Thrifting often? Just Looking?? Watch This.

Added: 2026-05-18

[00:00:00]I talk a lot about shopping addiction on this channel. It's usually in the context of retail. So, online shopping, designer pieces, the kind of spending that gets people into trouble, whether it is financially, psychologically, interpersonally. Thrifting does not actually look like that, at least on the surface. To me, thrifting actually feels kind of elevated. It seems a little more intentional. I mean, it's almost like an art. Some of the people I've seen on TikTok, I am like, you have magical powers. You are amazing. You are an artist. While I'm pretty new to thrifting, I do understand shopping psychology and I thought a lot about shopping addiction. Just never in a thrifting context. What I'm starting to realize as I thrift more and consume more in the thrifting context is that thrifting feels different from regular shopping, but that doesn't mean it's harmless. If you think about it, the scariest habits aren't the ones that appear the most reckless. They're the ones that might even feel responsible and because of that, you don't question them. Whether it's lower prices, the sustainability angle, or the idea that you're being more thoughtful with what you buy, it is really easy to justify what you're doing. But here's what gets interesting. Every time I thrift something, I notice a different psychological layer. And what I feel the next day isn't the same as what I felt in the store. And this feeling isn't regret of what I've purchased, which I've definitely experienced in retail shopping. It's more the feeling of wanting more and more and more. This isn't a thrifting is all bad video, obviously, cuz I plan to do it till I die. This is me kicking things around, figuring things out in real time. What I've learned so far, what surprises me, and the parts of thrifting that feel a little more addicting than we want to admit. If you've ever gone thrifting because you have 15 minutes to kill, thought about going when you don't need anything, which is all of us, or felt like you had to stop by, just drop in because you're afraid you might miss something, this video is for you. Just a little backstory of my thrifting so far.

[00:01:58]You've seen in the past video that I was accidentally and randomly accosted by a thrift store. It was really just a conglomeration of estate sales actually, and every clothing item was a dollar. I went in with my boyfriend, selected three things, one of which was just a very nice heavy Banana Republic coat, which I'm sure some of you are sick of hearing about, but that, the t-shirt that I love, and just some pajama pants that I've still been wearing. And then the next weekend, went to a different store. It was actually just like a vintage store, and I can't even say it's vintage thrift. But I mean, the jacket I bought was really nice quality for $30, so it feels like vintage thrift.

[00:02:39]Subsequently, going to different estate sales, not buying anything, but still having that thrift spirit alive. And then I came up with the, and I might have mentioned this in my last video or two videos ago, I don't know, that I've started to almost thrift cost average for thrift visit average, meaning I'm going to the thrift store once a week just to like peruse. Yeah, I know.

[00:03:02]>> [laughter] >> And here I am in the middle of this video talking about these dangerous habits, because I am living it. But I've been going once weekly, have not bought a thing until gosh, what is it now?

[00:03:13]Yesterday?

[00:03:14]>> [laughter] >> Yes, it was yesterday. And I'm actually wearing them now. I bought some jeans at the thrift, and I've been talking about how I need jeans and how they're impossible to thrift, and then they appeared as if the thrift god just revealed them to me. Exactly the style I want, baggy, comfortable, like I'm wearing jeans in my house when I usually wear sweatpants all the time, and it was just because, you know, of course I took them home, washed them, immediately let them dry overnight, hung them dry, and now I'm just wearing them cuz they just don't bother me. And that is wild. They're Zara, and yeah, I'll tell you about the price and everything coming up. Got them at Goodwill. First time buying anything at my local Goodwill, not my first time going in, and it's pretty amazing and it makes me really happy to buy something and find something that I have been looking for and have the perfect thing show itself.

[00:04:00]I get it. I get why thrifting is so addicting. I am not allowing myself to just like keep going back and back and back because I do not want that to be what I do, but this is just again a little back story from what's been going on. I've also been back to that great thrift vintage store where I got that jacket and I got this kind of black jean. I think it's Levi. It's not a jacket, but it's like a heavy shirt.

[00:04:24]It's probably men's, but it's just going to be such a nice little over tank top kind of thing to wear. And yeah, and then >> [laughter] >> and then at the same initial thrift amalgamation of different estate sales, I went back.

[00:04:38]They had another one a few weeks later and I got a men's tuxedo shirt, which fits pretty well actually, and some black stretch pants with the tag on. The tag fell off really quickly though, so I'm not really sure if it was like actually on there, but it stayed on in in route in transit, so I don't know if I just ripped it off myself, but never been worn. I think they're Ann Taylor Loft or something like that. The fit is marginal. It's good enough that I can wear them. It wouldn't be my favorite pair of pants, but still a dollar. The tuxedo shirt, a dollar. That's my thrift history.

