The SPAM and Spend
Early last year, I started unsubscribing from every marketing email that I received in my inbox. These were the emails from my favorite stores.
It starts with an innocent question at the checkout: can I get your email address? Sure, I’d rattle off one of my email addresses without thinking about it.
Suddenly, my inbox was inundated almost every day of the week with promotions and sales. When I would receive these emails, I would instantly click on the large graphics to open the e-commerce websites. And then I would spend time browsing page after page of clothing or whatever. These marketing emails made me think that I needed more clothing, and I was ready to spend money that I didn’t have.
Of course, there is a solution for that, and it’s the store credit card. If I signed up, I could save an additional 10- to 30-percent on the items I was holding. And since I was saving money, I might as well go back and get a few more things because that’s being thrifty and being a smart shopper.
I’d tell myself: you can pay it off when the bill comes. Sure.
That never happened, but it was okay because I would get wonderful comments on my new clothes. Well, it was okay until I got the bill. (And, yes, more on this later.)
So unsubscribing from every email under the sun was necessary. With each one I received, I clicked on the tiny unsubscribe link at the bottom of the page. It took at least a month to do. Some companies had added my email address to multiple interests, which only send once a month. I was persistent, though.
I can proudly say that I do not receive any more emails that sell stuff.
In exchange for marketing emails, I began subscribing to websites that could educate me. I get weekly and some daily emails that are related to my profession, and I figure this is time spent wisely. Rather than wasting time by browsing through clothes I can’t buy, I feed my mind. That’s a pretty good trade.
“Toss the Junk with One Click” with Unroll.me
Try Unroll.me if you want to get rid of the junk in your inbox. This free service scans your email’s inbox and identifies emails to which you have subscribed. I just tried it and confirmed that none of my emails are from retailers. I like it!
