How to Avoid Impulse Purchases

Impulse buying– we have all been there and done that. We’ve seen so many products we just can’t do without. We all know that impulse buying leads to collecting things we don’t really need or want, but it can be difficult to resist. The most obvious solution is to stay away from malls and online shopping sites, but we know that this can be quite challenging. Fear not, here are three simple tips to help you control impulse buying.

Disable one-click spending: If you find yourself online shopping more often than you or your budget would like, disconnect your credit cards and bank accounts from one-click purchases on websites you frequent.

Delay the gratification: Separate yourself from your shopping cart before clicking “buy now”. Go ahead and add the items that are calling your name to your cart, but then wait at least six hours to finalize the purchase. Often, we get distracted and never go back to complete the purchase. Just don’t use those six hours to add more stuff to your cart.

Set an allowance: Set a monthly or weekly online shopping budget and dedicate one specific checking account (not a credit card) to those purchases. Transfer your spending allowance to this card, and once the money is gone, you have to wait until your next scheduled ‘allowance’ to spend more.