Impulse Purchases- How to control them

[starshard0]

Being relatively young, I'm just getting out of my teenage "gotta-have-it" phase, and moving into my "gotta-save-it" phase. Although I occasionally succumb to the allure of a candy-bar or salty snacks, I generally average less than $20 a month on those sorts of impulses.

[Lisa23]

Sounds like you have things under control. You must feel good about yourself.

[starshard0]

Not really, my gross income is relatively low, but since I don't need to buy anything it just goes a bit farther. I'm trying to save up all my money so I can retire early.

[wwstewart]

The best way for me to control impulse spending is to not carry any money (or carry only a couple bucks in change at most).

Which reminds me, I need to leave my debit card at the house...

[Lisa23]

Debit cards are nice because it comes right out of your account, but with credit you can get 2-3% back on all purchases. By writing what you charge into your check book, you can instantly keep track, and not splurge spend with money you don't have.

[happysmileylady]

Oh, something I discovered while grocery shopping last week that I had to share!

We all know that shopping hungry is bad. But sometimes it's unavoidable. And inevitably I spend more money when I shopt hungry. Last week, I spent $0.35 on a bottle of water from the vending machine and grabbed a small popcorn for $0.50 at the snack bar at the grocery store, before I even started shopping. I munched on the popcorn while shopping and this curbed the hunger induced impulse buys. I went to the grocery store hungry but left having only spent $0.85 more than what was on my list instead of $50 more.

[khorrell]

That seems like a sensible and frugal strategy. Much better than me rationalizing a $6 fast food meal before I hit the grocery store!

[The Zoo]

I find that I impulse spend when I look through a catalog or go to a mall or a store so I really try and avoid those activities. I recycle catalogs immediately and avoid the mall or going shopping.
I just got caught a couple weeks ago when I was in NY and had meetings on Madison up by the Jurlique store. It's a skin care line I've been wanting to try and so wandered in to check things out. Walked out with almost the entire line. I did need new face lotions and I did want to try this brand (supposed to be wonderful) but I literally felt like it was a whirlwind experience. Now I'm cutting down in other places (like food and wine) in order to balance the budget this month. I just do better not walking in to those places at all. Strict cold turkey.

[cc1]

I tried this recently...going cold turkey.
I'm not as much of an impulse buyer as I am buying things that I don't really need after stalking them for weeks for markdowns. Mostly clothes, shoes, accessories...

I don't buy these things on credit and have no debt, but I realized that I am spending as much or possibly more than I save. I joined this site to help me focus more on my finances and start budgeting and in turn saving.

So, I recently cancelled all my subscriptions and catalog mailings to avoid being tempted to spend. I also avoid walking past the windows of my favorite stores...and it's difficult because I love shopping for clothes. It really is an internal thing that I am working on as well...

Looking forward to reading more replys on this topic.

Originally Posted by The Zoo

I find that I impulse spend when I look through a catalog or go to a mall or a store so I really try and avoid those activities. I recycle catalogs immediately and avoid the mall or going shopping.
I just got caught a couple weeks ago when I was in NY and had meetings on Madison up by the Jurlique store. It's a skin care line I've been wanting to try and so wandered in to check things out. Walked out with almost the entire line. I did need new face lotions and I did want to try this brand (supposed to be wonderful) but I literally felt like it was a whirlwind experience. Now I'm cutting down in other places (like food and wine) in order to balance the budget this month. I just do better not walking in to those places at all. Strict cold turkey.

[Megan]

I've actually been doing something new to control the impulse spending - shopping more!

Makes no sense, right? Well, I work within walking distance of a department store, a houseware store, and one of my fave clothing stores. So on my lunchbreak, I often go to one of these stores and peruse. If I see something I like, I make a mental note of it, but nothing more. Knowing that I can go back any day makes it that much easier to turn down the purchase. And most of the time, I realize it's not something I want. Or I decide to stalk it to see if it goes on sale.