Impulse spending is spare of the moment purchases which are totally unplanned and can often derail your budget planning. Whilst it can be difficult to overcome the negative emotions which often drive impulse spending, these tips may help to overcome it and keep your budget on track.
When you do your shopping, make a list of what you need and then try to just buy what’s on your list. If you wonder around the supermarket without a plan, you’ll end up buying more than you need and end up with things you really don’t need.
We live in an increasingly cashless society but this has it down sides. It’s easier to overspend when you can’t physically see how much you’re spending. Try leaving your cards at home and use cash when you go shopping. This may help you to be more mindful of only buying what you need – that shopping list will help!
A common misconception of budgeting is that it’s about living as frugally as possible. However, your budget should always include some wriggle room and allow some miscellaneous spending. You’re allowed to treat yourself now and again without worrying about your budget going off-track.
If you’re shopping online, it’s easy to get carried away and buy stuff on impulse. Try putting items into your virtual basket and coming back to it later. This gives you time to consider whether you really need or want to make the purchase, you'll be surprised how many times you decide you don't need it. Also, with sites like Amazon, you'll get a notification if the price drops which could save you money.
If you are finding that shopping online is fuelling your impulse spending, either delete the apps or delete your card details from them. The act of having to put in your card details will again, give you time to consider if you really want to make the purchase.
There ar security benefits to not saving your card details online too. If your phone or laptop is stolen people can rack up a lot of purchases in a short time and you may not be able to get your money back.
If you’re becoming concerned about impulse spending, set yourself a challenge. For a week or even a month, try only spending money on the essentials. If you succeed, allow yourself a small treat or putting the money you didn’t spend into your savings. Challenging yourself like this will help you to reduce unplanned spending and keep to your budget.
Think about when you most commonly make unplanned purchases. Do you spend online after the kids have gone to bed? Perhaps you go on a spending spree on Saturday afternoons when you have nothing else to do. If you know when you’re most likely to put a dent in your bank balance, try to distract yourself. Go for a walk or choose a room to declutter. Just keep busy and plan something to do so that you avoid shopping out of boredom.
One trick to help overcome impulse spending is to agree that you can buy the item but you HAVE to save the equivalent amount of money. If you can’t afford to do this, it might help you to think twice about making the purchase.