Advertisers encourage impulse buying. Their ads are designed to elicit emotions, such as fear, happiness, or surprise. They know that when our desires are engaged, the sale is more likely to happen.
On top of that, electronic payments are making it incredibly easy to waste money quickly. With a few finger taps on your phone, you can order pizza, book a flight, or even get pre-approved for a mortgage.
Money is easier to spend than ever before. If you want to delay the gratification of spending money and save it for more meaningful purposes, you need to develop a strong skill set. The tips and tricks in this extensive article help you do just that.
The Evolution of Impulse Buying
Years ago, most people used cash. Today, most of us use debit and credit cards.
If trends continue, electronic payments will become the norm and cash will become obsolete.
These changes are happening because as a species, we love convenience. It is easier and quicker to exchange money for goods with PayPal or Apple Pay than it is to pay with physical cash.
Think about the effort it takes to buy something with $100 in bills: Take out your wallet, pull out the bills, count them carefully, hand them over, receive the change, count it, and store it in your wallet.
Electronic payments, on the other hand, are a great tool because they are effortless: Take your phone and tap it on the debit machine to pay. The wait at the checkout line is the hardest part of it all!
However, with great convenience comes even greater risk. Consumer behavior experts know people spend more money if they can do so quickly and with little thought.
On top of that, if we see an advertisement that subconsciously changes our emotional state so that we want to fulfill a need immediately, the impulse buy is inevitable.
In a world where advertisers tweak our emotional states, and technologies exist that make using money effortless, the question becomes, “How can we stop impulsive buying and save money?”
How to Stop The Impulse Buy
Every person has two minds: an emotional mind, and a rational mind. Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt coined a clever analogy to explain both: Our emotional side is like an elephant and our rational one is the rider sitting on top.
Although the rider holds the reins, the elephant can take charge at any time. It is incredibly powerful and once it is running amok, it is impossible for the rider to take control of it.
Impulse buyers have strong emotional minds. Their decisions are driven by their emotional elephant, not their rational rider. When emotions are highly active, rationality becomes temporarily ineffective.
Advertisers understand this and intentionally create advertisements that elicit powerful emotion. They invoke our sense of fear, community, and nostalgia to connect their products with our needs. Before we know it, we are standing in front of the cash register, ready to tap our phone or credit card on the debit machine (only for buyer’s remorse to kick in minutes later).
If we want to learn how to stop impulsive buying, we must resist the urge of convenience and train our rational mind. That being said, here are 25 simple ways to save your hard-earned money.
Change Your Financial Mindset
1. Strengthen Willpower, Weaken Impulse Buying
Willpower is an important skill to curate. It allows you to say “no” when your brain is saying yes. When you see an irresistible clothing sale, or a 2-for-1 offer on your favorite candy bar, your inner strength will help you make the right choice.
You can incrementally train your willpower by challenging yourself. Make it a habit to exercise when you do not want to. Get into the routine of taking a cold shower. The more often you take on the fight against the elephant in your brain, the stronger your elephant rider will become.
2. Develop a High Level of Self-Awareness
We all have different spending habits. Some people like to purchase clothes when they’re having a bad day. Others enjoy ordering takeout when they don’t feel like cooking. What are some of your common impulse buys?
A high level of awareness of your impulsive behaviors helps you look at your emotional responses objectively. It allows you understand irrational buying behavior and take a step back the next time you face a temptation.
3. Ask Yourself, “Do I Really Need This?”
The perhaps most important question to ask yourself before unplanned purchases is, “Do I really need this?” Answering correctly, however, is easier said than done. If your elephant is running amok, your answer will be “Yes, of course I need it!”.
The key to getting better at saying no is practice. Remember to raise the question the next time you want to impulse buy. With repetition, you get better at making good decisions.
4. Know That Possessions Do Not Lead to Happiness
Buying material items does not fully satisfy your desire for happiness. Although it results in temporary joy, the satisfaction rarely lasts longer than a few days. Once you grow custom to the shiny, new stuff you purchased, it becomes just that—more stuff.
Research shows that the pursuit of new products can lead to higher dissatisfaction of your current standard of living, which in turn negatively influences overall life satisfaction. Always wanting more stuff doesn’t lead to happiness, but to the exact opposite.
5. Know the Consequences of Impulse Buying
With every unconscious repetition of a bad habit, your finances can spiral more out of control. Impulsive buying can take you in a different direction of where you wish to go and prevent you from achieving your financial objectives.
Detach yourself from your current perspectives by linking impulsive behavior to its consequences. Do this by answering the following questions: How does the bad habit affect my family and friends? How does it influence my physical and mental health? What will happen if I continue this way?
6. Control Your Emotions, Discipline Your Mind
Impulsive decisions are driven by emotion. They are an attempt to satisfy an innate desire, one that we might not be fully aware of, such as our primitive need for food, safety and belonging.
