What do you look at first when you pick up your phone or open your laptop in the morning? It’s probably your email inbox, which, by the time you wake up each day, is packed with promotional emails from businesses. Some of them are brands you enjoy and shop frequently, while for others, you may wonder how you even got on their mailing list in the first place.
Each company that emailed you wants the same thing: your money. And who can resist the pull of a 20 percent–off coupon, a clearance sale, or a buy-one, get-one-free offer?
You can. If you have a hard time resisting the temptation of all those promotional offers cluttering up your inbox, it’s time to unsubscribe. Many web-based email services make it easy to unsubscribe with a single click right when you open up that sale email. Or, if you need some help battling back the clutter, you can sign up for a free service like Unroll.me.
What about those times when you’re shopping for something specific and you don’t want to miss your chance to use a coupon code? Set up a new email account just for promotional emails, and only check it when you have a specific store or website in mind. Set up an email with an obvious name like stephanieshopping@emails.com to remind you of its purpose—and that it should be used sparingly.