shopping spree

How to Prevent a Drunken Online Shopping Spree

Emily Guy Birken — Mon, 12 Jun 2017 09:00:10 +0000

It used to be that drinking and shopping took some effort on your part, since you had to get yourself to a brick-and-mortar store in order to actually make purchases. It wasn't really a situation many of us would find ourselves in. But online shopping has made it possible to shop while buzzed.

Browsing Amazon or eBay after a night of drinking may not seem like a terrible habit to indulge in. You're safe at home, after all, and you can crash in bed after your wine and shopping binge — and there's always that hilarious moment several days later when your purchase finally arrives and you get to open the mystery box. But drunken shopping sprees aren't cheap. According to a Finder.com survey, the average amount of money that drunk shoppers spend in a single evening of tipsy debauchery is $206.

While having a funny souvenir of a memorable night may be a justifiable use of your money the first time it happens, making a habit of drunk shopping can throw a major wrench in your financial plans. Here are six ways you can keep your wallet safe from your worst shopping impulses when you are tempted to drink and shop.

1. Carry cash

While most drunken shopping sprees are now happening online, in-person tipsy shopping is still a problem. This tends to be more of an issue when your drinking venue is close to a shopping destination — like when you are on vacation and can drift from the bar to the cute boutiques without having to set foot in a vehicle. There are also plenty of opportunities for you to spend your money in person after a few drinks have loosened your purse strings, including "Sip and Shop" events set up specifically to encourage that behavior.

The easiest way to thwart yourself from making unnecessary purchases is by carrying cash for the evening. That helps you to reduce the potential damage you can do to your finances by limiting the amount of money you can spend in one evening. (See also: Is an All-Cash Diet Right for You?)

2. Post sticky notes everywhere

Believe it or not, sticky notes can be a form of time travel. Your past self can use the sticky note to remind your future drunk self why you don't want to waste your money on more iTunes purchases or cute shoes. If you know you're likely to shop under the influence, write out notes to yourself about why drunk shopping is a bad idea. Go ahead and list the reasons why you are going to regret your purchase in the morning.

While a single sticky note can get this across, putting additional notes so that your computer screen is covered with them will really force your future self to remember that your past self is serious about this issue.

3. Turn off one-click ordering

One-click ordering means you can go from being unaware an item exists, to coveting it, to buying it, all within seconds. Add some beer to that equation, and it's even more likely that you'll be scratching your head over a delivery in a few days while lamenting your lighter wallet.

Removing your credit card information from your favorite retail sites can help to curb your drunken shopping habits, since you will have to get up to get your wallet and enter in your credit card information in order to complete your sale. The work necessary to enter in your information will either sober you up enough to make you question your need for cardboard cutouts of the Golden Girls, or will be more typing than you can handle in your inebriated state.

This is also a good reason to remove your account information on any shopping sites, so that you are forced to type in your mailing address every time you shop. That can be enough of a barrier to keep you from recklessly drinking and buying. (See also: 39 Mindless Ways You're Wasting Money in Every Part of Your Life)

4. Block retail sites when you know you will be drinking

There are many apps and browser extensions out there to help force you to be productive when you are feeling the siren's song of your Twitter or Facebook feed. But these tools can also help you to manage your drunk purchasing behavior. Simply set your app or browser extension to block you out of shopping sites anytime you are likely to be drinking — such as on Friday evenings or after your weekly happy hour with friends.

5. Remove shopping apps from your phone

It's entirely possible to spend your rent money without leaving your house or even booting up your laptop, which means you will need to cut off this additional source of temptation: shopping apps on your phone. Not only do these apps make it far too easy to shop after you've had a few, they don't do you any favors while you are sober, either. These apps allow you to spend money without feeling any pain of payment, which makes them especially dangerous when you are drunk.

Remove those apps from your phone, and consider replacing them with apps that will also be fun to surf without spurring you to spend money. For instance, the Pinterest app can give you the feeling of virtual window shopping.

