How to Overcome your online shopping urges Using GCash

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Avatar for JLoberiza
2 years ago

March 28

 Online shopping has opened up a whole new type of convenience for consumers. With online shopping portals such as Lazada, Shopee, Amazon, among others, consumers can find products that they cannot find in their local brick-and-mortar stores.

 Besides, you can easily do the shopping just with your fingertips. The products will be delivered right to your doorsteps. Another advantage is you can always find low-priced products on these platforms.

Screenshot: Shopee Landing Page.

Greetings, dearest readers! It's almost payday once again. Are now ready for another Payday sale at Shopee and Lazada? Low-price and shopping convenience! What else can you ask for? Well, let's hope we get good-quality products despite the prices. Are your wallets ready? Mine is almost. I learned from experience that I have some control over my experience if I use my GCash to pay for my online shopping than paying through Cash-on-delivery. That's what I am going to share with you today.

Cash-on-delivery payment.

I used to pay using the cash-on-delivery payment scheme. The problem is you will never know when the items will arrive. There was a time I bought three items from three different sellers from Shopee and one or two weeks later, another from Lazada. Since some of the items I bought from Shopee were coming from overseas, it took some time to arrive.

Source: Usplash

Then in one week. Two items arrived on the same day and another one the following day. My budget for the week was depleted in just two days! I asked myself,

"Why did I not set aside the amount for those items?"

I think I did. But since it took some time to arrive, I used those amounts before the items arrived.  

Have you experienced something similar?

Disclaimer.

Before anything else, a little disclaimer.

This is not a piece of financial advice. I cannot guarantee that the methods I will share here will work with you or not. What I will share here is based only on my experience. However, the idea might be useful to you.

 

Also, I used this method in Shopee and my GCash. Thus, this is most applicable for Philippine users. However, GCash is an online e-wallet or debit card. Thus, any e-wallet or debit card may be applicable to your shopping platform.

Using GCash and Shopee Pay.

Since it's summer here in the Philippines, I expect that we will be doing a lot of outings. It's been two years since we have not enjoyed summer because of the pandemic. I thought of buying each of my kids a pair of aqua shoes. So I looked for some on Shopee. However, the store that I found does not allow COD payment. So I let the product stay in my shopping cart for a while.

Screenshot: shopee order tracking

I'm not fond of linking my GCash to any other platform for security reasons. My son, who always borrows my phone might accidentally purchase something. To avoid such, I added my GCash to the list of protected apps. It now requires my fingerprint or pin before anybody can open my GCash.

Anyway, Shopee does not automatically deduct the amount from GCash without the owner's confirmation.

How to Control Your Online Shopping

Paying through COD is convenient. However, controlling your budget may be another story. Unless you can set aside your online shopping budget apart from your other budgets.

Just as I was using two physical wallets and bitcoin cash wallets, I now realized that I must also have another wallet for my online expenses. And that would be my GCash.

Normally I use GCash to pay for my phone bill. Now I have to use it to control my online shopping as well.

To that, here are a couple of things that I need to do.

  1. (Optional) Identify the source of your online shopping budget.

  2. Set aside a monthly budget.

  3. Buy only what is needed!

  4. Monitor your expenses.

Source of my online shopping budget

As some of you already know, I only work part-time as a teacher.  Almost half of my monthly income is from my earnings here in readcash and noisecash. My income from my part-time job is already set for the basic and other necessary expenses. Most of my online income is used to pay for my telephone bills, monthly mortgage for that piece of property that I bought, and my BCH savings. And now I will also include my online shopping budget. Thus I can ensure that I will not use my salary from my part-time job for online shopping.

Source: Usplash

Monthly Budget.

I'm not an extravagant buyer. As much as possible I avoid any expensive brands. Like, I don't buy a pair of shoes that costs more than P2,000. For sure, I don't want to use the same pair of shoes for more than two years. I once bought a previously-loved pair of shes worth $5. But it looked brand new and it lasted me three years.

Anyways, I can start with a thousand pesos budget for my online shopping. This March, I only spent about P700. So I have a savings of about P300. Next time I will put those savings in my CIMB bank, which is an online bank. When I need to buy something worth more than P1,000. I will take it out from my CIMB bank.

Buy Only What is Needed.

