Need Help with Impulse Buying? Four Tricks to Safeguard Your Money

• Author: Mary Singleton
• Posted: 2024-05-10

Historically, many people have impulsively bought products and services to their financial detriment. Stresses created by the pandemic have exacerbated this problem because a lot of people stuck at home or facing overwhelming life-changing events have found at least temporary emotional and mental relief through shopping. Additionally, some consumers can't resist because businesses do everything they can via various tactics to promote this bad spending habit since impulse purchases make up a large amount of their yearly revenues.

Yet, you can protect yourself from offline and online impulse shopping. This guide discusses common impulse buying scenarios and ways to maintain control over your financial health and stability:

Prepare Before You Visit Stores

A person who prepares by creating a shopping list, looking for sales and competitive prices and setting a budget for the trip is less likely to buy something impulsively. You won't spend more than you can afford when you're reminded of your hard spending limit by a shopping list that features your budget amount written across the top. You're also less likely to buy items you don't need because most prepared people become hyper-focused on their list or the specific department and aisle they need to reach to find a product.

Watch Out for Merchandising Tricks

Some people chase down deals to save money and then make impulsive purchases during the same shopping trip that offset the savings. One of the top reasons that they couldn't control their spending was because a company used merchandising tricks to convince them to shop for unnecessary items. Stores use specially designed diagrams, called "planograms," to optimize the layout of merchandise to create attractive zones that maximize potential sales opportunities.

For example, products commonly used in certain types of meals are placed on a grocery store shelf together. Although you might think that the store is making it easier for you to find quickly what you need, these layouts are designed to convince you that you need to buy additional items that aren't on your shopping list. You should also watch out for other displays designed to attract attention, such end-caps that feature brightly colored products or sale signs. Another merchandising trick? You find something you need on a shelf, but you're distracted by a floor model display box that's partially blocking the shelf and filled with a specific complementary product that you might not have noticed otherwise.

Create And Maintain An Online Wishlist

Given in-store merchandising tricks, consumers should only consider shopping offline when absolutely necessary using the previously mentioned preparation tips, especially during holidays and sale events. Of course, people do buy impulsively online as well. The best way for you to protect yourself when a web page ad or other source displays or mentions a product that you might like to own is by adding it to an online wish list to think about another day. When you look back at your list days later, you likely won't feel any urge to buy that item or even keep it on your list. You can also use the list as a guide to show family and friends the types of products you want for your birthday or other holidays. As a result, you might still receive many of your "wants" without ever spending a dime.

Never Buy Anything in Microtransaction Games

Microtransaction games, also known as "free-to-play" or "freemium" games, are designed to promote impulsive buying habits via ads and in-game sales. People who suffer from depression, impulse control or gambling addiction are at high risk of financial ruin from these games because the developers make it easy for a person to temporarily, with an impulsive micro purchase, feel like something good just happened in their life. When that feeling disappears, some people chase after it by making more micro purchases. Although casino-style apps offer microtransaction options to achieve higher in-game riches or status, these apps aren't the only ones that promote this type of spending. Many puzzle, story and other entertainment apps promote impulse buying to gain revenues through microtransactions.

How do these games work? Developers allow you to download for free. You can then usually progress through the game without ever making a purchase, but then you can't access "premium" content, such as special items, side stories, hidden prizes, upgrades, new abilities, decorations or the in-game money needed to purchase items. Although some freemium game developers offer players in-game tasks to earn money, they also offer microtransactions because they know many players want instant gratification and don't possess enough patience to complete the tasks.

Conclusion

You're bombarded every day by messages and tricks designed to convince you to impulsively spend your hard-earned money. The losses you experience from impulse buying decisions might make it difficult for you to pay a necessary bill or for an emergency or some other necessity. You might also lose money you set aside for a previously planned "wish" purchase, such as a vacation trip. These tips won't stop you from ever again buying on impulse, but they can protect you from the worst influencers and make you pause long enough to consider the value of your money and the reasons not to buy an unnecessary product or service.