I Struggle with Impulse Buying: How Can I Control My Spending Habits for Good?

If you’ve ever made an unplanned purchase and regretted it later, you’re no doubt in good company. Impulse buys can happen to the best of us, whether at the supermarket, a clothing store, or online.

The problem is that impulse buys could seriously bust your budget, making it harder to save money and meet your other financial goals. And worse yet, impulse buys could also be contributing to your debt. So it’s important to try to put a stop to them.

In this Reddit post, we have someone who’s trying to curb their impulse buys but they’re not sure how. I have some suggestions that may help, and they’re ones that I’ve used myself to kick the habit.

Don’t store credit card details on your devices

It’s convenient to store your credit card numbers on your laptop and phone so you can complete purchases quickly. But I realized long ago that this convenience was making it easier to buy things needlessly.

One thing I would find myself doing was scroll on my phone before bed when I was having trouble falling asleep. I can’t tell you how many unnecessary purchases I made — until I stopped storing my credit card data on my phone.

From that point on, any browsing I did to try to nod off was just that — browsing. I wasn’t going to go all the way downstairs to grab my credit card details when I was trying to fall asleep, so lo and behold — my impulse spending largely stopped once I removed my credit card information.

Don’t shop when you’re bored

Although I fell into the habit of shopping as a means of falling asleep, I’ve never been someone to shop out of boredom. But I know people who will fill a free afternoon with a visit to the mall if they have nothing better to do. Or, they’ll sit on their couch scrolling for hours if they’re feeling lazy.

Another way to stop impulse buying is to find things to do with your time other than shop. If you suddenly find yourself with a free afternoon, clean your house, bake some cake, or go for a walk at a local park. Do anything you can to stay out of stores.

Shop with a list instead of winging it

When I go to the grocery store without a shopping list, I tend to buy more things than I really need. Another way to stop impulse buys is to bring a list with you when you shop, whether it’s for food or household products. I’ve found that having a list makes me more accountable — and then, it makes it more obvious when I’m going off-list.

To take this concept even further, you could make a shopping list when you hit the stores and only bring enough cash with you to cover the purchases on that list. If you don’t have a credit card with you, it becomes much harder to buy things you weren’t planning on.

Take a trusted partner with you to shop

Some people have a harder time than others saying no to impulse buys. One thing that might help is to have a partner shop with you who will hold you accountable to your budget or list.

That partner could be a spouse, a roommate, or a trusted friend. If you have older kids, it could even be a teen of yours who understands the goal.

This is something I try to do when I warehouse club shop. I tend to make unplanned purchases because I’m someone who’s drawn to good deals. So I try to shop with my husband so he can keep me in check.

It’s natural to make the occasional impulse purchase. And a few one-offs may not wreck your finances too badly. But constant impulse buys can be bad news, so it’s important to break that habit.

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