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Saving money is hard.
Whether you’re trying to save for a new car, pay off debt or, like me, saving for your dream homestead, it can be really hard to stay on track. No matter what your big money saving goal is, nothing will derail it faster than impulse spending.
The five dollars here or there quickly adds up to a couple hundred dollars a month. It feels like a punch in the gut when you actually sit down and add it all up.
The problem is, usually you aren’t even aware that you’re doing it! It doesn’t seem like a big deal to buy a pop at the gas station or add a box of Oreo’s to the shopping cart. You don’t even think twice.
Once you’ve realized that impulse spending is a big problem, you’re going to need to make some changes to stop it. These are my favorite tips to avoid the triggers that lead to impulse spending without even being aware of it.
Order Groceries, because you can't impulse spend if you don't go in the store!
This is my very best way to avoid impulse spending!
I love ordering my groceries on my phone. It’s fast, easy, and because I’m not walking through the store I don’t end up putting extras in my cart.
Another great thing with ordering my groceries on my phone is that it keeps a running total of how much I’ve added to my cart. This makes it really easy to stay on budget without the embarrassment of having to put something back once you get to the cash register.
If you want to save even more money on groceries check out this post on cooking from your pantry for tons more great ideas!
Plan fun(free!) activities
If your current hobby is wandering the mall or going to the store just to get out of the house this is the tip for you. Find fun activities that don’t cost money and will keep you out of the store.
Take the kids wading in a creek, go to a park, go for a hike, visit the library, the options are almost limitless! Whatever you decide to do, it will save you money by keeping you out of the store and away from impulse spending.
Create a waiting period
This does take some will power but it works really well. I like to try to wait overnight at least.
Buying new things gives you a type of high, and often when you make an impulse purchase it’s more about wanting the high than the actual item. Waiting overnight to purchase an item gives you a bit of a cooling off period to really evaluate the purchase.
Is it something that will actually make your life better or are you just buying it because it’s there and you want to make yourself feel good? Are you going to regret purchasing it? Do you actually have the money for the item or are you taking money from another category?
Make a list (and stick to it!)
Simple, but it does work. Make a list before you go to the store. Not only will this help to prevent impulse spending, but you can avoid having to go back to pick up something you forgot.
I don’t know about you, but I always end up with way more stuff in my cart every time I go into town to get just one thing! Fewer trips equals fewer opportunities to overspend.
Another quick tip is to add items you end up buying anyways on your grocery list. For example, my husband likes to have a pop while he’s driving his semi. He used to stop at gas stations to buy them, but he always ended up buying extras too! It added up really fast.
So, I added his pop to my grocery list. Since he had pop to take with him he wasn’t stopping and buying a pop. Since he wasn’t going in a gas station to buy pop, he wasn’t buying sunflower seeds, candy bars, and jerky either. This one little tip saved us tons of money every single month!
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Unsubscribe from sales emails
For a while I would wake up every morning with 15 or 20 new emails from various stores. It was insane!
Finally, one morning I had enough. I had forgotten to put my phone on silent and I got non-stop email alerts for almost two hours.
I went through my emails and unsubscribed from almost everything. It immediately reduced the amount of email I had to check in the mornings and I realized that I didn’t want to buy as many things when I wasn’t constantly being bombarded with ads.
It seems obvious now, but ads are designed to make you want to buy things. Get rid of the ads and it will get rid of the impulse spending too.
Do a no spend challenge
No spend challenges are super popular! I try to do them pretty often, honestly though, I’m not always successful at completing them.
And that’s ok! Doing five days of a week long no spend challenge is still progress.
I’ve noticed that there’s a few things that always help me to complete no spend challenges successfully.
First is organization. I have to have a plan! Plans keep me sane. If there’s a last minute trip for a family event it always derails my no spend week.
Second, I make sure that we aren’t out of any essentials. Some things you can live without. For example, if you run out of lunch meat you can eat peanut butter sandwiches instead, no big deal. Some things, however, you have to have. When you run out of toilet paper, you have to go buy it. Stock up on true necessities ahead of time whenever possible and you’ll be able to complete your no spend challenge much more easily.
Use Cash to Avoid Impulse Spending
There’s something that happens when we spend actual cash. We just don’t spend as much.
It’s so much more painful to spend half the grocery budget in cash because you didn’t want to cook than it is to simply swipe your card and figure it out later.
I understand that in today’s world of direct deposits and debit cards getting cash out of the bank before you go grocery shopping is a pain. It’s worth it though.
Sticking to a budget is much easier when you can see exactly how much money you actually have to spend. If you’ve tried and tried to avoid impulse shopping and never succeeded, leave the card at home and only use cash for your purchases. You’ll be surprised at how much easier it is to break your impulse spending habit.
The first big step to avoid impulse spending is first to become aware that you’re doing it. Once you know that it’s a problem these seven simple tips will help you stop spending fast, so that you can save money and accomplish your big money goals faster than you ever imagined.
