Does anyone here have impulse to buy things?

[Anonymous]

This is a discussion started on a meetup group, and I found this comment very familiar (my husband especially) – anyone else? How do you cope with this?

“Online shopping became so dangerous for me. Especially sites where I can pay with PayPal or where I have my payment info registered because I can checkout without getting out of my seat. With sites where I have to get my credit card, at least I have time to reconsider while I find my wallet.

A lot of it is driven by my hyperfocus. When I come across an idea that’s new, it turns into intense research and eventually ends up with purchases. Like, there’s a new band I discovered, or a new type of running shoes, someone came out with a new tool, or a different type of alarm clock.

It’s gotten better, in part because I’ve drastically cut down on my surfing time. But I didn’t do it because of the shopping. I did it because it was bad in general and less shopping was a side benefit. I’ve also recognized that the shopping is impulsive, but not sudden. There’s a series of steps that leads to it, and it’s about recognizing the steps and nipping it in the bud.”

… my husband has so many things that he bought that he REALLY needed, but has never opened, or used. He will drive for tens of miles/km to buy a $3 item if he thinks he needs it.

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[kc5jck]

I have several rules which I have tried to follow concerning purchases. They are simple and have worked for me in the past.

1. Only buy what you set out to buy. For example, if I go to the store to get groceries, I will think, “I go to the store two to three times a week.” So don’t buy two weeks worth of something perishable. Get several days worth and get more fresh on the next visit if needed. Don’t buy octopus just because it’s on sale. (It will never get eaten.) Figure for how many meals I am buying. If I am to be gone over the weekend and its Wednesday afternoon, I may only need to buy for two meals. Corollary: Don’t let anyone sell you something unless it’s something you were thinking of purchasing anyway. Then, you may want to apply rule 2.

2. Wait three days on all other purchases. This causes you to think, and stops most impulse buying in its tracks. You can also consider, “Will I still be happy with this purchase six months or a year from now.”

3. And now the dangerous exception. If you are absolutely certain that the “deal” cannot wait and it is truly a bargain which if not taken will result in a life filled with regret, buy it. For example, I grew up on the water. I love boats. I am a graduate of a yacht design school. I have crewed on a resored iron barque where I met my wife. I have built models of ships for display. So when I saw a one meter long model of the HMS Victory assembled and fully rigged for $150.00 which I knew could easily be worth ten to twenty times the asking price, I bought it. I also bought severl other model ships about the same time. This was several years ago. They are still packed in their original shipping boxes. One more project awaiting to be done, clearing space for them and getting display cases. But I glad I got them.

4. NEVER EVER get on anything where they automatically send you the item on a periodic basis and charge your card or bill you. It’s like getting cancer.

Any questions?

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[Anonymous]

I do have issues with impulse shopping. I’ve had issues with credit and debt mostly due to some impulse buying and then not being prepared for emergencies or even regular expenses. I have a tight budget and run out of money before expenses all the time. I am presently waiting for my income tax return so I can pay off cards and start over again.

Having all my cards charged up has helped keep me from buying anything and Christmas is going to be pretty skimpy.

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[Anonymous]

kc, that’s good advice, but like Tiddler says, it’s hard to follow. I can’t go to the store and buy just one thing (grocery store). I can’t wait three days to buy something if it’s screaming BUY ME NOW, HURRY UP in my mind. Meds make it a bit easier but it’s still a challenge. We did stop buying food that we wouldn’t eat in a few days because we got disgusted throwing out rotten vegetables. If only buying other things gave the same type of disgust, we might have a chance of curbing the behaviour.

Having said that, we ALMOST ALMOST bought new iPhones this week (after going off plans on prepaid cells) but my husband actually did do the math and we decided we didn’t want to waste that much money a year, committed over 3 years, so we’re staying on prepaid. We have notebook computers and can take them along easily when we travel, there are a lot of free WiFi cafes these days. And we still have cellphones (although mine has been for too many swims and is ready to give up). Chalk one up for us on that.

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[anniea]

I LOVE craft/art fairs. I have a pretty steadfast rule… not to buy anything until I have walked all the way through the tables. This has cut down on impulse buys. I love the creative stuff people come up with.

Sometime in the past I decided to walk away from something and see if it calls me back. I do this alot for clothes or art stuff especially. I ‘watched” a print at a fair for three years, and FINALLY realized if I DIDN’T buy it, and I came back and it was gone, I would be sad. I still get lovely comments on it… and it made me appreiciate things more when I ponder them at nausium.. I have driven myself crazy doing this, but I also don’t just buy stuff to be buying them nearly as much as when I was younger. I also have to put a moritorium on Books and cards buying for months at a time until I read the ones on my shelf, or sent cards I have stock piled.

When I bought stuff on impluse I ended up regretting it mostly, so I had to think of a different way to do things.

It isn’t a perfect system, but it works most of the time. I don’t have credit cards, for this reason.. and I don’t shop on line hardly at all…I find it tedious… I like to TOUCH stuff I guess…

In the last several weeks as I am re-arranging my bedroom I am realizing when I go shopping with one particular friend I impulse shop more, so I will have to watch this.. I can’t believe I haven’t noticed this until lately…we’ve been doing this since HIGH SCHOOL!! and I am in my 50s now.. holy cow.. better late than never…and the second hand stores are restocked because of this too!! no guilt, just awareness..

