Avoiding Impulse Spending

Answer these questions honestly:

1.)           Does your spouse or partner complain that you spend too much money on frivolous items?

2.)           Are you surprised each month when your credit card bill arrives because you have spent more than you thought you had?

3.)           Are you often heard saying, “Look what I found… it was only 5 bucks?”

4.)           Do you feel the urge to own all of the latest gadgets like music players and new mobile phones?

5.)           Do you buy things you didn’t know you wanted until you saw them on display in a store?

If you answered “yes” to any two of the above questions, you are probably an impulse spender and need to check yourself into some retail therapy.

Many retailers are guilty of enticing customers into purchasing things they weren’t planning on buying in the first place. It is an all too familiar at many check-out lanes to be surrounded with low dollar “impulse” items that the retailer is hoping you’ll add to your purchase while you are waiting in line. Stores also scatter small displays of relatively inexpensive items throughout the store hoping to draw your eye and wallet. Impulse spending is not a good thing. It can be a complete waste of your income and really interfere with any budgets or financial goals you have set.

To overcome the problem, the first thing to do is learn to separate your needs from your wants. In truth mankind only NEEDS air, food and shelter to survive but that doesn’t mean you have to only purchase needs. There are many things in life that you may feel would be really nice to have or would somehow improve your daily life and by all means don’t forgo all of those items. You just need to make sure you are making a financially responsible decision when purchasing such “wants” and not doing so on a whim.

When you go shopping make a list and stick to it. Don’t let yourself get sidetracked with a flashy end cap showing off the latest mp3 players. Even if you are shopping for clothes MAKE A LIST. 2 pairs of jeans, 3 dress shirts etc. Don’t just go into a store and start randomly grabbing everything that catches your attention. The trick is to give yourself a cooling-off period before you buy anything that you have not planned for and make sure it is a purchase that you do indeed need to make.

If you find something you think you really need, give yourself two weeks to decide if it is really something you need or something you can easily do without. Many people find that they usually forget all about that scented candle in just a few days and take pleasure in knowing they made a smart financial decision letting that “want” stay on the shelf.

Are you an impulse shopper or recovering impulse shopper?