Probably one of the biggest challenges that people face financially is stopping impulse purchases.  An impulse purchase is a purchase that overrides the normal decision making process in the brain, and is often more emotional than logical.  Marketers often exploit impulse purchases in either having a consumer buy something that they don't need in the first place, or to sell an item at a higher price.

 

In order to stop impulse purchases, a consumer will need to have a process in place to allow them to redirect their impulse to buy into a more formal decision making process.  I have outlined 12 ways to help minimize the tendency to buy on impulse.

1.  Set a reasonable timeline before you buy an item.  Setting up a "cooling off period" of several days or more is probably the single greatest thing that you can do to avoid purchasing unnecessary items.  I personally know one guy who holds off a full month before he goes out and buys something new.  It is very rare that anyone will miss out by this method, as you will almost never come across the hard to find collectable that can't be found later. 

 

2.  Find where your money goes.  Write down all the purchases that you have made in the past few months.  After finding where your money has gone, try to set a budget to keep your spending within a reasonable limit.

 

3.  Set a small amount of money aside to spend on unnecessary items.  Create a small budget, in cash, that you allow yourself to spend every week or every month.  Anything you have left over, put into an account to use as your "mad money" for when you do want to spend it on something that is more large.   Rewarding yourself in this way will help you maintain a budget in the long run.

4.  Restrict the use of credit cards.  If you don't have cash to pay for the item, you don't need it. 

5.  Only buy items that are on sale.  Sales are always ongoing, especially in this economic crunch.  If you have the patience, it is likely that whatever you are trying to buy will be on sale within the next month. 

6.  Don't buy items JUST BECAUSE it's on sale.  The opposite of sales is true as well.  If you are buying just because it was on sale, but you don't have a need, you have just wasted your money.

7.  Only buy items on your shopping list.  Buying from a shopping list accomplishes 2 goals at the same time.  The first is that you made a deliberate decision to purchase an item, as opposed to a spontaneous purchase.  Second, now that you have your list, you only need to go through the isles that have your item, avoiding anything that might entice you to buy at the last minute. 

 

8.  Run your budget like a business, have a friend play "accountant" when you think about a purchase.  If you're married, you and your spouse can both play account for each other.  The trick to this is not only finding a friend you can trust, but someone who doesn't have the same weakness as you do.  If you know your weakness is spending money on video games, the last thing you should do is have one of your gaming buddies help you with your budget. 

 

9.  Give up window shopping as a way to kill time.  This includes flipping through catalogs.  In fact, many glamour magazines are constantly bombarding us with trying to sway us to make purchases.  We also have TV shows such as those on HGTV that constantly show expensive fixes that we can do with the house to keep up with the Joneses.  If you can put yourself in a place that keeps you from being bombarded with ads of "how life should be", you can avoid spontaneous purchases later.

 

10.  Create goals, then remind yourself of these goals when you shop.  Write down a short list of where you want to be in a year or 5 years, and have it handy when you go shopping in a store.  Pull it out whenever you feel a strong urge to buy something that you were not planning on.  It sounds simple, but having a goal to shoot for will help greatly in giving up impulse buying.

 

11.  Buy only to replace something broken.  Consider only making purchases to replace something broken or worn out.  Using this process not only limits your spending, it also has the added benefit of keeping clutter from building up in your home.  Naturally, when something breaks you can also decide to just do without the item. 

 

12. If you have a very strong, unnatural need to shop for emotional reasons, you may have Obsessive Shopping Disorder (also called Compulsive Shopping Disorder).  I don't pretend to know anything about psychology, but from what I have gathered Obsessive Shopping Disorder usually involves shopping and buying to make yourself happy.  Some of  the signs of this disorder may include making purchases only to throw away, store, or give away later.  Another symptom can be friends and loved ones who are horrified at your shopping habits.  Finding your home overrun with new, unused items still with their price tags on  them is another potential sign of the disorder.  While organizations such as Debtors Anonymous help as a support group for people with bad debts, they do not specifically help people with Obsessive Shopping Disorder.  The only cure would be to seek help and find a licensed therapist who specializes in treatment for this disorder.  

 

Whatever you do, in order to keep the best control over finance, you need to learn to control Impulse Purchases.  Please consider the list above, or even consider creating your own method.  Anything that you do to prevent unnecessary spending can only help.

 

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