It is so easy to give in to temptation while shopping for that dress for next week’s function.
After all, filling your shopping cart online is as easy a click, and a trip to the mall just to relax and window shop can just as easily turn into a shopping spree.
This is why we should put more conscious effort into beating temptation and the tendency to swipe those credit cards.
Want to know how to stop this guilty habit of overspending? Here are some tips on how to do so.
Set a budget
Financial advisors might make finances quite easy for us, but there are advantages to planning your budget on your own – especially if you easily give in to the temptation to shop.
Managing your budget on your own helps to prepare for unforeseen expenses and other emergencies. Budgeting yourself helps you to keep track of your savings and spending, and you can easily know how much you spend and how much you still have.
Determine the stressor that causes you to binge-shop
When people go shopping more often than they need, it is often to cope with their emotions or stress. But this is a short-term solution that can lead to more problems in the long term.
By figuring out what your triggers are, you will know when to watch out and exert extra effort to control yourself. Distract yourself and develop new habits, or try out a new hobby to do in times of stress rather than shopping.
Pay your debts from the smallest to the largest
At first glance, it seems to make more sense to pay the biggest debts first. They have the greatest impact and need much more time and investment to pay back. But this does not take into account the psychological aspect.
Use “the snowball approach” and start with the smallest debts first. You are more likely to pay off smaller debts completely and more quickly. This method helps you to stay motivated to make regular payments to pare down debt.
Just in case you don’t believe it, this method has even been proven by researchers at the Kellogg School of Management, who found that just crossing off even the smallest debt from your list is a great motivator.
Develop shopping techniques
Whenever you feel the urge to spend, ask yourself, “Do I need this or do I just want it?” This is easier said than done, but the key is to programme your mind into being disciplined.
Stores and shopping malls have tactics of their own to make you spend more than you need. From the colours they use to attract your attention to the strategic placing of the stores in a mall, you pass by more stores and tend to browse through more items.
To avoid being manipulated, don’t window shop and, more importantly, don’t touch items that catch your attention. A psychological study has shown that when you touch an item, you are more likely to impulse buy it. When you touch something, you unconsciously spark an attachment between your brain and the object.
Asking yourself what you are grateful for also helps against the urge to shop and spend. According to a study by Northwestern University in the US, people who wrote down what they were thankful for had more willpower and self-control than those who did not.
Organise your room and workspace
To reprogramme your brain into saving more and spending less, you must you start with a clean slate. By listing all the things you own, organising them and throwing out what you don’t need, you are hitting the “restart” button on your brain.
Categorise your stuff under four main categories: the things you need, sometimes need, want, and clutter (things you have no use for). Be as honest as you can when you do this. When in doubt, ask yourself when was the last time you used it.
If it’s only gathering dust, throw it onto the clutter bunch. It may be difficult to bid goodbye to these things so it helps to mentally say “thank you” for the times these things have been useful and memorable in the past.
Then, go back to your clutter list. Try to remember how much you paid for these things to help you understand the cost of buying unnecessary items that eat up potential savings.
This article first appeared in The New Savvy.
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