How to Align Your Spending with Your Values

Buyer's remorse, bye!

If you’ve ever caught yourself mindlessly adding items to your cart, one-click ordering from businesses you don’t actually believe in or want to support, or just feeling disconnected from where your money is going—this one’s for you.

In a world where recreational shopping and impulse buying have been normalized, it’s easy to find yourself one-click ordering the latest overhyped trend, but with a little intentionality and mindfulness, you can shift your spending habits to better reflect your values.

Here’s how:

Photography: Vivian Johnson for LifeStyled

Step One: Identify What You DON’T Want to Spend On

Grab a notebook (or your Notes app) and make a list of goods or services that you do not want to invest in. This could include purchases that haven’t added real value to your life, impulse buys, trendy items that quickly lost their appeal, or subscriptions you barely use.

Here’s my short list:

✔ Facebook or Instagram ads
✔ Anything made of plastic or synthetic materials
✔ New cars (just not a car person)
✔ Amazon Prime panic purchases (because waiting two days is actually fine)
✔ Yet another white blouse (at this point, I could open a store)
✔ The latest, greatest tech upgrade

Now, it’s your turn! What’s on your do-not-buy list?

Step Two: Decide What You DO Want to Invest In

Instead of letting your money slip away on things that don’t matter to you, create a values-aligned spending plan. What goods and services do you want to invest in on purpose? What values do you want to support with your spending?

Here’s my short list:

✔ Travel - for curiosity, growth, and a deeper understanding of the world
✔ Restaurants - eating out with friends and family is one of my greatest pleasures
✔ Philanthropy - supporting organizations that make a meaningful impact
✔ Health & Wellness - fitness, yoga, and nourishing food to feel my best
✔ Personal Development - books, courses, and coaching
✔ Interior and Personal Style - investing in timeless, high-quality pieces that elevate my home and wardrobe

Now, make your own list. What spending feels aligned with the life you want to live?

Step Three: Decide WHERE You Want to Invest (and Divest)

Where you spend is just as important as what you spend on. Some ideas to consider if you’re tired of making a handful of white, male, billionaires richer:

✔ Local & Independent Businesses
✔ Sustainable & Ethical Brands
✔ Women-Owned Brands
✔ BIPOC-Owned Businesses
✔ LGBTQ+-Owned Businesses

We have the power to shape the world with every dollar we spend. When we choose to support businesses that align with our values, we create real change. Even small shifts, made collectively, can spark a massive impact.

Step Four: Make a Plan

It’s easy to default to old habits, so set up systems that make mindful spending effortless. Here are a few simple ways to set yourself up for success:

✔ Stock Up on Thoughtful Gifts – Keep a small stash of versatile, well-chosen gifts on hand so can avoid the last minute panic shopping. This makes gifting more intentional, less stressful, and gives you the chance to support small, local businesses along the way.

✔ Create Friction for Online Shopping – Make impulse buys less tempting by removing saved payment info, deleting shopping apps, and enforcing a 24-hour pause before clicking “buy.”

✔ Shop with a List – Whether it’s groceries, clothing, or home essentials, a list keeps you focused and aligned with your needs—not just your whims.

✔ Use Cash When Possible – Studies show we spend less when we physically hand over money. Try it and see how it shifts your awareness.

✔ Unsubscribe from Temptation – Clear the clutter from your inbox and social feeds by opting out of marketing emails and unfollowing brands that constantly pressure you to buy.

By making a few small shifts, you’ll spend in ways that truly align with your values—without feeling deprived.

What’s one tiny shift you’ll make to be more intentional with your spending this year? Share in the comments below!

Additional Resources

These platforms provide option to uplift and support eco-conscious, independent, and underrepresented business owners. Have others to add? Please chime in!

The Honest Consumer – A platform that curates ethical, sustainable, and women-owned brands across fashion, beauty, home goods, and more.

Good On You – A website and app providing ratings for fashion brands based on their sustainability practices, ethics, and their impact on people and the planet. It highlights many women-owned sustainable brands.

We Buy Black – An online marketplace featuring Black-owned businesses selling everything from home goods to fashion and personal care products.

Intentionalist – A directory that helps you find and support diverse, small businesses, including BIPOC-, LGBTQ+-, women-, and veteran-owned businesses.

Shop Latinx – A curated marketplace highlighting Latinx-owned brands, offering fashion, beauty, home decor, and more.

LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) – A national directory of certified LGBTQ+-owned businesses, making it easier to shop and partner with LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs.

Creative Growth - A non-profit organization that advances the inclusion of artists with developmental disabilities in contemporary art and strengthens community by providing a supportive studio environment and gallery representation.

5 Ways to Curb Impulse Buying

My new essay How to Create a Home Anywhere was published by goop.

When Life Feels Chaotic, Less is More was published by TIME.

Watching: Mike White’s The White Lotus anthology series returns with a new ensemble of hotel guests and employees at the resort’s Thailand location AND I AM HERE FOR IT.

Upcycled Vintage - A small, female-founded business in Los Angeles offers a new twist on old favorites. They also stock the cutest socks of all time.

A Quick Fix: This SPF-concealer-duo is my secret weapon—it instantly brightens up my face and somehow makes me look 10 times less tired.

Work With Me 1:1: No-fluff strategy and support to help you tackle your large and small home and life goals. Get support here

Curated Product Recs: My fewer better faves for your home, life, and wardrobe. To the recs

Get the Books: Actionable strategies to clear clutter, get organized, & elevate your home and life. To the books

Order LifeStyled now from your favorite bookshop! bookshop | target | amazon | barnes and noble | signed copies - now available in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand