face how much stuff I already owned that I never used. That garlic press I bought two years ago and used exactly once? Yeah, I don’t need another single-use kitchen tool.

I wrote about this process in the day I got sick of tripping over stuff and finally took back my small space. The one-in-one-out rule was a big part of that shift.

What I Learned About Why I Was Overspending

Here’s the uncomfortable truth I had to face: I was using Amazon shopping to avoid dealing with other stuff.

Stressed about work? Buy something. Frustrated with parenting? Buy something. Bored? Buy something. It was easier to get a quick hit of happiness from a package arriving than to actually address the underlying issues.

I also realized I was comparing myself to people on Instagram and Pinterest who seemed to have perfect homes full of beautiful things. So I kept buying stuff thinking it would make my life look like theirs.

Spoiler alert: it didn’t. It just made my life more cluttered and my bank account smaller.

I had to get honest about what I was trying to solve by shopping. And then find healthier (and cheaper) ways to address those actual needs.

Stressed? I started using the evening routine that saved my sanity instead of shopping to decompress.

Bored? I picked up hobbies again. Started reading. Started cooking more intentionally instead of ordering convenience foods.

Wanting my house to look Pinterest-perfect? I had to let that go. My house is lived in and a little messy, and that’s fine.

The Questions I Ask Before Every Purchase Now

I made a list of questions I have to answer before buying anything over $20:

Do I need this or want this? (Wanting is fine, but I need to be honest about it.)

Where will I store it?

What problem does this solve?

Do I already own something that does this job?

Can I borrow this from someone instead of buying it?

Will I still want this in a week?

These questions sound simple, but they’ve stopped SO many impulse purchases. Usually by question three I realize I don’t actually need the thing.

I keep these questions in my budget planner so I see them every time I’m tempted to buy something.

The Subscriptions I Cancelled

Part of my Amazon overspending was subscriptions I’d forgotten about. Subscribe & Save for things I no longer needed. Kindle Unlimited that I wasn’t using. Audible credits piling up unread.

I went through and cancelled everything I wasn’t actively using. Turns out I was spending about $60 a month on subscriptions I’d completely forgotten existed.

That $60 a month is $720 a year. For NOTHING. For services I wasn’t even using.

Now I check my subscriptions every month when I do my budget. If I didn’t use it in the past month, I cancel it. No guilt, no “but I might use it later.” If I need it later, I can resubscribe.

How My Relationship With Stuff Changed

Cutting my Amazon spending wasn’t really about Amazon. It was about changing how I thought about buying stuff in general.

I used to think acquiring things would make me happy. New organization systems would make me organized. New kitchen gadgets would make me a better cook. New clothes would make me more put-together.

But none of that was true. I stayed disorganized despite buying organizing products. I stayed a mediocre cook despite owning every gadget. Buying stuff didn’t change who I was or solve my actual problems.

What DID help was systems and routines. The 5-minute kitchen reset does more for my organization than any product I’ve bought. The daily cleaning schedule that actually works keeps my house cleaner than any expensive cleaning product.

Turns out behavior change beats buying things every time.

What I Still Buy on Amazon

I’m not anti-Amazon. I still use it. But intentionally now.

I buy things we actually need after they’ve sat on the list for a week. Things like batteries, specific replacement parts, books I actually want to read.

I comparison shop first instead of just assuming Amazon has the best price. Sometimes Target is cheaper. Sometimes buying direct from the manufacturer is better.

I bundle orders instead of ordering every single thing the moment I think of it. This reduces packaging waste and also gives me more time to reconsider whether I really need things.

And I use the budget planner to track every single purchase so I know exactly where my money is going.

The Money I’ve Saved

In the six months since I started this system, I’ve spent about $850 on Amazon instead of my previous $1,900+ in the same time period.

That’s over $1,000 saved. From just… not buying random stuff I didn’t need.

I’ve put that extra money toward actually paying down debt, which feels infinitely better than owning more stuff I don’t use. I wrote about this in my brutally honest budget, but seeing debt decrease is way more satisfying than getting packages in the mail.

What I’d Tell My Past Self

Stop trying to buy your way to a better life. The things you need to change require behavior, not products.

Get the budget planner earlier. Like, years earlier. Seeing your spending in writing is powerful.

Delete the app. Seriously. The inconvenience is the point.

Face why you’re shopping. It’s probably not about the stuff.

And give yourself grace. You’re not bad with money, you just need better systems.

The Bigger Picture About Consumption

We live in a culture that constantly tells us buying things will solve our problems. Better organization? Buy organizers. Better health? Buy supplements. Better life? Buy, buy, buy.

But most of our problems don’t have shopping solutions. They have behavior solutions. Systems solutions. Routine solutions.

Learning this has saved me money, sure. But it’s also made me happier. My house is less cluttered. I feel more in control. I’m not waiting for packages to feel okay.

If you’re struggling with overspending, start with one thing. Just one. The budget planner. The shopping list. Deleting the app. Find your starting point.

And remember that changing your relationship with money and shopping is a process, not an event. I still have moments where I want to impulse buy. But now I have systems in place to catch myself before I do.

The Amazon packages still arrive occasionally. But now they contain things I actually need instead of things I thought I wanted at midnight.

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