[00:05:09]I've gotten five items at this little sale thing for a dollar each and then the jacket and then the heavy jean shirt, let's call it, black jean shirt.

[00:05:21]Both of those were $30.09.

[00:05:23]And then okay, I'll spill it. And then the jeans that I'm wearing right now, which I'm not going to stand up and show you, that'd be weird. It's interesting because hearing all this chatter about how Goodwill prices have gotten higher and higher, and I assume this is just in cities and I don't live in a big city or anything, but thinking about the quality and how they're exactly what I wanted, I was assuming maybe $15 is a price and I got to the register and the guy said it is $4.61. Would you like to round up for the soup kitchen?

[00:05:53]And I was like, of course I would.

[00:05:55][laughter] Of course I would. Then I got another high like exactly jeans I want for $5. I'm somebody who's paid $300 for a pair of jeans before. It's not something I do often. I did it once after I paid off all my loans, was still living with my mom, and did not have any other big bills to pay. And so it was just like, yeah, I'm going to get these $300 jeans. I kind of regret it.

[00:06:15]Especially cuz I can't fit in them, but I'm working on it. But yeah, I've paid $300 for jeans. Usually I go to Off 5th and I'll buy a couple pairs of jeans from $79 to $100. I don't think I've ever bought a $100 pair of jeans at Off 5th, but that's usually where I get them. And they're always skinny jeans and not that great. Finally, I have a wide leg pair of jeans and I'm very happy. So for the rest of the video I'm going to go number-wise of the things that I've been kicking around in my brain and what I've learned and what I've noticed about thrifters and thrift culture from watching TikToks and then my own experiences, obviously. It's just in an effort to bring more awareness, cuz awareness is key in a lot of our behaviors, that I think might be lacking a little bit in thrifting. Just I don't see people really seeming to notice that this could be a shopping addiction or that it could be problematic. And of course that's mostly because of the money, but let's get into it. So the first thing is basically what I just talked about. That low prices does not mean low impact. Getting the jeans for $4.61, like when he said it, it was almost like a sitcom where I was going to be like, please say that again. You know, like I $461? Like I really did not understand how these jeans would be priced at 461.

[00:07:31]And all the jeans, no matter what, and I saw a lot of different kinds of labels in the jean section, all of them, their slacks are $4.61 with tax, I guess. Honestly, it was super exciting. It was a strong dopamine hit, and that's after the dopamine hit of finally finding something that I've been looking for for a little bit, really understanding the Pinterest boards now. That dopamine hit of finding the thing I want, knowing that it's going to be cheaper, not really realizing that it was going to be 461.

[00:08:00]Again, I was thinking maybe $15. That would be fair. I like these jeans a lot.

[00:08:04]It's interesting because that second dopamine hit, or even probably even the first, it has nothing to do with the fact that I needed jeans. Let's be honest, because you could have replaced that with any number of things that were something that I've been perceiving that I needed. You could replace it, and I would probably have the same feeling, especially if the price was within $5.

[00:08:24]It's just important to know that cheap does not neutralize consumption, even if it is second hand and it feels better than it ending up in a landfill somewhere. What cheap really does is it removes the friction that usually would make you pause in the retail setting. It removes that like oof, this price, I don't think I can afford this. You still might buy it anyway. You still might go in the debt if you have a shopping addiction, but it removes that friction completely. I was going to buy these jeans no matter what, because I mean, they're going to be cheaper than any jeans that I've ever bought. We have to be very aware that when the price stops being a barrier, there's nothing that's really stopping you. My next realization, I've said a couple times, but thrifting replaces money guilt by time blindness. With regular shopping, the consequences are obvious. You have credit card bills, you're hiding purchases, there's debt, possibly. Thrifting flips that. You're not losing a lot of money, you're barely losing money at all. In fact, it feels like a gain. So, I imagine a lot of people stop tracking costs entirely.

[00:09:29]But, the cost really shows up somewhere else, and that is in time, attention, and mental energy. And, you might not feel that cost in mental energy, but it is there. Number three would be that I'll just check habit loop that we kind of get into with thrift shopping that makes us want to go back and back and back to the store. For the last few weeks, maybe four, maybe a little more, I've been going to Goodwill after my later shift every Wednesday. But again, I am reinforcing a behavior. I'm maintaining that anticipation, which inherently means dopamine. I'm honestly training my brain to expect a reward.