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[Anonymous]

No…….not compulsive. I’m too cheap…..tighter than two coats of paint.

I spend money on my toys etc, but ………that’s the fun part!!!

Toofat

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[Patte Rosebank]

It’s only in the last year or so that I finally seem to have controlled my impulse buying. Not cured, but controlled. And it happened quite suddenly, after a lifetime of spending every penny I earned and a lot more that I didn’t.

First, I have a big goal that I’ve been saving up for: my first trip to the UK in 17 years.

Second, in order to be able to afford to go, I pay myself first. That is, as soon as I get paid, I put a chunk of it into my TFSA, and I don’t touch it.

Third, I pick up as many extra shifts as I can at work, so I’ll have more money to put away for my trip. And I can tell you exactly how much money I’ll earn in a given shift. It’s amazing how quickly I realize that I really don’t want something I thought I did, when I work out how long it would take me to earn the money I’d need to buy it.

This has made me very selective in what I buy…and that includes entertainment. I spend most nights at home when I’m not working, simply because if I didn’t, I’d blow everything I’d worked so hard to earn, and that would rule out that trip to England that I want so much.

I’ve found loads of free entertainment on YouTube (heaps of English & Scottish TV shows, new & vintage) and BBC’s online iPlayer (heaps of English & Scottish radio shows, new & vintage), and not only does it entertain me, but it’s something really interesting to study—so it’s not a waste of time; it’s educational! For starters, I’ve discovered that Scottish comedy is very similar to Newfoundland comedy…including having accents that are largely unintelligible to those who aren’t from there. And, if you can master those accents, you can have hours of fun confusing people. And it’s all free!

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[starcat81]

Impulse buying was and is an issue for me, but I’ve gotten much better at it. It did help to now have a job for a bit…haha But I try to really think before I get something now. There are times I’ll be in a store and look at what’s in my cart or basket and say, “Now, do I REALLY need that?” and most of the time there’s something in there that I can put back and do.

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[Anonymous]

larynxa, congrats on getting a trip to the UK! and thanks for the suggestions on freebie entertainment. I understand Scot-lish ….

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[billd]

Once again – I CAN RELATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, it’s amazing – it if wasn’t for my wife, I dunno if I’d have much more than about 10 bucks in the bank.

I see, I want, therefore I must buy. Does not help that I’m a “toy nut” – gotta have the latest gadget, computer stuff, car stuff, whatever.

Our cell phones work just fine – but there’s great new ones out with bigger screens and better reception and all sorts of HANDY stuff (I MAY justify that as an ADD tool – I can load it with apps and am more likely to use reminders, calendars, lists, etc. if I can READ them)

Bought a new laptop computer Saturday. I didn’t need a 17.3″ screen, built-in blu-ray player, quad-core processor and so on….. OTOH, buying the best one can afford means it will last more years – got 6 years out of my prior notebook!

I gotta have “stuff” – he who dies with the most stuff wins, right?

BTW – it took me 3 trips to town, and the equivalent of 12 hours to make a decision on that computer………. 3 hours in one store pondering the choices.

UUGGHH!

anniea -> >>I LOVE craft/art fairs. I have a pretty steadfast rule… not to buy anything until I have walked all the way through the tables. This has cut down on impulse buys. I love the creative stuff people come up with. <<

I can relate!

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[kc5jck]

If you need to spend more money, Billd, check out:

http://www.woot.com/

every day to find out what’s new.

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[Outoftune]

A PROBLEM with impulse buying? I think problem is an understatement!!! I no longer have any credit cards as I got rid of them when locking them in the Safety Deposit Box of my bank wasent enough and only have one debit card that is attached only to the acct with very little money in it and not to the one with the Line of Credit. My husband has the debit cards for the accounts with the money in them so he has to come with me to buy anything…even the grocery store or else I would buy them out of Shampoo, vitamins for everything under the sun, chips, pie, etc…

He knows not to let me get ANYWHERE NEAR the cosmetics department of any store!

When I worked in a mall I spend more than I made and when I got into modelling…YIKES! I really had a problem it was an addiction to buying beauty products. If you’ve hear of a brand of shampoo I’ve bought it if you’ve seen an ad for a lipgloss I’ve bought it! It got so bad that it was to the point that I would stash all my new shampoos and makeup in boxes and hide them under other stuff in the back of the closet and I would lie and say that I they were old shampoos I’ve had for months. Sometimes I would even pour some out and kind of scrape off some of the letters so that he would think they were old 😳

Talk about a problem!

One time when we were moving he ended up going through it all and was like WOW you really have a problem. We added everything up and it totalled thousands of dollars At this point we were using our Line of Credit for groceries. Needless to say I defenitley had a problem with impulse buying. Now I’m better because of the visa/debit inaccesibility however now I have a horse and do you have any idea how much saddles cost? What about hay? Ya so it’s been interesting learning to manage my money but I have to say that I’m doing really well now and my husband is quite proud of me!

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