6. Be prepared to make returns

While opening up the mystery box you receive after a night of drunk shopping can be exciting, it's a much better policy to simply return your purchases without opening them. Go ahead and send it back rather than clutter up your home with a purchase that only seemed like a good idea when you were at the bottom of a glass of wine.

This article is from Emily Guy Birken of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Top 5 Ways Thieves Use Your Stolen Credit Card

Paul Michael — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 08:00:08 +0000

It can be a shock. You go online to check your credit card statement, and you're presented with a series of hefty transactions you know you didn't make. Thousands of dollars, gone in the blink of an eye.

Luckily, credit cards have fraud protections not offered by debit cards. As long as you report the errors quickly, you're covered for these fraudulent charges. But it does make you wonder … how do the thieves do it, and how might they have used your stolen card? Here are the five most common uses for a card that has been "liberated."

1. A blowout shopping spree

Once the thieves have a working copy of your credit card information, they are off to the races. Timing is paramount for thieves, because they know the second you realize what's up, you'll call and cancel the card. Plus, credit cards these days will stop working on their own if the bank's algorithms detect suspicious activity, such as purchases of many high-cost items in one go, or purchases made out of state.

So, credit card in hand, thieves hit up several different stores in a mall, or anywhere else that has a variety of stores close by each other. They pick out items that they can sell easily with a good return, such as electronics, designer clothing, and jewelry. They are lightning-fast — they can rack up thousands of dollars in purchases in under 30 minutes. By the time the card is shut down, they have already made off with quite a haul. Sadly, the stores and the credit card companies rarely catch them.

2. ATM withdrawals

Most people assume that a stolen credit card won't be used for ATM withdrawals because those require a PIN. However, depending on how the thief got your card, that may be wrong. If the thief stole your entire wallet or purse, they can often get clues from the contents, including your birth date (still a common PIN used by many people) and house number.

Your best defense here is to choose strong passwords and PINs. If your PIN is still somehow compromised, report the card stolen as soon as possible. Luckily, you won't be on the hook for the money withdrawn, as long as you can prove it was a result of theft.

3. Sold to other criminals as part of a bulk lot

When your card details are breached, it's not always the thief's intention to use the information on goods or cash withdrawals. More sophisticated thieves will collect a large number of cards and then sell those details to cybercriminals as part of a "job lot."

Interestingly, these cybercriminals price the cards in different ways, depending on how much information is provided. If it is simply the card number and expiration date, it will not bring much money. These cards are sold for a few bucks, because the chances of successfully making off with a chunk of money is slim. If the security number on the back is added, the price goes up. If the PIN is known, the asking price is higher. The highest price goes to sellers who can provide additional data, including purchasing behaviors and security question details.

Of course, once cybercriminals have the info, they either use it quickly, or resell it again. The black market for card numbers is vast.

4. Gift cards

A simple form of money laundering is for criminals to use the stolen credit card to buy up a large number of high-denomination gift cards. If you think about it, it's the simplest way to turn a liability into cold, hard cash.

The thief will hit a local grocery store and pick up handfuls of different gift cards. If the store clerk questions the large purchase, the thief simply says it's a great way to buy goods and services from merchants that won't take credit cards.

By the time the stolen card is reported and canceled, the thief has made off with thousands of dollars in gift cards. Now, the criminal has all the time in the world to spend them, or sell them to someone else, because these cards are 100 percent legit and won't be shut down. Even if the thief only gets half the face value of the gift cards, it's all profit for them.

5. Online shopping

Thieves have many options when it comes to buying merchandise online with a stolen card. Only the dumbest thief will actually use a stolen credit card to have a big-screen TV delivered to his or her own home. Instead, the criminal can have the products delivered to an address they know to be vacant. They can use a mail drop scheme, which is basically a remailing service that makes the final destination of the product impossible to trace. They can also set up an intricate "triangulation" scheme on auction sites like eBay.

All in all, if you think your stolen credit card will not be used online, you're in for a rude awakening. Thieves are always thinking ahead.

