Serial Shopper? How Breaking Bad Habits Can Stop You Spending | Get Financial Freedom Tips | Transform Your Financial Future

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Friday, September 15, 2017

Serial Shopper? How Breaking Bad Habits Can Stop You Spending

Saving money is always difficult, especially if you like to shop. The temptation to buy new things can make it difficult to refrain from dipping into the pot that you’ve worked so hard to pay into. If you often find yourself raiding your savings when a good deal comes your way or you can’t help saying ‘no,’ then breaking the five habits below could help you make better spending decisions and resist that urge to shop. 

Serial Shopper

Turn off TV commercials

If you’re easily tempted by wonderful new products while watching your favorite TV show, maybe it’s time to change your habits. Research has shown that millennials are less likely to be drawn in by TV advertising than previous generations due to a better knowledge of marketing practices, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t get sucked in. If you’re the type of person who’s easily led by a TV commercial, record your shows in advance and skip through the break. Try it for a week and see if you begin to think less about spending money.

Adopt a cooling off-period

If you like to shop, you might find that a lot of the things you buy are impulse purchases. A great way to get out of the habit of buying things that you don’t really need is to give yourself a cooling off period. If you see something you like that you want to buy, leave it in the store and go home to think about it. Give yourself a day, and in many cases you’ll probably find that you’re no longer bothered about the item. Another good way to save yourself from making impulse buys, especially on your way home or while running errands, is to leave your purse at home and just take the cash for what you need.

Check your balances

It can be easy to ignore your account balances until your card gets declined. Making yourself check your balance each morning and night will give you a realistic idea of how much you’re spending, and perhaps shock you into stopping. Check your balance before you leave the house and establish what your limit is for the day. Then aim to spend less than that and put the rest into savings. Having a clear picture of how much you’re spending will help you make better purchase decisions and stop you going over your budget.

Leave your credit card at home

Your credit card can be your best friend and your own worst enemy when it comes to shopping. If you feel that you often hand over the credit card to buy things you can’t afford out of your monthly budget, then leaving your card at home can help with the temptation. Building your balances back up and repairing your credit is important, and the less you can rely on your credit card the better. You can get a realistic picture of your credit situation with a credit repair agency offers excellent reviews of different companies that can help you get yourself into a better financial situation. It will take some restraint on your part, but you can get there.

Shopping can be an enjoyable activity if you live within your means, but if you start relying on credit to buy things that you want, then you could land yourself in some serious debt. Make wiser shopping decisions and break those bad habits to put you in a better financial position.

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