Budget Friendly Tips to Reduce Impulse Buying

Posted in Spending on August 21, 2021

Are you the kind of person who often goes to the supermarket for bread and comes back with 2 bottles of wine, a dozen eggs, and a new blender instead? Stores in the modern world are designed to convince you to spend more with every aisle you visit. If you struggle to control your impulse spending, then don’t panic.

Although impulse buying can be a bad habit for a lot of people, it’s also something that you can get control over with a little bit of time and focus. Today, we’re going to cover some of the best saving tips you can use to reduce impulse buying.

1. Use Cash Only

It’s way too easy to buy the things you’re tempted to get these days. You might not even need to remember your pin number if you have a contactless card. You can simply swipe a piece of plastic, and you’re ready to go. Unfortunately, this also means you often end up buying things that you regret later.

A good way to avoid overspending is to switch back to the traditional buying solution – cash. Shopping with cash forces you to pay attention to every penny you spend. Using cash only for things like food and in-person shopping means you’re less likely to spend the money in your bank account that should be going towards paying off your bad credit loan, or dealing with bills.

2. Shop with a List

If you’re frequently spending more than you mean to on your shopping trips, maybe you need a little more direction? Shopping with a list will help you to avoid buying products that you don’t really need or want. You can even check your kitchen before you go shopping and make a list based on the meals you want to cook throughout the week. It’s not just a good idea for food shopping either.

Any time you’re going to buy something, whether it’s a gift, or some new items for your home, make sure you know exactly what you want from the moment you walk into the store (or log in online). If you decide that there’s something else you should probably have on your list later, you can always go back another time.

3. Shop with a Buddy

If you have a tough time stopping yourself from shopping on impulse, then you don’t necessarily have to go it alone. Take someone with you when you’re shopping for food, clothes, or anything else that you tend to have trouble with. A friend or family member can help to keep you accountable for what you’re spending and prevent you from going over the top.

No friend wants to be in charge of their pal’s spending completely, so make sure that you don’t make rely on them to stop you from spending any cash. Most of the time, just having someone there will make you rethink what you buy, but don’t blame your friend or loved one if you end up spending more than you should.

4. Don’t get a Cart

Only need a bottle of milk from the store today. No problem, you’re not going to need a cart or basket for that, so don’t get one. If you go in without something to help you stock up on extra items, you’re less likely to buy more than you want. Most of us won’t pile our arms full of products that we don’t want or need when it’s just going to be difficult to haul them around.

Make it harder for you to spend more cash and you’ll find that you leave the store more often with the things you actually want instead. If you do need a handful of things, try to stick to using either a basket or a smaller cart so you’re less tempted to fill it with extra items.

5. Double Check before the Checkout

Finally, when you’re done shopping for the day and you’ve got everything on your list, take the time to survey what you’ve actually got in your trolly or basket. Pay attention to anything that’s snuck into the cart when you weren’t paying full attention. It’s easy to add things to our cart on impulse that we forget about until the time comes to actually pay for them.

Ask yourself if you really need everything that you’ve picked right now, or whether it might be better to go home and see if you can get a better deal elsewhere first. Are you buying more than you need because you’re hungry, or not in a great mood? Double check before you go to the checkout.