Impulse spending – it’ll be the debt of me

Women only?

No I think guys are affected by impulse spending as much as women. The difference is that the stuff that guys buy are probably not as expensive and can fulfil them for longer. The latest Xbox game will probably see more mileage than the little black number bought for the Christmas party. You see advertisers want everyone’s money. They will differentiate their advertising campaigns based solely on whether their target market is predominantly female or male. The thing is they go after everyone’s money with equal gusto.

Some of the best and brightest minds are employed with one goal and that goal is to separate you from your money. You shouldn’t feel too bad about it when you impulse spend. The reason why is because “they made me do it” is a very valid excuse. And no we’re no talking about the voices in your head. We’re talking about the hundreds of little tricks that advertisers use to get you to take action. You too can have a body like mine…for $9.99…ok you get the idea.

What can you do?

Hide in a cave somewhere? Erm maybe! But as an alternative solution you just need to take a look at your buying behavior.Have you ever gone into a shop for no reason only to come out with a bag full of ‘stuff’? Then when you get home you realize that you don’t even need any of it? It was almost like you were in a hypnotic trance. The key to defeating this behavior is to gain clarity about what you want and to become strategic about your shopping. You need to become more conscious of your shopping decisions. Sounds very grand doesn’t it?For some shopping is fun, for others it’s a chore. Either way becoming more strategic about your shopping will help eliminate impulse spending. The simplest way to become more strategic about your spending is to write a list and wait for it – stick to that list.

By writing a list of the items that you want you are pre-programming you brain to focus on the items on the list. As a result your mind will help push out the potential impulse items that are not on your list.

To strengthen your focus, make sure that when you write a list of the items to include the stores that need to go to get them. This way you are reducing the number of stores you are ‘allowed’ visit. If it’s not on the list then don’t allow yourself to go to that store.

When you go shopping do you have a list? I’m not just talking about grocery shopping. I’m talking about shopping in general. Ok I know you might like to browse and this is fine but you need to be browsing with intent. So say you want to buy a new pair of jeans, by all means browse until you find the right pair but make sure to browse with the goal of buying a pair of jeans. Not with the goal of just ‘browsing’.

If you see something else you like, resolve to buy it tomorrow and let yourself sleep on it. The decision not the item! Usually the following day you will have either forgotten about it or it will seem less appealing.

Another thing you can do to stem the tide of impulse spending is to set yourself a time limit. If you are under time pressure you are less likely to meander around the stores ‘browsing’ for stuff. If you have a time limit to do your shopping then you will be in and out and won’t have time to browse.

Ideally you should think about your shopping like a military expedition. You have your objectives – the items on your list. You have the targets you have to hit – the stores you can visit. You have a time frame in which you need to reach those objectives. This way you limit your options and reduce exposure to radiation – sorry I mean impulse spending.

Is this way of shopping fun? No not really but it is a very effective way of reducing your impulse spending. Shopping this way tends to be very matter-of-fact with very little room to enjoy the whole shopping experience. That’s the point. The more you enjoy shopping the more you want to do it and the more you shop the more you spend and the more you spend the longer it takes to get out of debt. You get the picture.