Transcription
[Music] I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I've made my fair share of impulse purchases. Whether it was the fear of missing out on a sale or spending money to deal with some sort of emotion, for the most part, I pretty much always knew that these impulse purchases weren't wise purchases, but I would do it anyways. And it goes without saying that these would almost always go against some sort of financial rules or goals that I set for myself.
So, I created a list of some of the things that I do that have helped me control the urge to make impulse purchases and honestly eradicate that desire completely. Here are a few minimalist tips for reducing impulse purchases and spending. But first, if you're new to my channel, thank you for stopping by. Here we talk about minimalism, frugal living, tech, and things of that nature. So, if that sounds good to you and you end up liking the video, be sure to like and please deploy Expedition 33 on the subscribe button. Let's get started.
Create a needs versus wants list. I think starting with a tangible step to put into practice is incredibly useful. Having a list of needs has always kept me on track and kept any spontaneous impulse purchases at bay. If you have a personal monthly budget that you've set for yourself, that in a way is already sort of a needs versus wants list. Things that fall into the needs category for me are the things like monthly bills or the things that sustain my life or routine. And the wants are the unplanned or unnecessary purchases. Like spontaneously ordering food because I'm too lazy to cook or buying something I was on the fence about buying because maybe it's on sale. And it sounds incredibly simple because it is. Actually sticking to only the needs does take some willpower, but for me has resulted in my monthly spending falling right on track with my budget.
Don't shop when emotional. And this is a talking point that's a little embarrassing for me, but there definitely have been times that I've made some impulse purchases to maybe deal with some sort of emotion. Emotions like being stressed out or really bummed about something and trying to forget about whatever it was that was bothering me by impulsively buying something to distract me for a little while. Thankfully, I've put some rules in place for myself to help me deal with those emotions a different way other than making those impulse purchases, but that's a subject for another video. I highly recommend just being a little bit more mindful the next time you may be thinking about an impulse purchase to see if there's anything else going on externally. Something that this impulse purchase is maybe supposed to be distracting you from and to see if this purchase is some sort of coping mechanism.
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Review your purchases weekly. Reviewing my purchases weekly is usually something I do when I'm sitting down to pay my bills. And it was when I started doing this that I noticed regular reviews made me see the impact of impulse buys over time. and I started catching myself before repeating them. But more than anything, it was just a great way to sit down and evaluate if some of those purchases made that week were actually necessary or just impulsive. Usually, because now I'm sitting and looking at my finances with a much clearer head. And not to mention, seeing my money more tangibly and on a screen really shows the impact of those impulse purchases and the effect they have on my saving or investing goals. Things like 10 or $15 spontaneous purchases don't seem like a big deal in the moment, but a couple times a week can be $100 or more by the end of the month. And when I'm sitting down reviewing my expenses, that's a much harder number to justify on non-essentials. Having this weekly review of my spending just adds a little more accountability for myself and really can help identify areas where the impulse purchases are happening the most frequently.
Set a no spend challenge. Having a no spend challenge for any duration of time is actually a very effective way to stop spontaneous spending. I've noticed that through these challenges, the satisfaction came from catching myself thinking about making a purchase and then remembering my no spend challenge. And when I say a monthly no spend challenge, I don't even mean go an entire month without spending anything, but periods within that month where I'm tasked with only buying the absolute essentials. Even just the goal of not buying anything over your weekend can be a great first step and can easily save a lot of money depending on your weekend spending routines. Where I feel like a no spend challenge really thrives, however, is having a friend attempt this with you as well, just for a little bit more accountability. Because in my experience, even just having a short no spend challenge really helps me identify routine purchases I was able to live without. But more importantly, the impulse ones I didn't realize was costing me so much money a month sometimes.
Curate your environment. It was a little surprising to find out how much control I actually have over my environment and how it affects my spending habits. Specifically, the things that trigger impulse spending. Things as simple as deleting apps that are dedicated to shopping, unsubscribing to the junk mail, and just making the areas that I frequent places where I don't want to spend or think about spending. Sometimes this just means creating friction within your environment to make the impulse spending a little more difficult or inconvenient. Probably the single greatest tip that worked for me in this regard was removing any debit or credit cards I had saved logged in somewhere like Amazon, for example. It's a situation where my laziness paid off because it meant I wouldn't get up and walk across the house to get my wallet and type in my card information, saving me from many impulse purchases over time, or at the very least gave me a few more moments to actually ponder if this impulse purchase is a wise one or not. I recommend just curating an environment that doesn't feel like it needs more. Remove any triggers and most importantly, create an environment that caters more to savings goals, not spending habits.
Use minimalism as a filter. And this might just really be the best tip on the entire list. Using minimalism as a filter for me sometimes quite literally means asking the question, does this purchase add lasting value to my life? And maybe that sounds like a really deep question to ask on a potentially $10 purchase, but it's really the principle behind that question. Do I really want or need to bring anything not essential into my life and pay with it with money that I've earned with hours of my life? Through minimalism, the objects I own show what I value in my life, which means the purchasing standards should be much higher. Because every item I buy owns a piece of my time and attention, minimalism keeps me selective and intentional. And just sticking to the minimalism based spending rules that I've set for myself, it has made impulse purchases nearly impossible. Just about everything needs to be considered a need, go through some sort of waiting period, or just bring some value to my life in a meaningful way. And chances are, a spontaneous purchase usually isn't meeting these demands.
These are just some of the things I've been doing for quite some time that have made me pretty much make zero impulse purchases in my day-to-day routines. And I hope that by putting some of them into practice, they could prove to be as useful for you as they are for me. And don't forget to use the link in the description to get the special discount Cyber GhostVPN is granting watchers of this channel. This application will protect your data while you browse and give you full access to all geoblocked content on the internet for just $2.3 a month only. Totally risk-free. So check it out. Link is in the description box. Anyways, as always, I appreciate the time you spent here and I appreciate you watching. If you did like this video and you like this type of content, be sure to like and consider subscribing to my channel. And I'll see you next time. [Music]