Minimalism lifestyle
It is likely that you already have a lot of things. Therefore, the most important thing is to avoid compounding the problem by getting more things. Realize that the strong desire to acquire new things can be replaced by an equally strong desire to avoid acquiring new things. This shift takes several months to become habit-forming. The wish list method seems to be widely known. It works like this: when I spontaneously want to buy something, I put it on my wish list along with the date of the wish, instead of buying the thing. Don't buy anything unless it's been on the wish list for at least 30 days. You may find that in that time you've either purchased a replacement for it, found a replacement, or learned how not to use it. Test yourself.
Books used to be my favorite consumer product. I read a couple books a week. There was a time when I couldn't get into the library and bought so many books that my landlady inquired as to what was wrong with so many deliveries and I decided not to buy books. I went from buying nearly 100 books a year - about 30 times the average person - to buying a total of three books in a year - about as many as the average person. That's not fun! However, books aren't very expensive, so I decided that one book a month was enough to satisfy my cravings, plus a new interest in geopolitics, which could be satisfied by reading the news online.
The lesson learned is that there is an optimum point that is less than the extreme point. Most people still consider the sweet spot extreme, but that's because they've never experienced an extreme. Try. Drink only water for a month. Eat only rice and vegetables for a month. Stop smoking. Stop drinking alcohol. Stop eating and fast for a week. Don't spend any money for a week and try to improvise solutions when needed. How long can you live without a marketable consumer lifeline? Act wisely and educate yourself from your reactions. The most useful idea for avoiding something new is to realize that you've lived well without it for so long, so why get it now? This will eliminate 99% of gadget cravings.