[00:10:03]Even when I don't find anything, I still feel that, well, at least I didn't miss out. That's still a payoff and it feels kind of good, which is why I keep doing it. Number four is that the perfect find changes everything. The day I found the jeans that I'm wearing right now or the coat that I found at the very beginning of my thrift journey. Finding those couple of things and probably many of the things that I found, the camel colored jacket as well, have changed my chemistry a little bit. The reward feels repeatable cuz I've done it a few times now. It's like proof that the system actually works, which makes you want to keep playing. I might need to spend a little more time going through the jeans now. There's nothing like getting one thing to make you feel like you need another.

[00:10:44]And that is so true and painful. Number five, thrifting can easily become collecting, so easily. I had the realization the other day that my category, the thing that I like to buy the most, is winter clothes. So like coats, sweaters in some cases, but really coats and jackets. Right now, it's spring. So I'm finding the things I love, I'm cleaning them, and then I'm putting them away and trying to find more. It's not utility, it's accumulation. And it's actually starting to feel less like shopping and more like storing potential. I'm like a squirrel in, you know, getting ready for winter and I don't like squirrels. Number six is to not forget that emotional thrifting is emotional shopping and I will explain that a little more. I go thrifting on Wednesdays after work and if I'm being honest, it's not random. On Wednesdays after work, I work later, so I'm tired.

[00:11:38]I don't want to do anything productive or I don't feel like I can do anything productive and I usually like scroll on my phone to be honest for an extended period of time. Thrifting feels like a better use of that time, but it's or at least going to look at the thrift store feels like a better use of that time, but honestly, it's just like filling a gap. If you're going often, it might be that you're like me, you're bored and wanting to fill that time. You might be lonely. You might be avoiding some emotions and there's also a good chance that thrifting is helping you not feel something. Number seven is that the thrift hangover is real. I had somebody comment in one of my videos or maybe a comment after somebody else's comment about thrift hangover and I was like, "Ew, I don't want to experience that."

[00:12:22]To some degree, I think I have already.

[00:12:24]I had gone to bed thinking I'm pretty good. I don't feel like I need to go thrifting. That thrift high has been tempered. I'm not chasing more thrift highs. I'm just happy when I find something that I like. That night I had dreamed about thrifting the jeans and I woke up wondering if I had actually done it or if it was a dream. If it was just like I was in heaven in a happy place and that is so sad. I also today, this is the day after, wanted to go back to the thrift store again. There's a thrift store right across the street from my gym and I was thinking about how to figure that into my day. Oh, I'll work out, hit the thrift store, then I'll go home, go to the grocery, whatever I need to do. I was trying to fit that in. I'd also seen our Instagram reel where one of the people from Costco was showing what finds were available now and one of the finds was high-waist, wide-leg Levi jeans for $40 and I was like, "Well, I do need to top up my gas tank. Maybe I'll make a trip out there and see these jeans."

[00:13:26]The real thing that stopped me was the $40. I'll find them later at the thrift.

[00:13:30]That thrift high finding this great thing has got my mind thinking about other ways to repeat it and to get more.

[00:13:40]And that's not great. I'm over here chasing the feeling, chasing dopamine even at Costco. So, here's where I've landed. I actually really like thrifting, obviously. I like the uniqueness. I love the prices and I love finding things that I genuinely want and I know that I'm going to use all the time. But, I still don't want shopping of any kind to become a hobby of mine again. Here are some tips if the things I've said are feeling kind of familiar. I would suggest, of course, reducing the frequency with which you're going to these stores. Even going and buying nothing creates that loop that you're still trying to close with every visit to the thrift store. Try a 2-week break. Some of you are freaking out right now. Do not turn off the video.

[00:14:26]I'm not done. Ask yourself what you're feeling when you don't go. Also, try to understand what you're avoiding cuz chances are some of us are avoiding something by going thrifting so frequently or thinking about it a lot.

[00:14:41]The third suggestion is to replace the dopamine intentionally. Find something that requires focus that will show you progress and that isn't consumption. So, reading books that you've gotten from the library, of course, exercise. I'm always going to say that because feeling strong, getting sweaty can be a great diversion from thrift shopping or shopping in general. And getting toned and feeling strong can also just make you transfer that dopamine to other goals. This next one might be controversial. You'll have to let me know, but I would say number four is to consider reselling strategically.

[00:15:18]>> [laughter] >> My thought in suggesting this is that if you're going to spend this much time, there's people going from 9 to 5 basically, it's a full-time job, then you might as well get paid for it, to be honest. The other side to this is that sometimes with things that we love love to do, things that are our hobbies, if we try to monetize them, if we turn it into a job basically, it can become less interesting. And that's really the direction that I'm thinking about being a reseller would maybe go. But at the end of the day, if you feel like you need to go to the thrift store and you're thinking about it all the time, it really may not be about the clothes anymore. And it's great to be aware of these issues so that you can change them. I hope this was helpful, and I hope you have a great day.