{"id":2031,"date":"2022-02-25T10:02:47","date_gmt":"2022-02-25T18:02:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.checkworks.com\/blog\/?p=2031"},"modified":"2022-02-25T10:05:58","modified_gmt":"2022-02-25T18:05:58","slug":"how-to-resist-impulsive-spending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/how-to-resist-impulsive-spending\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Resist Impulsive Spending"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A midwestern couple walks into a mall. They\u2019re looking to get some exercise so they set their FitBits and 9,000 steps later they\u2019ve dropped $500. If you\u2019re waiting for a punchline, there isn\u2019t one. They left the mall with three ramen bowls, two coats, a pair of Doc Martens, and a bag of Lindt truffles they didn\u2019t need when they got there and still didn\u2019t need when they left.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sound familiar? Impulse spending are those instances in stores or online when we buy things we never intended to, and it\u2019s no laughing matter. Research reveals that Americans spend an average of $183 per month on impulse buys. To put that into perspective, if you saved just half of that over a period of 10 years at an interest rate of 8%, you\u2019d have over $15,000 set aside!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut these are things I need!\u201d you say. Whoa. Before you start defending yourself, impulse spends often include the things we absolutely don\u2019t need, such as that pack of gum or bottle of soda you picked up in the check-out line, and they can be even bigger like the car you bought after saying you were just window shopping. The problem arises when we go over budget, and particularly when we start counting on credit to cover the costs.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2020 alone, thanks largely to the pandemic, impulse spending increased by 18% <\/span>according to a Slickdeals survey<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a>. And maybe that speaks to one of the major causes of impulse spending, emotional remedy shopping. Whether it\u2019s boredom or fear or just a need for a happy fix, we are spending more on more things we just don\u2019t really need.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Psychology Today reports, \u201cAs people shop, they\u2019re naturally visualizing how they\u2019ll use products they\u2019re considering, and in doing so, they\u2019re also visualizing their new life,\u201d which causes the brain to release a pleasurable bit of dopamine. However, the crash comes when we realize that happy little spend has resulted in a big ding in our budget. In fact, a Finder.com survey reported that nearly half of impulse buyers regret their purchase following the transaction.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you count yourself among those who just can\u2019t resist the next newest shiny thing, if you find yourself too often treating yourself to meals out or a new outfit or buying supplies for that next big home improvement, you\u2019re not alone. Impulse spending can be driven by the need to self-remedy your emotional state, by feelings of inadequacy that make us \u201ccompete with the Joneses,\u201d or even by the way we were taught to deal with money by our parents.<\/span><\/p>\n

But going over budget and racking up credit card debt are surefire ways to find yourself in financial trouble. It is therefore important, if you\u2019re an impulse spender, to develop strategies for coping with the problem. Here are some ways to prevent that next impulse purchase:<\/span><\/p>\n