Here’s a little tip to both declutter your iOS device and help you play the Spend Nothing Game: move all of your potential “shopping” apps, including the App Store & the iTunes store into a folder and off of your first screen.
Out if sight, out of mind.
If the first things you see are all about doing stuff, not spending, you’ll be more likely to do stuff. If you have to make a conscious choice to buy something, you’ll likely find that you buy less stuff, especially a shiny new app or a new song/album/movie, etc.
I made a Shopping folder, which I put on the 2nd screen of both my iPhone and iPad and drop anything into it that remotely has to do with shopping and spending. That includes apps from Amazon, eBay, Groupon, Redbox, and Chipotle (mmmm, burritos).
Gadgets like the iPhone make it so easy to buy stuff. Think of it, buy it. But you can interrupt that sequence by removing the visual cues to just “take a look at what new apps are out” or “see what the latest releases are.”
It’s not a cure all for compulsive spenders, but it’s a step in the right direction.
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