How to Control Impulse Buying

In a world where advertisements are shown down our throats, impulse buying and other habits that ruin people’s finances are becoming more prevalent. If you’re struggling with impulse buying and want to put an end to it, here are a few simple tips that can help you avoid it.

Think differently

Before purchasing something, take a look at its price and ask yourself whether you’d prefer someone handing you the price of that item or the item itself. This is one of the great tricks to help see the actual value of things. If an item costs $20 and you have the urge to buy it, ask yourself if you’d be happier if someone gave you $20 rather than that item.

Living within your means

In western societies, there is generally a need to show off the materialistic things you own like a watch, fashionable clothes, etc. Regardless of how much emphasis you put on these worldly things, it doesn’t matter as much as we believe ourselves to be since we’re at the center of everyone’s life. Sure, someone complimenting you on your fresh pair of sneakers can make your day, but it ends there. It doesn’t have high importance as much as other things, and that’s why living within your means and not going beyond it for unnecessary things is a must. 

Know yourself

Why has impulse buying become a problem in the first place? Take a look at why you make these purchases anyway. This can help you figure out the reason behind it. It can also assist you in getting to know yourself a little more. Know your habits and understand the root cause of impulse buying and try putting an end to it.

List the items you bought

Take a look at your credit card’s purchase history to see where your money goes. If you’re more of cash is king person that shops with bills to either negotiate or that’s how you like it, keep a log of where you spend your money. Taking one step back and analyzing the type of purchases can essentially give you a shock and cut down the ones that became a habit, like eating out more often than you should.

Set aside your credit card

Leave your credit card or debit card when you leave home and take cash only. This will limit your expenses as you have a limited amount of money every day to spend. 

Compete with yourself

Try competing with yourself to save up as much as possible. For example, take only $50 a day when you leave for work. That’s going to be the maximum amount you’re spending for the day. Try to spend as little as possible without sacrificing your well-being and put the remaining bills and change in a jar to see how big it grows.

Surely, doing this for long periods won’t be the best as your money would die with inflation, but you can take that jar and put it in a savings account or invest in an IRA or 401(k) to slowly build up your future.