Impulse buying is a dead road that can lead to financial ruin. I am not trying to scare you, but it is what it is. 

I remember a day when my sister encouraged me to go shopping with her; of course, I went along with her with no intention of buying anything and returned home with a bag full of unplanned purchases. 

There are more of those instances when we make random purchases. When all you wanted was coconut flakes, you grabbed bread, biscuits, and eggs. Yes, that is impulse buying,

Impulse buying is simply any purchase that occurs without prior planning.

 If you have to dip into your savings account to fund impulse expenditures, you may have a real problem. Or if you are unable to differentiate between necessity and impulse

So this is a guide to how you handle your impulse buying habit: 

How To Handle Impulse Buying

 

Always Shop with a List: 

Shopping with a list is not always convenient in most cases. However, it is s useful. When you have a list of everything you want to buy, it truly helps. Have a list of what you need to buy, whether it’s groceries, Christmas gifts, or clothes, and challenge yourself to keep to it. With a list, you can walk down the stores and pick up what you require, rather than worrying about leaving room for those items you do not need. 

Cut Your Access to Funds:  

Having fast access to your funds can boost impulse buying. You can accomplish this in two ways: you can decide to only keep one debit card for one of your bank accounts if you have multiple so that when the urge to spend unnecessarily kicks in, you can easily avoid them. Alternatively, you can use Zedcrest Wealth to secure your savings. In either case, you won’t be able to access your funds unless it is necessary.

Have a waiting period before purchase:

Make it a rule that you will give yourself time to think about any purchase over a particular price. Depending on your proclivity for splurging, it may last anywhere from an hour to a month. The longer you can wait, though, the better. 

Giving yourself at least 24 hours to decide if buying something is a need or just a random impulsive purchase is a decent rule of thumb. It allows you to think over your purchases to be sure if it is a necessity.

Ignore Discounts

Discounts are great but sometimes are traps. You shouldn’t always buy when there’s a discount. If you look closely at discounts, you’ll notice that they are just sales strategies used by vendors to make you feel like you’re losing out. Most of the time, these discounts are barely half of the original price. Trust me when I say you’re not missing out on anything.  

Plan Your Expenses: 

If you’re prone to impulse purchases, there is a great chance you can also avoid them. Start making little purchases instead. I have realized that my bag addiction is not something that can’t just go away, so I set a monthly limit to how much I can spend on a bag, which helps me get disciplined. 

You can avoid random binge shopping by planning one new inexpensive item per month or a moderately pricey reward once a quarter. Setting up a tiny portion of your budget as an impulse fund can provide you with a realistic and appropriate way to handle unexpected expenditures.

Conclusion:

Spending can be fun, especially when it is on something you love. However, impulse purchases can ruin your finances. You will feel good at first, but only until you start keeping track of your expenses. 

Set aside funds, follow these options outlined above, and see how your finances will improve.