This post may contain affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products and services I use and love. Thanks for supporting The Little Frugal House!
Wondering how to avoid impulse purchases and save more money? In this post, I’ll share my 5 best tips for how to avoid impulse purchases.
Do you have trouble saying no to those last minute impulse purchases?
These can be a big budget buster, so let’s figure out a few ways to conquer impulse purchases.
5 Tips for How to Avoid Impulse Purchases
Quick Tip: You can make extra money for your emergency fund by using free cash back apps when you shop! I love to cash out and send my money to PayPal!
Use the free Ibotta app to get cash back on things like groceries, travel, and mobile purchases. You can get the app for free and get $5 when you upload your first receipt!
And use Ebates when you shop online to get cash back. I love having the browser extension, that alerts me when I’m on a site that offers cash back. Sign up for Ebates here and get a $10 welcome bonus!
Ok, let’s get to the tips!
1. Add a little extra wiggle in your budget.
Give yourself a set amount of money each week or month for those too-good-to-pass-up deals. Once the money is gone, no more impulse purchases.
You could have a set amount of cash for each spouse to spend as they please.
2. Avoid stores or areas of stores that trigger these impulse purchases.
For me, these are Target Dollar Spot and Dollar Tree. Look away when you pass a certain area, look at your list as you walk by, or avoid the store altogether.
Related Post: How to Build an Emergency Fund
3. Add things up as you add them to your shopping cart.
One way to see how quickly these impulse purchases add up is to actually add them up as you place them in your cart. Those $1 and $3 items aren’t much on their own, but throw a couple in, and you could be easily $20 over budget.
Use your phone calculator to add things up as you add them to your cart.
4. Come back to the item later.
Impulse purchases aren’t planned purchases, so it’s never something on your list, or something you have to have. Sure, it could be a great deal though!
Pass the item by for now, take a picture with the price, and if you are still thinking about it at the end of your shopping trip or the next day, you may want to head back and purchase it.
Just give yourself some time to think and you may realize you really don’t need or want that thing anymore.
Related Post: How to Make a Debt Payoff Plan in 4 Steps
5. Delete emails that make you spend money.
Go through your inbox and unsubscribe from emails that make you spend money impulsively.
I know for me, sale emails from my favorite stores make me browse and often just “grab a few great deals”. But these deals add up and can wreck our budgets.
Use these tips to help steer clear and avoid impulse purchases, so you can stick to your budget and save more money!
You might also enjoy…
