How To Avoid Impulse Buying
February 12
Are you an impulse buyer?
Imagine this. You went to a department store, or grocery store, or a mall. You had a list of things to buy. It could be on a piece of paper, your cell phone or just in your mind.
As you pick the items in your list, you an item that you like on sale. Fifty percent price cut! You thought you should grab this chance to buy this item that you have been dreaming to buy for months! Without having a second thought, you grabbed it. On your way to the cashier, you saw another item that you like and grabbed it as well. Then another.
At the cashier, your cash is a thousand pesos short ($20). So you used your debit card (or credit card).
Greetings, wonderful readers and bitcoin cash lovers. Welcome to another edition of my personal finance management series. Yes, it looks like I'm having a series of articles regarding personal finance here. If want to take a look at some of my articles on this topic here are the links.
In this article, I will share with you some tips to cut down your expenses by avoiding impulse buying
What is Impulse Buying?
According to Cambridge Dictionary:
---It is the act of buying something that you had not planned to buy, because you suddenly want it when you see it:
Just like in my example above, we tend to buy something that we have not planned to buy. We buy it out of impulse simply because we like it or it is on sale. By the end of the day, those things are most likely end up stashed somewhere and will not be used for a long time. If ever they will be used.
Oftentimes, the things that we buy out of impulse are things that we don't need. Except maybe for a delicious bar of chocolate that you have not eaten for a long time because you are on a diet.
How To Avoid Impulse Buying.
Here are some tips that you can use to avoid impulse buying.
1. Have Two Wallets - When you receive your salary, don't put every centavo in your wallet. Put most of your money in one wallet, then get the amount that you need for the day. Bring only the wallet with the amount you need for the day, and keep the other one at home. Or you can deposit that amount in your bank.
There are three benefits in doing this.
You know how much money you have with you. Make sure you have enough amount for your fare, lunch, and snacks. Plus a little extra. Maybe enough for a taxi fare in case of an emergency.
You can not buy out of impulse. Since you know how much money you have, you know you don't have enough cash with you to buy anything out of impulse.
You can say no to an unplanned dining out or night out. Unless the person or people inviting you will treat you for dinner or a night out, you can say, you did not bring extra cash for that.
How about a credit card or debit card?
2. Leave Your Credit Card at Home - having a credit card is not entirely bad. However, if you cannot discipline yourself or can not control your spending habit, leave your credit card at home.
Buying in credit is buying something you can't afford.
Use a credit card for emergencies only. And buying a new iPhone is not an emergency.
Think about this... if you can't buy it in cash, you can't afford it.
3. Have a Debit Card with a limited amount.- Don't bring your ATM with you all the time. Leave It at home. Have a debit card with a limited amount. Perhaps equivalent to your daily "allowance" only. If you are in the Philippines, this is how you can make use of your GCash or Payamaya. Then again, if you can not discipline yourself yet, don't put a lot of amount in your debit card.
Some banks offer a separate debit card. Check your local bank if they have.
4. Avoid Online Shopping - I think this is one of the major temptations these days. It's easy to buy things that you don't need online. Before you hit that "check out" button, always ask yourself first,
"Do you really need to buy that?"
5. Plan Ahead - Plan ahead before you go to the grocery store or department store,. Make a list of the things that you need to buy and know the price of each item. Then bring the amount you need plus a little extra. Maybe 20%-30% extra is enough. In case you see an item that you like, take note of the price and include it in the list next time.
Most likely, once you get home, you will realize that you don't need that item after all.
6. Look For a Cheaper Alternative - Don't buy expensive brands. Look for a cheaper alternative. That's one secret of "the truly rich" people.
I had a friend back in college. He was driving a Mercedes Benz to school, given by his parents. Then after a few months, we were surprised to see him driving a Mitsubishi Lancer. When asked what happened to the Benz, he replied...
"What's the use of having an expensive car if you don't have money."
Bonus for Cryptocurrency Earners - Have at least two cryptocurrency wallets. I have a
bitcoin.com wallet. Whatever amount of bitcoin cash I have in this wallet is my savings. Later on, I will be using part of my savings to invest. Since I'm in the Philippines, I also have coins.ph wallet. I send the amount for my expenses in this wallet.
In Closing
We normally end up buying things we don't need when we buy out of impulse. Thus they are merely unnecessary expenses.
Frugal living is not a punishment for yourself. In fact, it's a way of loving yourself and your family. It's one way of making sure that you will be financially prepared for the next crisis.
Have an abundant life.
Thanks for reading.
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Image Credits
Lead Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay
Other images are from Unsplash
The content of this article is based on my experience and what I have learned from various seminars and books and articles that I have read in the past.
this can be a serious addition if it is not controlled, in venezuela the cure is worse than the disease and it is called socialism here the salary is not enough to buy other things, only the food greetings happy night