One effective way to curb impulse buying is by creating a budget. Doing this allows you to allocate some funds towards spending on fun things while also meeting your financial goals. Your budget should include an allowance for planned purchases such as gifts and clothing. If compulsive shopping is an issue for you, seek counseling from a mental health provider.
1. Set a Budget
Impulse buying involves making purchases without first planning and setting aside an allocated budget, without proper consideration or preparation. Impulse purchases often lead to overspending and debt accumulation. Start controlling your impulses by creating a budget and grouping fixed expenses (rent or mortgage, utilities, and debt payments) with variable expenses such as groceries and entertainment. Allocate an appropriate budget amount per category and stick to it!
Curating your social media feed and uninstalling shopping apps from your phone are two effective strategies for decreasing triggers that lead to impulse spending. If you find yourself buying without giving yourself enough time to consider each purchase, try leaving items in your cart before checking out to give yourself extra time to think before making a decision.
2. Curate Your Social Media Feed
Your online environment has a significant effect on your life, which is why it’s crucial to curate your feed and avoid following brands and influencers that encourage impulse buys. Take into consideration how your content affects the audience you share with and what drives their interaction with it. If a post appears overly assertive in seeking engagement, consider adjusting its call-to-action to encourage more interaction.
UGC can be an excellent way to drive engagement with your brand and reinforce its identity and aesthetic. GoPro, for instance, boasts an Instagram feed full of captivating UGC shots submitted by their community that are in line with its adventurous and action-first brand personality.
3. Leave Your Credit Cards at Home
At some point or another, most of us have made impulse purchases—be it groceries from the store or impulsive shopping while out and about on weekends or online shopping sprees. While occasional impulse purchasing may not cause too much financial damage or stress via credit card debt, if this kind of behavior becomes an ongoing habit, then perhaps it should be curbed.
Dropping credit cards may be one way of curbing impulse buying habits. Alternately, try categorizing your funds—prioritizing needs over wants may help break the spending impulse and break free of compulsive habits.
4. Make a List
One of the easiest ways to stay on track when shopping is writing a list. Having a tangible reminder of your goals and limiting any temptation to buy items not on your list can help you stay on track.
Impulse buying often stems from emotions and is often driven by things such as seeing something you like or craving it, or simply being bored (also known as retail therapy). To prevent impulse shopping from occurring unknowingly, track your mood regularly and avoid retailers offering temptation in end caps or near checkout lines. One tip for staying on track with your spending goals is using an app with shared shopping lists that makes staying organized simpler.
5. Check Your Mood
At times, we all make impulse purchases, from snacks at grocery store checkout lines to clothing from browsing racks. But if these impulse purchases become an everyday habit, they can damage your budget and lead to credit card debt.
Emotions can have a direct effect on impulse buying, and if you find yourself feeling negative emotions such as boredom or anxiety while making purchases, it may be wiser to postpone making such purchases until tomorrow. Steps such as uninstalling shopping apps and leaving items in your cart until tomorrow could help create some distance between yourself and the purchase decision.
6. Delete Shopping Apps
Tech is excellent for making finances simpler, but sometimes it can also enable impulse buys. One way to prevent impulse purchases would be to ditch shopping apps on your phone in favor of browsing stores’ websites via browser instead—be sure to install an app blocker too—since having to type in credit card details each time will act as a deterrent against impulse buying.
Impulse buying may be a normal part of life, but it becomes problematic when it negatively impacts your budget and leads to stress or debt. If your shopping urges become too overwhelming to control, consider seeking professional help from a mental health provider.
7. Shop With a Responsible Buddy
While occasional impulse purchases may seem insignificant, they can quickly accumulate, strain your budget, and cause unnecessary stress. A sale at your favorite warehouse club or shoes you have to have can quickly turn into debt-driven purchases that leave you in financial jeopardy.
Rather than succumb to sales or other shopping triggers alone, find an accountability partner who shares your financial goals. By working together, you could also take advantage of group discounts such as Costco offers or online group buying sites.
8. Leave Items in Your Cart
Impulsive purchases may seem harmless at first, but their consequences can quickly add up over time. Common causes of impulse buying include effective marketing tactics, FOMO (fear of missing out), emotional states like loneliness or boredom, and stress.
Sometimes people can’t control their shopping urges on their own and need professional help managing them. Debtors Anonymous or Spenders Anonymous provides great support and guidance; individual counseling with a mental health provider may help get to the root cause. Retailers with online shops should use cart abandonment emails that include personalized information about each of their shoppers to encourage them to complete their purchase before it’s too late. Guest checkout options can also be very useful!
9. Talk to Yourself
No matter whether it’s making an impulse purchase at the supermarket or booking an unexpected vacation, being honest with yourself about your triggers is key to being successful. One effective method is mindfulness practice, which seeks to focus attention on being fully present without judgment in each moment of life.
Impulse buying may not seem like a major concern at first, but if it’s creating havoc in your budget and credit card debt, then it is certainly something worth addressing. Support groups such as Debtors Anonymous or Spenders Anonymous could provide invaluable assistance, or professional therapy could also be an option. Put these tips into action to stay on track and avoid derailment of your plans, which is bound to happen. However, it’s essential that you pick yourself back up and keep going forward—no matter how bad things might get!
