How to Avoid Impulse Buying

Impulse buying is one of the reasons why you break your budget. If you give in to that buying whim, you will eventually become broke. But impulse buying is something you can avoid if you employ the following strategies:

  

1. Before buying, determine if that thing you want to buy falls under the “want” or the “need” category.

Only buy it if it’s in the “need” category. If it is something that depreciates in value, think twice before buying it. If it’s something that loses value after a few uses, skip buying it. If you can get your money’s worth on it by being able to use it for a long time, go ahead and buy it. Things that you need are the ones that can supply your basic necessities.

2. Make a list of things you need to buy before heading out.

Always stick with that list. Becoming more purposeful in your shopping habits allows you to ditch that impulse buying habit.

3. Set long-term goals.

Do you want to have a European vacation? You can’t have it if you keep on spending money on useless things. Set a long-term goal and always remind yourself of that goal to avoid letting go of your money on things that only bring instant gratification.

It also helps to formulate a budget. Seeking the help of Chalten Advisors for Financial Planning in Vancouver allows you to know where your money should go. Do financial planning in Vancouver BC in order to determine how much budget you need to allot for impulse buying. This way, you can still give yourself allowances on impulse buying but you’re not spending all of your money on it.