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

6 Ways to Resist a Splurge

Sarah Winfrey — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 10:00:03 +0000

If you went into debt buying gifts for the holidays, the time has come to pay that money back. What's more insidious than that, is the fact that most of us get used to spending over the holidays. We buy special gifts, special meals, special tickets, and more. But come January, most of us need to stop these splurges. We can't live that way all the time, or we will run out of money to pay the bills and buy what we need.

It's hard, though, to see what we want and not buy it, especially when we've become lax with our self-control in that area. Here are some ideas to help you turn your spending around, and ultimately resist the urge to splurge.

1. Understand Your Feelings

Many of us overspend when something negative is going on in our lives. We want the instant gratification that comes with having something new because something else isn't working. Rather than making the purchase, we can stop and focus on what is making us feel bad, work that out, and then we won't need to buy anything in order to feel better.

If you can't make yourself stop and think about your feelings after you've felt the urge to splurge, try sitting down and identifying the types of feelings that make you want to spend. Think over past splurges and see if something else was causing you the stress that buying something alleviated. Put some serious energy into this exercise, and you'll be better prepared to resist temptation the next time it rears its head.

2. Consider the Context

Before you make a spontaneous purchase, force yourself to consider the entire financial context in which you're making the purchase. If you buy this thing that you want, will you be able to pay your bills this month? Will it cause you to go into debt? Will it keep you from reaching your overall financial goals?

Often, considering the cumulative effects that a purchase can have will help you stave off the spending spree. When you see the ways that spending now could impact you negatively later, it's a lot easier to walk away without putting your money down.

3. Think About Anything Else

Sometimes, we splurge because we can't stop thinking about something we saw, wanted, and almost bought. After you make yourself walk away initially, think about something else. Go back to work, call a friend, make plans for the weekend — whatever! Just get your mind off of whatever it was you considered spending your money on.

If this is hard for you, make a deal with a friend that you'll help each other. When one of you wants to buy something, you can call or text the other and know that there's someone to help you redirect your thoughts. That way, you won't be alone in your quest to avoid the splurge.

4. Calm Yourself Down

Buying something often makes us feel better because it stimulates us. We get excited. Unfortunately, we don't always make the best decisions when we are following our excitement.

If you're in the middle of the store or out with friends, try taking a few deep breaths. If you can escape to a bathroom — even better. Close your eyes and breathe in for a count of four, hold for a count of four, breathe out for a count of four, and leave your lungs empty for a count of four. Do this several times and you will find your mind clearer. You'll probably make a better decision about what to buy, too. (See also: 5 Things Yoga Can Teach You About Money)

5. Wait Before You Buy

Make an agreement with yourself, before you buy another thing, that you have to wait a certain amount of time before you spend money impulsively. This might be 24 hours, two days, or even a week. The point is that you give yourself time to consider your purchase, decide how it fits into your budget, and deal with your feelings before any money leaves your wallet.

Some people only do this with purchases over a certain amount of money. For instance, you may decide that it is the purchases over $50 that are really hurting you. In that case, you can decide that you have to wait a week before you spend anything over that amount. It helps to have someone to keep you accountable here, so you don't override the decision on a whim.

6. List the Things You Want (Rather Than Buying Them)

When you want to buy something, add it to a list of wants, rather than making the purchase now. Sometimes, this satisfies the urge entirely. And even if it doesn't, it often settles the feeling that you have to buy it now or you will never find/see/encounter it again. If you're buying online, save a picture of the item and a link somewhere. If you're in a store, snap a photo of the item and another of the price and store those.

This can sound crazy, but it definitely works. I have a friend who "fake buys" things all the time, and another who keeps a Pinterest board of all the stuff she'd like to get. Capturing an item in this way can satisfy the urge to possess something, without spending all of your money on actually getting it.

How do you stave off a splurge? Would you recommend your methods to others?

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This article is from Sarah Winfrey of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: