This impulse shopping post was prompted by a recent trip to Target.
I love Target.
When I quit my job to stay-at-home, we were living on a tight budget. I had to stop even setting foot in Target. In fact, I had to stop entering most stores and malls altogether.
Hi, my name is Christy, and I’m a shopping addict.
More specifically – I am addicted to finding great deals on things. Even things we really don’t need most of the time. I actually relate well to about 75% of the people featured on the show Hoarders.
I can probably use this in the future.
I’ll buy this for when we have a big house.
Someone I follow on IG has this so I need it too.
And what happens with all of those great deals? They become the clutter that we then hope to get rid of because its causing us stress. It creates a never ending cycle:
Impulse shopping to cure stress
Guilt from impulse shopping
Stress from having too many things and not enough money
Impulse shopping to cure the stress
It can be incredibly difficult to budget or to downsize when you get carried away shopping.
The best way I have found to combat impulse shopping is to change my mindset. For those things that still make it into my cart, I ask myself relevant questions before heading to the checkout.
Let’s start with clothes, because that was a big one for me.
1. Get educated on where your clothes come from
The biggest catalyst to curb my spending on clothes was getting educated on where the clothes I was purchasing came from and also where they end up.
D and I are documentary lovers. The Netflix documentary The True Cost caught our attention and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone, not just those trying to stop shopping.
It was definitely an eye opener to see the conditions in which the clothes I had been filling my closet with were produced for pennies. Suddenly that great $5 deal on a tank top didn’t feel like such a great deal when it cost the company about $0.10 to make…and the person who made it was paid maybe $0.02 for it.
This is not to sound preachy in any way! Full disclosure – I still do purchase items from these types of stores. But this has definitely helped me to not pour out my wallet and grab up every “great deal” that I see.
The documentary also touched on where these clothes end up. Though I still feel like donating clothes is helpful – many of the clothes we donate, especially the cheap ones, end up more of a burden than a help. Or end up in the trash anyway. If it is something that you don’t see lasting a long time – reconsider purchasing.
2. Take a break from the stores you spend at most
This one is pretty straightforward.
I used to “de-stress” by roaming all of the aisles of Super Target or Marshall’s. I always joked that I could never leave either without spending at least $50 – which became less funny when that was $50 that I did not have.
As hard as it was for me – because I was having FOMOGD (fear of missing out on good deals) – it had to be done. If I couldn’t control the urge I would just have to not put myself in that situation.
Even now – knowing what I know now – I still get carried away at Target and often have to send D in for diapers or other Target-specific needs.
3. Unsubscribe
Not only is it important to avoid problem stores – but also, avoid their emails! Flash sales and coupon codes do exactly what they are meant to do – inspire us to spend!
Take a break by unsubscribing from email lists from the stores you shop at. You may feel like you’re going to miss out on something great – but lets be honest, the deals will roll right in again once you are in a better place to spend or become less tempted to do so.
4. Take a social media break
Whether you follow accounts that inspire your home or your fashion – they are likely to encourage you to spend money you should be saving.
For the time that you need to recover, it may be important to you to simply unfollow these IG accounts or kick Pinterest for a bit. In fact, try a little self-care by taking a full social media hiatus (a day, week, month…whatever you need). You can delete all of the apps from your phone or disable your accounts. Either way, you will be surprised at how much influence social media can have on your shopping habits – plus the media-free time is great for you and your family!
An alternative would be to fill your feed or Pinterest with tips and accounts based on saving money over spending.
5. Consider things you already own and whether you have space
I find this most important when it comes to things like small kitchen appliances. They literally have an appliance out there for everything, but honestly, do you need a press that is specifically for making quesadillas?? A pan works just as well!
For example, we have made it almost three years without a microwave and, although it would be nice to have sometimes, we heat our food up just fine with what we have. For us its a space issue, a money issue and a health issue – I’m no expert in the health dept here but why run a risk when we don’t really need one anyway?
When you are in a store or online considering a purchase – don’t just consider the cost on the price tag but also the cost of the space it will take up. If an item can serve multiple purposes then it really helps to justify the space it will use in your home. We don’t use k-cups anymore but we do still use our Keurig everyday. I use it for hot water to make oatmeal, tea and instant coffee – so I don’t need to purchase a new coffee maker and a separate tea kettle.
Consider a blender that is also a mixer or a decorative basket that can also store your bottles of vitamins.
But also – make sure the other functions are useful to you! If its a mixer that also makes homemade pasta but you know you will NEVER venture into pasta making, maybe there is a better option for you.
No matter what it is you are shopping for, always step back and ask yourself:
- Do I need this?
- Will it improve my life somehow?
- Do I already have something else I could use in its place?
- Where will it go in my home?
If you are still going back and forth on any of these questions, put it down and walk away. Think on it overnight. If you wake up and still need that item you are almost guaranteed to find it – if it was on sale and you can’t find it again at that price but you value you it enough that you HAVE to have it then you would be willing to pay a higher price for it anyway, right? Don’t beat yourself up because you could have saved $10. Instead give yourself credit for acting responsibly and thinking it through.
As always, do what works for you!