For sure, I don't need to buy a new pair of shoes every month. For me, my definition of need is--- things that can help me become more productive. Like the Bluetooth keyboard and mouse set. I used them to compose my articles using my phone or tablet when I am mobile. I don't want to carry my laptop around.

I also buy some things for my kids that will help keep them away from using their cell phones.

Monitor your Expenses.

This is the most important part. Always monitor your expenses. Then learn how you spend your money, and improve your budgeting skills.

In Closing

Online shopping is quite convenient. However, I heard some complaints from several people I know that they have already spent their salaries a few days or even a week before the next pay date because of online shopping.

Whatever method you use, what is needed is discipline and monitoring. Without these two, it is more likely that you will be overspending each month. Don't be a slave to commercialism and control your expenses.

 Live a simple and abundant life

Thanks for reading.


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Comments

Online shopping can be really tempting. Self-control and setting our priorities right helps a lot really. thanks for the tips tho, it is helpful because sometimes when our salary arrives we feel like we have a lot of money and check out our wants without thinking.

$ 0.00
2 years ago

I seldom do the online shopping,only when I really need something,like buying a pocket wifi,which is bought in Shoppee,and that's the only thing,and I uninstalled the app after receiving my parcel.

$ 0.00
2 years ago

For now I am not fond of online shopping from that online portals might be because I don't have budget for it lol.

Anyway, you mentioned about Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. You mean we can use it while using our phone? I feel interested on it coz i think i can type well on a keyboard than on the cellphone itself.. Im sorry I don't know so much about it.

$ 0.00
2 years ago

Today's people become addicted with online shopping. It isn't always good for them.Sometimes they may face cheaters .Am I right?

$ 0.00
2 years ago

Monitoring cash flow is a must especially now that everything is so expensive and income is unstable

$ 0.00
2 years ago

Akin kaya ko talaga magpigil hehe. Kung may gusto man ako, I will think it for 2 weeks. Kasi minsan, hindi talag natin gusto yung isang bagay.

$ 0.00
2 years ago

It is convenient to pay using Gcash or Shopee pay but what I experienced before, i already paid on my item but it is not arriving and to make it worst, Shopee already cancelled my order and the seller is not answering my chat. I didn't do it again. What I do was to allot payment of COD.

$ 0.01
2 years ago

ah. that's the downside. Bogus sellers. These days Shopee has a security feature. The payment will not be released if you cancel the order or want to return the order. At least that's what I know but I haven't experienced it yet. COD or online payment, it's best to check the rating of the seller before buying

$ 0.00
2 years ago

Nangyare na din sa akin yan dati, naitabi ko naman yun pambayad then sa tagal kasi eh nagamit ko din. Minsan din kasi di accurate yun pag aupdate nila sa tracking ng parcel..

$ 0.01
2 years ago

Oo nga eh. yung delay sa delivery ang nakakasira sa budget minsan

$ 0.00
2 years ago

Paying online early is not that bad as some of us think as many times we get cashback and different vouchers while paying through online early. And yeah it don't mess our budget later on.

$ 0.01
2 years ago

yup. That's one of the perks I forgot to mention, We get some forms of cashback or discounts. Thanks.

$ 0.00
2 years ago

I like online shopping but I am also a practical buyer I am always thinking on how to save money from my purchases and I also limit myself how much I could spend that's why I am also using Shoppepay so that I can have a lot discount and free shipping vouchers.

$ 0.00
2 years ago

Buy only the item which is really needed, but it is not the real scenario happens as you browse the item on the internet , your eyes has blown enourmous of item and product

$ 0.01
2 years ago

That is true. That's one advantage of using GCash or a debit card. Once you set your budget, you don't put so much cash on your debit card. That way you will know you are going above your budget for that month.

another trick is, to put it on your shopping cart but don't hit checkout just yet. By the time you go back, most likely, you will realize you don't need that item.

$ 0.00
2 years ago

Well for me, I find Shopeepay as applicable mode of payment for me. Kapag kasi hawak ko ang pera tapso ako magbabayad eh nanghihinayang ako pero kapag sa shopeepay, feeling ko may nagrereglao lang sakin whahaha.

$ 0.02
2 years ago

Hahaha. You can put it that way. Hehehe

$ 0.00
2 years ago