5 ways you can stop impulse buying?
Impulsive buying might make you feel great at the moment but it can burn a huge hole in your wallet. We have come up with a couple of tips that will help you reduce your impulsive buying and save you a lot of money.
Shopping is a fun activity for a lot of people. At least that’s what movies and TV shows make it look like.
Whenever someone is happy, sad, angry, or frustrated, they go shopping and find peace in retail therapy.
The most important thing is that these kinds of shopping trips are often done impulsively. These shopping trips are usually driven by our emotions and offer us comfort when we feel down.
However, if you do impulsive shopping often, you will end up wasting a lot of money and it might become a regular habit, affecting your saving habits.
So, here are some tips on how you can overcome impulsive buying.
1. The All-Important Shopping List
When you are shopping for groceries, holiday gifts, or clothes, make sure you have a list on your hand. Plan beforehand and prepare a detailed list.
Push yourself to stick to the list so that you don’t get distracted while shopping. If you don’t have a list, there is a high chance that you will buy something just because it was on sale.
It could be anything from a packet of Oreos or sparkly shoes. A list will help you buy only what you need and help you not waste money.
2. Practice the Waiting Game
You are scrolling through a shopping app and you find an item that you feel like buying immediately. Wait! Take a deep breath and add the item to your wishlist.
Tell yourself that you will wait at least 10 days before you buy that certain item. There is a high possibility that you will forget the item before that.
This exercise will help you understand how you didn’t need the item but only wanted to buy it at the moment on impulse.
3. Avoid Non-Returnable Purchases
In this day and age, we like buying things online because we can return the products if we don’t like them.
However, most of the time, companies don’t take returns for the products that are sold during sales. Sometimes, there is a reason why some stuff is steeply discounted as they might not have been sold for a while, have a poor fit, or are different from the picture.
That’s the reason why companies don’t take returns for the things they sell during the sale. So, keep this rule in mind – if you can’t return a product, don’t buy it.
4. Make It Hard For You To Shop
These days, we have access to shopping 24*7 from the comfort of our homes.
We have apps and websites that are convenient to order from and things get delivered to our doorstep in a matter of days.
So, it is a good idea to make it harder to impulse buy by establishing some barriers for yourself so that you will be more mindful when you shop.
Delete shopping apps from your phone and also, delete your credit card or debit card information that is stored on shopping websites. Taking these steps will give you more time to consider your purchase.
5. Find Alternative Activities
If you are someone who likes to go shopping when you feel anxious, stressed, or sad, find another activity, instead of shopping.
You can try going for a walk, listening to music, or calling a friend. Try taking care of yourself in ways that don’t involve money.
You can keep track of how these new activities help you control your shopping urges.
Conclusion: Embrace Mindful Shopping
We understand that there is a lot of shame around overcoming impulse buying. A lot of times, people feel guilty after spending money on an impulse purchase.
But it is okay to do so and beating yourself up about it will not help you because, at the end of the day, we are all human beings.
With the right support system, information and resources, you can gradually build a lifestyle that helps you reduce your impulse purchases and save money.
We have detailed articles on how you can start saving money and how you can motivate yourself to save more every month. Please check them to better your savings journey.
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