Intense emotions aren’t all bad but they can lead to impulsive buying. Though there are many ways to control your emotions, the perhaps most effective practice is meditation. Meditating is not what you think; you do not have to rest in a lotus position, shave your head, or wear an orange robe. All you need to do is sit upright and observe your breathing and thoughts. With practice, you will be able to take a step back the next time you feel a strong urge.
The Psychology of Impulse Buying
7. Do Not Auto-Save Payment Information
Amazon, eBay, and other online stores ask you to save your payment information when you place an order. Internet browsers, such as Chrome, Safari, and Edge offer similar features.
Saving payment data is convenient but it is also dangerous. If online shopping is taking its toll on your financial well-being, remove your credit or debit card from smartphone apps and websites. To make a purchase, you need to re-enter your bank information. By the time you find your wallet and submit your payment details, you will probably have given yourself enough time to think rationally (no matter how luring the free shipping offer is).
8. Look Out for Charm Pricing
Certain prices have a bigger psychological impact on consumers than others. An example for that is charm pricing, and it is most effective when the left digit of a price changes. For example, your brain processes $1.00 and $0.99 as different values, although they are almost the same.1 A one-cent difference between $4.40 and $4.39 does not matter. However, a one-cent difference between $4.00 and $3.99 will make it look like a great deal.
9. The Psychology of Loyalty Cards
In 2006, a group of researchers held an experiment that involved a “buy ten, get one free” promotion at a small business.2 Test subjects received one stamp for every coffee purchase they made, and once they collected all ten stamps, they were eligible for a free coffee (Coffee is a popular item on the list of “impulse goods”).
The researchers wanted to test if bonus stamps lead to more purchases and divided the participants into two groups: The first group received a 12-stamp coffee card with 2 pre-existing bonus stamps, and the second group received a regular 10-stamp card. In both cases, the participants had 10 empty stamp slots. However, the first group was already 17% towards their goal, while the second group had to start from scratch.
The researchers found that the group with two bonus stamps purchased more coffees and reached the 10-stamp goal faster than the other group. While giving away free stamps may seem like a kind gesture, the study shows that progress motivates you to spend more money, and at a faster rate.
10. Delay the Craving of Impulse Buying
An impulse buy results from a craving. When you see an irresistible offer, you feel a strong desire to fulfill your needs. This feeling can be overpowering.
Studies show that a craving can last anywhere from 6 to 10 minutes. Therefore, when you feel inclined to make a spontaneous purchase, delay acting on the impulse for 10 minutes. Try to gather up some strength and distract yourself by going on a walk or listening to music. Once enough time has passed, it is possible that the urge has disappeared.
11. Take Advertisements with a Grain of Salt
The average person in the United States encounters 3,000 advertisements a day, and spends 2 years watching TV commercials in their lifetime. At the center of many ads is an idealized image of the human body: Models are tall, slim, and digitally altered in Photoshop to unrealistic proportions.
Beauty and fashion advertisements increase weight concern, self-consciousness, and body dissatisfaction. They provide women—and men, to a lesser extent—with an image of the perfect body size and give them the sense that their own flaws can be fixed by buying their products.
Despite gender differences, it is important to take advertisements on TV or social media with a grain of salt. Not a single product can change your body dimensions, let alone fix all your shortcomings. Your imperfections make you human and carry beauty in and of themselves.
How to Control Impulse Buying
12. Freeze Your Debit and Credit Cards
To abstain from an unwanted behavior, you want to increase the number of steps between you and the habit. One way to make impulsive buying more difficult is to freeze your debit and credit cards in a bowl of water. That is, put your payment cards into an empty plastic dish or bag, fill it with water, and then freeze it.
While this idea might seem silly, it is an effective remedy against impulsive buying. If you, for example, feel tempted to make a quick purchase on Amazon, and you have to enter your credit card information you pay, you’ll need to thaw your card first. By the time the ice has melted, chances are that you will have given yourself enough time to think rationally.
13. Get an Accountability Partner
Ask someone you are close with to keep you accountable for your actions. Come to a verbal or written agreement in which you state the punishment that occurs if you engage in impulse shopping. When you associate your shopping habits with pain, you naturally weaken the craving. Write the answers to the following questions on a sheet of paper and sign it with your accountability partner: What will happen if I make an impulse purchase? How will I be held accountable? Who will I report to?
14. Stop Window Shopping
Window shopping refers to an activity in which you browse through a store’s merchandise for leisure without an intent to buy. This exercise can be enjoyable, but you might find a product you did not know you needed. To save yourself from money-spending, do not engage in window shopping in the first place.
If you try to find a good deal through online retailers, such as eBay or Amazon, consider blocking those websites. If you walk past brick and mortar stores on your way to work, change up your commute.
15. Unsubscribe from Emailing Lists
Is your email inbox filled with deals, discounts, and coupons? Email lists can act as a cue for impulsive shopping. Rather than fighting these notifications with willpower, hit the unsubscribe button.
