My Personal Check List

Things to deal with before I travel abroad:

Pay off my debts

Getting into debt is by far one of my biggest mistakes, but also the one that taught me the most. At first I thought I didn’t have to pay everything now, but I’m glad I came to my senses. I wouldn’t want to have that hanging over me. I finally paid off everything on April 28th this year.

Get over my self-destructive habits

I got over my destructive addictions earlier this year. No need to go into any details. Let’s just say that what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.

Overcome my insomnia

I recently went to bed before 11 p.m. for the first time in longer than I can remember. Even though I like staying up late, I do enjoy waking up early in the morning and not feeling the least tired. Going to bed around 11 p.m. and sleep for seven hours straight does that to me. I still have days when I go to bed late, but at least I can sleep now and don’t need to stay up all night. I still sleep with the light on, though. I have one that isn’t as bright as regular light bulbs ’cause I think it’s a bit scary to sleep in complete darkness. I may sound like a five-year-old now, but that’s how it is. I’ll probably grow out of it… eventually. And I no longer sleep with the light on.

Be confident in my ability (of having enough self-control and responsibleness) to not revert to any shopaholic behavior ever again

Why I will make it:

a)      Last year I went six months without purchasing any clothes or shoes at all. (A little experiment I did to compensate for the time when I couldn’t last a day without buying at least something new.)

b)      On several occasions I have found myself admiring certain pieces of clothing I didn’t need and managed to resist the impulse to buy them. Including an adorable flowery top at H&M. Only 200 SEK. It would go great with a pair of dark jeans. But, as I quickly realized, it wasn’t a question about the price. It was the principle of being able to stop buying everything I felt tempted to buy.

c)      Last autumn I needed ONE pair of new winter shoes. Let me tell you, the winters in Sweden can be freezing. So I went to a shoe store in central Linköping. There, I was faced with big signs hanging from the ceiling all over the place. “GET 3, PAY FOR 2!!” Wow. I only need to pay for two and get one pair for free. I’m gonna save sooooo much on this. Sometimes I’m clearly not using all of my brain capacity. Of course I wouldn’t save anything since I only needed one pair to begin with. But that inviting offer and a store filled with shoes in all shapes and colors were too much for me to resist at that point.

Being over-impulsive/having a low impulse-control combined with a tendency to get caught up in the moment is not a good combo when it comes to overcoming shopaholism. Hence, after 20 minutes, ok… 40 minutes, of oohhing and aahhing and trying on new shoes, and walking around in the store to make sure they were a good fit, resulted in me leaving with two new autumn/winter shoes and one pair of heels.

Once I got home I realized that that was exactly the behavior I’d worked on avoiding, so I picked out the shoes I liked the most and returned the other two. Although I had a relapse and bought on impulse, I did make up for my mistake by returning two shoes and I think you can call that progress. The old me would have kept all the shoes plus returned to the store a few days later to buy three new ones thinking: It’s sale, after all, and, even though it’s two months until Christmas, I might as well buy myself three nice sandals for spring/summer.

d)      Shopping made me happy. VERY happy. At least as long as I kept buying more and more things. Eventually I learned to find happiness in myself, however cheesy that may sound, and that shopping only caused a fleeting kind of happiness. A temporary high. Permanent happiness can only be found from within. Of course I still love shopping, but I know better than to take it too far. It’s about finding a balance and learning to distinguish wants from needs.

Sell, give away or throw stuff I don’t need/use/love

I don’t like having too much things lying around. If there’s something I don’t need/use/love, it has no place in my life. I want to sell have sold the rest of my CDs since I have everything copied to my SanDisk USB flash drive. I’ve already sold my DVDs. No matter how much I love movies, I’m not aspiring to own loads of films. Better to rent them, watch online or go to the cinema.

Eye-test at my optician

Apart from doing an eye test, I bought a few months supply of contact lenses and got an eye prescription in English in case I need to buy more contact lenses abroad.

Dentist appointment

Basic things like these are more convenient to take care of here in Sweden.

Save x amount of money

I do need savings before traveling.

Vaccination record and medical details including blood type

Good to have.

International driving license

If I want to rent a car I will need an international driving license.

Email important documents to myself

Passport copy, insurance, bank statements, credit card numbers, medical history, etc.

Exchange money

A must.

Book a one-way flight ticket

First destination: London.

Book hotel or hostel for a few nights

I prefer to book accommodation before arriving.

Pack

I have sold my old backpack. For now, I will travel with my suitcase.

Note: Of course I could visit London for a weekend (meet people I want to meet, do things I want to do, see things I want to see) and return to Sweden again. My intuition tells me to take care of the things above first though.

Possibly related posts:

1. Shopping While Traveling: When Much is Too Much
2. One of the Smartest Personal Transport Modes
3. Photographer’s Christmas Shopping List
4. Travel Channel GO: Your Own Personal Radar
5. Eight Hours in North Korea: a Cold Reality Check (part 2)