Sometimes, the thing that makes us go over budget are certain triggers that take away our self control. You know, those things that send you into a spending frenzy or make you overpay for an item when it's just not worth it. There is one way to stop them and that is to do your best to avoid these triggers altogether!
Take a look at the list below to see if you relate to any of the spending triggers and learn how to stop impulse spending:
Stress
One main trigger is stress, being aggravated, feeling down, or on edge. Seeking out shopping as an outlet while you are on edge or upset is completely normal. BUT it’s not healthy and really leads to a lot of impulse buys. Try to find a new outlet for your emotions, something like yoga, walking, doing puzzles, a long hot bath, or even playing with your kids. It might take awhile to retrain yourself, but if you keep at it, you can nip that bad habit in the bud.
Boredom
Just like with stress, many of us use shopping to fill the void of boredom. We aimlessly browse the aisles or online to kill time and it ends up leading us into many purchases we might not otherwise make. If you are shopping simply out of boredom find another way to relieve the boredom - read a book, take a walk, have some friends over or clean out a closet and donate a bag full of items - what a great way to reverse the spending!
Addiction
Plain and simple, shopping can be an addiction. Those sparkly shoes fly into the cart, that butter soft purse goes right on top, and heck, toss in that new set of towels. Everything you like is getting tossed into that cart...and it feels great! Shopping can be a real high for some but unfortunately, like all highs, the euphoria is short lived. Especially once you realize the balance of your credit card or bank account. If this sounds like you, look for healthier alternatives, like sports and exercise, to get that same rush of excitement, or this trigger can ruin your life.
Celebration
Maybe it's not some "bad" emotion or stress that is causing you to spend impulsively, but something fabulous that happened. Maybe it was that raise you finally got at work, or you finished a semester at university with top marks. While rewarding yourself for big things can be important and a great motivator, it's important to keep your rewards in check. Instead of a big spending binge, try taking yourself to the movies or grab an ice cream cone. Small rewards can feel just as great as big ones.
Sales
Just because it’s on sale doesn’t mean it is necessarily a good buy. Do you really need it? Will it get used? Is it worth the sale price? The lure of a sale can make us buy things we wouldn't normally buy just because it looks like a deal. Look carefully at your motive behind the impulse to grab it. If the item is something you would normally buy, you can still take a little time to comparison shop and make sure you are getting the best deal.
Kids
Sometimes it is impossible to get to the store without kids but if you can, I suggest you do your shopping without them in tow. Grocery stores and every other kind of store is intentionally designed to turn them into materialistic begging little children. Candy...right at the checkout with other items like trading cards, as seen on TV items, and little toys that call out to our kids, and they listen! But even as you stroll the aisles it could be a special box of cereal, a treat, just one lunch pack, one convenience food, etc.. and we add way more to our cart than we would if we were alone following our carefully crafted list because we love those little children of ours!
Convenience
Too tired to cook? Just pull up the Domino's app and pizza dinner will be at your doorstep in minutes. Convenient yes but does it lead to needless overspending? I think so. As convenient as they may be, when you have Domino's, Amazon and other similar stores apps on your cell phone or tablet it makes it too easy to make impulse buys. Consider deleting all your shopping apps and maybe taking the extra step to get on the computer or phone will cut back your spending. In both instances there's a disconnect between us and our purchases and it makes it so much easier to part with our hard earned money.
A great way to pinpoint your spending trigger is to stop every time you want to make a purchase and try to figure out why. Do you really need it? Are you just bored? Are you only buying it because it's on sale? Keep track in a notebook, you might be surprised at what triggers you to spend.
What triggers your impulse spending? How do you try to deal with those triggers?
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Last week, I wrote a post asking for your inspiring financial stories and I have one to share! This one is from Dorianne and she's sharing how her entire family worked together for common savings goals. Enjoy!
We live in a rural community in Alberta. When we moved out here from the big city I wondered what my kids could do for a job while growing up since there are no paper routes, McDonald's, etc -the kinds of places kids and teens typically work. So, we took on a family job of managing and being janitors of our community hall when our oldest was about 12 years old.
Not only were we involved in our community, the kids were able to earn money and learn to work hard, even, and especially, when we really didn't feel like going to clean on the weekends, etc.
We were paid a base monthly amount of $250, plus hourly for cleaning. The cleaning money went to the kids based on their hours of cleaning. The base monthly amount went in to a separate bank account as savings for 'family fun money' and goals we had in mind. It was NEVER to be touched for anything else, which was tempting at times as we work in oil and gas in this tough economy and could have used it for a few things! BUT we were determined to stick with our savings goal!
The first thing we saved for was a tent-trailer and we have had many fun camping trips with it. The second thing was tickets to Disney World. That was our best family trip ever! The third and last thing we decided to save for was a hot tub -something we all could enjoy for years to come.
As you can imagine, at only $250/month, these goals took years to save for. Now that our kids are grown and starting to leave home and having 'real' jobs, we finally reached our hot-tub goal in the fall and quit our Community Hall job. It really has been a life-long lesson for our kids!
How inspiring was that! Something to strive for, for sure 🙂 Thanks Dorianne!
Chapters Indigo has a fantastic deal on the Disney Cinderella Royal Dream Dollhouse! It’s just $99.50. Regular $199.95. Here are some details:
The Disney Cinderella Royal Dream Dollhouse by KidKraft has everything your princess will need to relive her favorite fairytale. Our dollhouse includes 11 pieces of royal furniture, a beautiful glass slipper, and gold hanging chandelier all fit for a princess. 5 Rooms of open space to play and decorate. Features a glass slipper and pillow perfect for Cinderella and her Prince. Gold attic doors open right into Cinderella’s sewing room. Packaged with detailed, step-by-step assembly instructions. Accommodates fashion dolls up to 12″ tall and made of composite wood products, fabric, plastic, and solid wood. Ages 3+.
Visit the Walmart.ca coupon page to find three new coupons for Smucker’s, Adams, Folgers and Wonder Bread! Available for Print or Ordering.
Save $3 when you buy one Smucker’s jam, jelly, or fruit spread 310-500ml, one Adams natural peanut butter 500g, and one Folgers K-Cup pods, 12 or 30 count
Save $2.00 off Folgers roast and ground coffee 292-975g
Head on over to the Simply Frugal SmartSource coupon page to find a new coupon for $2.00 off any Adult Essentials or IronKids Essentials Vitamin Gummies!
Forget about making dinner plans, take advantage of this deal from Pizza Hut tonight!
Order a large or medium pizza at regular price and get the 2nd, 3rd and 4th medium for just $5 each! You’ll also receive a free $5 online gift voucher that you can use on a future purchase from Pizzahut.ca!
Love popcorn? Love Kernels Popcorn? Well, celebrate national popcorn day at Kernels with their buy 1 get 1 free offer! Buy 1 large popcorn, get another large FREE!