If you’d like to fill your inbox with more valuable content, check out my free On Track Newsletter. Every week, readers receive actionable advice to stay on track with their financial targets. Current readers say the On Track Newsletter is “both useful and empowering,” and written in a way that is “easy to implement”. Click here to learn more.
16. Look at Bad Reviews Before Impulse Buying
We look to our peers to determine the right course of action. A bad review of a product can, for that reason, change your mind. When you are second guessing an impulse buy you are about to make, try to look for negative feedback on the internet. Pull out your phone and type the product into the Google search bar. You might find that the item you are about to buy is not as good as you had initially thought.
17. Leave Your Wallet at Home
As humans, we like to take the path of least resistance. That is, we love when tasks require little thought and effort. Conversely, when something requires a lot of work, the task becomes less attractive.
When you are in an environment where wasting money is easy but you do not intend to make any purchases—such as going on a walk or hanging out with friends—it is best to leave your wallet at home. This goes contrary to the path of least resistance and makes it significantly more difficult to waste money.
18. Do Not Shop Hungry
Hunger pangs drive emotional behavior and reduce your ability to think logically. When you are at a store, you will come across many temptations, so it is best to eat a meal before. Shopping on a full stomach puts you in the best position to make rational choices.
Set Financial Goals to Eliminate Impulse Buying
19. Make a List and Plan your Grocery Trip
Make a list of retail stores and grocery items prior to leaving home. A shopping list disables the distractions that are thrown your way as you are shopping. You will be less susceptible to the flashy colors and scents that are designed to hook your attention.
Rather than being lured into purchasing items you did not intend on buying, you can strategically navigate temptations and follow your shopping plan. That way, you avoid moment purchases and feel good about your total at the cash register.
20. Set Weekly and Monthly Budgets
Budgeting is a method of creating a plan to spend your money. It allows you to determine whether you have enough money to purchase the things you need. When making weekly and monthly budgets, take into consideration groceries, rent, household expenses, and other necessities. Once you have tallied up your recurring costs, you know how much money you have left to devote to leisure. The exercise builds your awareness around your finances and can help you utilize money more wisely.
21. Record Weekly Purchases
Tracking your purchases on a weekly basis is an effective method to better your understanding of how you are using your money. Reviewing how much you spent, where you spent it, and why you spent it helps you to identify your strengths and weaknesses.
If you have an impulse buying tendency, you can reflect on bad spending habits and revamp your strategy. Monitoring your spending allows you to be mindful and reduces your overall expenses.
22. Spend with Cash to Avoid Impulse Buying
Various studies have shown that we spend more money when we pay electronically. To stop yourself from wasting money, consider spending with cash instead.
After every paycheck, withdraw some cash from your bank. Bring some with you when you head to the grocery store. When it is time to pay for your household items, you will see your expenses leave your hand (rather than see it on your bank statement a few days later).
23. Analyzing Product Value over Time
A great tool to help you avoid impulsive purchases is to determine how valuable a product will be in the future. When you are about to buy a $300 pair of shoes and realize it would be worth 75% less of its original value if you were to resell, you identify an opportunity to reconsider the purchase.
You might also consider the cost versus expected service life. Is it worth it to spend top dollar on an item that will only last for two months? Look at the product value over time whenever you are tempted to purchase something online or in person. There are always similar products that are cheaper and longer-lasting.
24. Have Clear Financial Goals
What financial situation do you want to be in 5, 10, or 15 years from now? Do you want to repair your credit score and pay off credit card debt? Do you want to retire early? Be clear about your goals and remind yourself of your objective often.
A great exercise for setting your goals is to write a letter to your future self. Start your message with a reminder of who you currently are and mention recent accomplishments. Next, imagine writing to your future self. What would you like to say to that person? What goals has that person achieved?
25. Create a 14-Day Wait List for Big Purchases
Most big purchases can wait. You don’t need to buy a car or book a vacation today. To steer clear of expensive items you don’t need, consider making a 14-day wait list for larger purchases. A two-week cool-off phase gives you time to weigh the pros and cons.
Technology has made spending money convenient. It is incredibly easy to make an impulse buy nowadays: Visa Tap to Pay, Apple Pay, PayPal—you name it.
While electronic payment methods have their benefits, they also have disadvantages. When you want to fulfill an immediate need, you can make a purchase within seconds. It is for that reason that we must develop a skill set to protect ourselves.
The next time you’re tempted to make an impulse purchase, remind yourself of the tips and tricks you’ve learned in this article. Saving money is not just possible, but it can also be incredibly easy if you have the right systems in place.
References
- Thomas, Manoj, and Vicki Morwitz. “Penny Wise and Pound Foolish: The Left-Digit Effect in Price Cognition.” Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 32, no. 1, June 2005, pp. 54-64,doi:10.1086/429600.
- Kivetz, R., Urminsky, O., & Zheng, Y. (2006). The goal-gradient hypothesis resurrected: Purchase acceleration, illusionary goal progress, and customer retention. Journal of Marketing Research, 43(1), 39–58, doi:10.1509/jmkr.43.1.39