Ah, the impulse purchase—that momentary thriller, that ruined of budgets. The impulse buy is a nefarious beast. No matter how good we are at saving and living frugally, sometimes it can be hard to resist that impulse purchase. But fear not! These nine strategies can help. I have personally fallen victim to many late-night impulse buying sprees, often in the form of skincare products promising to reverse the signs of aging and fitness gear that will finally turn me into the person who leaps out of bed at 5 a.m., ready for a morning spin class. What makes it less amazing is when the credit card bill arrives a few weeks later, making me wish that I had paused for a moment to think about what I wanted to buy before placing the purchase.
Whether it’s a recurring checkout-line purchase or routinely falling for influencer marketing (guilty!), check out the tips below to help stop impulse buying in its tracks.
- Follow the Time Rule
I’ve seen this defined as something as small as the “one hour rule” and as big as the “30 day rule,” but the idea is the same: when you see something that you want, make yourself wait a certain amount of time before purchasing it. The longer you can go, the better. If you still strongly want to make the purchase at the end of the time period, only consider doing so then.
- Don’t Shop When Upset
It’s easy to look for a product (whether it’s food, clothing, or something else) to cheer you up when you’re unhappy. One of my worst impulse purchases ever happened at a liquor store. While I was there picking up a bottle of wine for a friend’s party, I received a call with some bad news. Now, I’m a bit of a cocktail geek—if I’m going to have a drink, I want to enjoy something with good, interesting ingredients—and in an effort to cheer myself up, I purchased three kinds of liqueurs I had been wanting to add to my bar. Oops.
- Consider Changing How and Where You Shop
One of the things I love about shopping online is that it’s much easier to ignore extraneous items. I go to Amazon, put what I need in my cart, and check out. But I know that if I try on clothing in a store, I’m much more likely to stumble upon a dress that I suddenly really want. The solution? Except for groceries, pharmacy items, and thrift store finds, I rarely shop in physical stores. Don’t Shop With the Wrong People
- Don’t Shop With the Wrong People
If you have impulse-happy shopping buddies, it can be easy to let them convince you that all the outfits you just tried on look great and you should totally buy them. If you want to shop socially, do it with people who also have frugal spending habits (and if they happen to be able to tell you when a dress really looks great on you, well, all the better).
- Give Yourself a Splurge Budget
You’re much less likely to make big impulse purchases if you allow yourself some smaller discretionary spending. Whether it’s budgeting for one new clothing item a month, allowing yourself a fancy coffee every now and again, or giving yourself spend-it-however-you-want cash, give yourself some room so you don’t feel like a penny-pinching miser.
- Only Buy Things You Can Return
If you really have a problem with impulse purchases, at the very least, buy from stores with good return policies. One person who tended to make rash purchases talked about how she overcame her habit by forcing herself to wait three days after making a purchase before asking herself, “Do I really need it?” She then went on to return some of the products that she had purchased.
- Remember to Not Be Fooled by Sales
Sales with huge markdowns can make impulse purchases very tempting. I tend to think of products I’ve bought on sale as falling into two categories: “I really wanted this” and “Oh, I could use this!” The trick is to only buy things in the first category. For years, half my shoe collection was made up of shoes I only sort of liked but had found on sale. Remember, if you see a product on sale, you will always save more money if you don’t buy it at all.
- Keep a List of Things You Really Want or Need
If you do this, when the time comes and you find them on sale, you will have the courage to purchase them.
- Don’t Give Yourself Access to Your Money
If you don’t have the funds in your account, you won’t be able to give in to impulse buys, no matter what you do—leave your credit cards at home, freeze them in a block of ice, whatever it takes.
Give Yourself a Waiting Period for Impulse Purchases
Trust me, nobody knows the adrenaline rush of seeing something and feeling the need to purchase it right this second more than me. I blame it on my competitive nature, but once I see something I want, I immediately start thinking that I might miss out if I wait even a minute longer. However, this thinking is not so good for my wallet. After one-too-many impulse purchases that I’ve ordered and then regretted shortly after (but often couldn’t be bothered to return), I’ve implemented a mandatory waiting period for any unexpected buys. For most things, it’s 24 hours. I’ll ask for the item to be put on hold or add it to my online cart and then wait a day, closing the browser so I’m not constantly reminded that the item is there. Oftentimes, I’ll completely forget about whatever it is and not make the purchase at all. If I do decide to buy it, I’ll sometimes get an extra discount for waiting since companies will send discount codes to encourage you to complete your purchase.
