A Chronically Online Millennial's $402 Week Of Shopping

I was a mall teen before I was a chronically online adult. My best friend and I spent weekends trying on going-out tops we had nowhere to wear, while my mom read Nora Roberts outside the music box store (RIP).

Fast forward 25 years, and I’m the one writing books for a living (and hosting a podcast and newsletter to discuss them, too). The mall lives inside my phone, and I browse through tabs instead of store racks. What can I say? Once a mall teen, always a mall teen, because I’m absolutely on a first-name basis with my UPS guy.

As a writer, online shopping is my procrastination method of choice (do you think my accountant would let me call this a write off since it’s part of the process?). Here’s what I almost bought this week, and what it says about how I’m doing, financially and otherwise.

Monday

1:00 p.m.: I come home from a long weekend in Boston to the spoils of some past online shopping. There’s a lobster-themed dress for an upcoming trip to Maine, a lightweight blanket to try as a swap for my comforter, and a duo of wireless bras I’ve seen all my favorite influencers rave about. 3/3, all keepers.

1:24 p.m.: I’m planning a friend trip to Italy next summer to celebrate our joint 40th birthdays, so I buy a monthly subscription ($5) to a travel newsletter I’ve followed for a while to do some digging on possible locales. In this case, I trust influencers far more than anonymous Trip Advisor reviews because I have a better understanding of their taste and lifestyle. I’m happy to spend money upfront on research to make sure the trip is perfect — it’s a milestone trip with friends I’ve had for 20+ years, and I want it to be extra special.

4:15 p.m.: I click a link in Casey Lewis’ newsletter on Gen Z culture to an ice-blue organza minidress that’s giving major Cher Horowitz vibes. Pro: it’s an extra 60% off, making it $98. Con: It’s out of stock in my size. I guess that decision was made for me.

Daily tally:

$103 browsed

$5 bought

Tuesday

4:35 p.m.: I went to the movies a couple weeks ago and rediscovered my love of Milk Duds, an affair that can only end in heartbreak and dental work. They’re strangely hard to find at my local grocery store or bodega, so I check Amazon where they’re wildly expensive. ($10 is way too much for 2 regular-sized boxes outside a movie theater setting).

Daily tally:

$10 browsed

$0 bought

Wednesday

11:00 a.m.: I place my weekly Instacart grocery order. Don’t worry, I added Milk Duds ($1.79, that’s more like it!).

1:49 p.m.: I recently bought a new bathing suit from Boden that I love ($91 on sale). It has sized underwire cups, which are incredibly rare. I wonder if I should snag a second before this unicorn-suit disappears. I look, but I don’t love any of the other colors or patterns. I guess it’s going to remain perfect swimsuit, party of one.

Daily tally:

$92.79 browsed

$1.79 bought

Thursday

9:11 a.m.: I’m browsing newsletters over coffee, and I get *this close* to buying a denim vest ($125), but I’m not sure what I’d wear it with. I leave the tab open for further consideration. In the meantime, another newsletter has me lusting over this scarf-print dress. I can vividly picture myself wearing it while sipping a spritz, staring out over a rugged Italian coastline. Unfortunately, it’s $498. I leave this tab open, too, mostly just to torture myself — I’m not a budget shopper, but this is too rich for even my blood.

9:22 a.m.: Now I’m browsing miniskirts to go with the denim vest. A vision is coming together.

9:28 a.m.: I dive down a rabbit hole of micro-pleat midi skirts and find one at Eileen Fisher of all places. I think of this as a “mom store,” but maybe at almost 40, that’s me? I’m skeptical, but the color is perfect, it’s $101 with 50% off, so I click buy.

10:38 a.m.: I check Amazon to see if there are any small, soft-sided coolers available for same-day delivery for a picnic I’m going to tomorrow. There aren’t.

11:01 a.m.: An Instagram ad leads me to a pair of lobster pajamas ($68.50) that would be perfect for my trip to Maine. I can’t resist adding two matching lobster-themed outfits ($44.50 and $39.50) for my friends’ kids, too. After checking out, I text to my group chat, “Help! I can’t stop buying things online!”

Daily tally:

$932 browsed

$253.50 bought

Friday

8:59 a.m.: I go back for a slightly different (and cheaper) denim vest ($98). I’ve spent the past 24 hours planning outfits with it in my head, so I know this is more than a passing whim. Even though it’s outside my sartorial comfort zone, I’m excited to try this trend.

2:30 p.m.: I’m on the subway when I get an email from one of my favorite contemporary artists about the launch of a limited-edition set of prints. They’re pricey at £350 each (which converts to about $475), but art feels like a better long term investment than a dress. However, the millennial in me demands that I wait to make any larger purchase on my computer versus my phone, so I leave the email in my inbox for later.

Daily tally:

$573 browsed

$98 bought

Saturday

8:40 a.m.: I go back to look at the prints, and they’re already sold out! I’m crushed by my miscalculation.

1:25 p.m.: The Eileen Fisher skirt arrives — wow, that was fast! — and while the color is just as perfect as I hoped, the fabric is too thin and clingy. This is getting returned. I feel incredibly virtuous, like I’ve now saved $100 (no, I will not be taking questions on this logic).

7:22 p.m.: I emerge from a deep social media scroll hole feeling slightly ashamed. Earlier, I was texting with a friend who is currently on a creative retreat, and she mentioned how nice it's to do something artistic with no expectation of being good at it. She sent a couple of photos of wonky paintings she made. Wouldn’t it be nice to get lost in a flow state rather than an Instagram Reels binge? I spend some time researching beginners’ watercolor sets on Reddit and buy one along with some brushes, a guided workbook, and a sketchpad. A new hobby for under $45 (on sale) doesn’t feel like a bad use of funds.

Daily tally:

$41.12 browsed

$41.12 bought

Sunday

2:10 p.m.: I head to UPS to make my returns (the clingy skirt, plus a few other returns I’d been procrastinating on).

Final tally:

$1751.91 browsed

$399.41 bought (298 when we exclude the skirt being returned)

It was illuminating to see a week’s worth of purchases tallied up in black and white, but overall, I don’t feel too bad about my online shopping. There was far more browsing than buying (standard; see: former mall kid!), and one of those purchases marks the beginning of a new hobby I have high hopes for, providing hours of meditative, creative entertainment that keeps my “add-to-cart” finger occupied. But it’s always the purchases we don’t make that haunt us the most — so if you need me, I’ll be dreaming about the art print I missed out on and the scarf-print dress I can’t justify.