Are you buying on impulse?

Identify impulse spending

Many of us get into the habit of want it - buy it. Or, see it - buy it. 

And this is one of the deadly sins when it comes to saving your hard earned money.

Have a look at these questions and ask yourself:

1.) Does your spouse or partner complain about the amount of money you spend?

2.) Are you surprised each month when your credit card bill arrives at how the bill is, compared to what you thought it would be?

3.) Do you have a lot more shoes and clothes in your closet than you really need?

4.) Do you own every new gadget that comes onto the market, hot off the manufacturers shelves?

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 can class yourself as an impulse spender.

This is not a good thing.

Well, it doesn't take a genius to see that, but the problem of impulse spending......

 - Will prevent you from saving for important things like a house, a reliable car, education or retirement.

- Impulse spending will often cause you to take on consumer debt (credit card debt) that can cost you a lot of money via interest payments in the long run.

- Impulse spending will not only put a strain on your finances but may strain your relationships, as well. Many relationships break up or otherwise come to grief over finances.

- Impulse spending can lead to clutter in our homes, which in turn can place stress on the family members who live amidst the clutter and chaos.


How do I stop spending money?

To overcome the problem, the first thing to do is learn to identify your wants from your true needs.

Needs - food, clothing, housing, electricity, water. Many people would list a car and internet access in this category as well.

Wants - high end clothing, electronic gadgets, fancy kitchenware and appliances, a new car, the latest mobile phone.

Of course there are many more things that can listed in these categories, and there will be some exceptions as well, depending on your exact circumstances. Make a list of your own and see if you can identify wants vs needs.


Create a savings goal. 
Once you have your budget in place and know how much (if any) spare money there should be, assign some of that money to a savings account and pay it into that account as soon as you have it. This leaves less for impulse buying.

Identify your shopping triggers
Take notice of those times when you're sorely tempted to shop, when you don't actually need something. Are you bored? Lonely? Stressed? What is it that puts you in impulse spending mode?

Cancel credit cards
If you have no credit card and work on a cash only system, it is a lot harder to impulse spend. If you need a credit card, give the actual card to your nearest and dearest unless you need the card to purchase a need.

Shop with a list
Make a list, bring enough money with you for what is on the list and stick to it religiously.

Shop vicariously
Some people report they can appease their impulse spending tendencies by browsing online.
Make a wish-list at Amazon.
Folks will even go so far as to put items in their online 'cart', but not actually purchase anything.

It is difficult, but resist trying to 'keep up with the Joneses'. The Joneses may well be up to their eyeballs in consumer debt, and you don't want to 'keep up' with that.

If you see something you think you really need, that is not on your needs list, don't buy it right away. 

Go home, think about it, talk about it with your partner. 

Research the product and where to get the best price. 

Then if, after a week, you still need/want it, have decided it will enhance your life, and you can purchase it without going into debt, do so.

That is not impulse spending, that is a well considered purchase.

If you can do this for all your wants, you will have successfully overcome impulse spending.