Get to Know Your Impulse Patterns
Take a minute to see if there’s a trend behind what you gravitate toward when you impulse shop. For me, it’s any kind of wellness product, especially if it’s something new that I haven’t seen before. Knowing this about myself is really helpful because I’m able to steer clear of certain social media accounts or store aisles where I’ll be shown things I’ll struggle to resist. If your impulse buy is always adding a baked treat with your Starbucks coffee or ordering Uber Eats every Friday (despite swearing that you’d cook), you’ll be better able to plan for it and know which triggers to avoid. You may also include a line item in your budget if it is something that is important to you or that provides you joy. This will ensure that the expenditure does not come as a complete and unexpected shock at the end of each month.
Think About What You Could Do With The Money Instead
I’m all for treating myself. Life is short, and never spending spontaneous money on fun things that make you happy is a recipe for misery. That being said, it can be helpful to pause and ask yourself if the money you’re about to spend on an impulse item could be better spent elsewhere. For many years, I would walk into one of my favorite stores and buy whatever cute dress or top jumped out at me, but they’d always fall apart after a few wears and would cost upwards per item. After a while, I started telling myself that if I avoided buying cheap dresses, I could save up for something of better quality that would last longer and make me happier overall. Now, I always stop to ask if I’d be happier spending the money on something planned rather than something impulsive, and it has saved my wallet (and my wardrobe) a ton. Even if it’s a small purchase, those rands and dollars add up over time and can be put toward something that would make you much happier in the long run.
Ask Yourself if You Really Need It
Growing up, my mother would make me stop and consider the question, “Do I really need this?” whenever we were shopping. I hated it back then, but I find myself doing it regularly now. If I’m wandering the aisles of HomeGoods and see a cute lamp, I’m happy to buy it if I know I’ve been needing a new lamp anyway. If not, I try my best to resist. If you do need something, you can go ahead and purchase it, knowing there won’t be any incoming guilt.
It can also be helpful to set a limit on how many of the same things you can buy if you tend to be drawn to similar things over and over. If you already have five baby blue dresses for the summer (who, me?), you probably don’t need another, no matter how cute it is. The same goes for coffee mugs, mascaras, and dog sweaters, FYI.
Explore Why You Want This Particular Thing
Look, I completely understand not wanting to do a full-blown psychological analysis for every purchase you make. That would completely suck the joy out of shopping, and there’s a reason you don’t see that played out. That being said, if you find yourself impulsively buying things often, stop to explore why you are drawn to those particular items.
Emotions like jealousy, excitement, or sadness might be the driving force behind it. Owning those ankle weights or that gorgeous gym set made me feel like I was one step closer to truly becoming “that girl.” I’ve always wanted to be the type of person who works out and gets up early in the morning, and having those items gave me that feeling.
In reality, though, no amount of buying things was going to make me that person unless I set my alarm early, got into my workout clothes, and did the actual workout. After I faced the music, I found myself being less likely to impulse buy fitness things because I no longer felt the need to acquire anything additional to start the habit.
The same can be said if you always buy clothes when you feel sad about something at work or throw in a bunch of random add-ons at the checkout because you’re bored waiting in line. If you know what triggers you, you’ll be able to proactively get ahead of yourself and stop the impulse buy.
These tips have helped me save thousands of rands and dollars on random online shopping, so I’m confident they can help even the most impulsive shoppers. There is a time and place for allowing yourself to buy something without having planned it in advance.
But if you give yourself some guidelines in the shape of a waiting period, ask yourself the proper questions, and establish a limit, you will be able to keep on track with your financial objectives and be able to purchase the things that will offer you joy that will last a long time.
Wise Words!
To avoid impulsive purchases, practice mindful spending. Start by setting a budget and financial goals to give your purchases meaning. Before making a purchase, consider whether the item meets your requirements and ideals. Consider waiting 24 hours before making non-essential purchases to allow rational reasoning to triumph over impulse. Unsubscribe from enticing email newsletters and delete online payment details to prevent impulsive spending. Find alternatives to retail therapy like hobbies or mindfulness, and surround yourself with a support structure that promotes good financial decisions. These tactics can help you limit your expenditure and consume more intentionally and meaningfully. Remember that financial well-being is about choosing long-term goals above short-term desires.