How to stop impulse buying
Impulse buying is a common behavior today. Our culture of consumption enables us to succumb to temptation and purchase something we don’t really need. This behavior is related to anxiety and unhappiness.
Impulse buyers are more social, status-conscious, and image-concerned. The impulse buyer may therefore buy as a way to look good in the eyes of others. They tend to experience more anxiety and difficulty controlling their emotions, which may make it harder to resist emotional urges to impulsively spend money. When some people are unhappy or depressed, they tend to buy stuff as a way to improve their mood not minding the consequences.
William Gibson quote says “We’re moving toward a world where all the consumers under a certain age will probably tend to identify more with their consumer status or with the products they consume than they would with ... any sort of antiquated notion of nationality.”
Many impulsive buyers think that being seen with an expensive new purchase will bring them respect and happiness so they go shopping for the latest vogue in town. They can’t resist the urge to buy the product and does so, without considering whether it’s too expensive or frivolous. This inevitably leads to the buyer’s remorse and they will start regretting their purchase.
We all behave impulsively every now and then, and a certain level of impulse buying can be harmless. However, an excessive level of impulse buying can lead to debts and unhappiness, so it’s in your best interest to know when to buy and when not to buy a product. You should make out a budget every month and make sure you don’t go beyond that budget. If you find that despite making out a budget you often still spend money without really thinking about what you’re buying or why, you fit the description of an impulse buyer.
You can get control of your spending in other to reach your financial goals. What you can do is always shop from a list. Plan your purchases in advance so you don’t make unplanned purchases. If something is on your list, then buy it if not skip it, be disciplined.
Many times people buy things that may not be useful to them at the moment hoping to use it some time later, and at the end of the day their home is littered with things and they no longer have enough space to move around in the house.
Online shopping makes it easy to spend money but you must buy only what is on your buy list. It’s advisable not to save your payment information on these retail online shops because it makes it easier for you to shop impulsively. Another way you can control this behavior of impulse buying is to create a maximum withdraw limit on your account.
Cultivate self control and change the habit of shopping when you are upset. When you are unhappy look inwards not outwards for happiness lies within you. Going for shopping to ease the tension inside of you or make you happy is only a temporary relief. Impulsive buying will affect your savings and your financial goals, you have to consider your future and spend less so you will have to spend tomorrow.
By Hilda Oti
