We’ve all been there—you pop into a shop for one thing and end up leaving with a bunch of things you didn’t plan to buy. Buying on impulse is one of the biggest barriers to building savings, and it can quickly derail your budget if you’re not careful. The good news is that overcoming spontaneous purchases is possible, and with a little discipline and a few helpful tricks, you can start saving more money and making wiser spending decisions. The key is to identify the triggers behind your spending and shift those behaviors with positive, money-saving behaviours.
The first step to reducing impulsive buying is to create a budget and adhere to it. Knowing exactly how much money you have available for discretionary spending each month can help you avoid the impulse to buy things on a whim. When you see something you feel like buying, give yourself a cooling-off period—give it a day before pulling the trigger. This gives you time to think about whether you truly want saving money tips for women it or if it’s just an impulse. In most cases, you’ll find that the desire to buy fades, and you’ll avoid spending money needlessly.
Another useful idea is to reduce opportunities for temptation. If internet shopping is your weakness, opt out of marketing emails and remove saved payment details from your favourite shopping websites. If you tend to buy without thinking in person, leave your credit cards at home and pay in cash. By creating barriers to spending, you’ll have more time to consider what you’re buying and avoid succumbing to spontaneous purchases. Breaking the habit may take time, but the eventual payoffs—more savings and reduced money anxiety—are definitely rewarding.