How I control impulse buying

“I am going to buy that now.” We have all gone through impulse buying. It can be a $10 item or $25,000 brand new car. Now the question is how to control it? The ultimate goal to stop impulse buying completely but controlling it is the first step.

Putting it in perspective

I have tried a lot of different ways to control impulse buying but the one that works best for me is putting the purchase in perspective. For example, I wanted to buy a $400 digital camera. $400 might not be a life and death decision but if you compare that to filling up the car with gas, it is.

Example

It takes $25 for my car to fill up. A full tank gives me 450 km (281.25 miles) of driving. This means I can fill up my car 16 times for that $400. In other words, I can drive 7200 km (4500 miles). A full tank lasts me about a week. The $400 will last me 16 weeks or 4 months!

Locate your triggers

You should try to figure out what triggers an impulse buy.  It is when you get paid on a friday?   Is it when you are at the mall? One of my triggers was when I got paid.  I just wanted to buy something.  However, when I realized it was a want and not a need, the impulse had gone away.

If you put your impulse buy in perspective and locate what triggers it, you are less likely to buy that item. I just described how I control my impulse buying. How do you deal with your impulse buying?

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