I would love to say that I never waste money, that I don’t spend cash I really cannot spare and that I am in control 100% of the time. But I’m not! It would be a lie. When I am feeling down or hormonal, when I am too tired to research the best prices and look for a bargain, I am as tempted as anyone else to have a spending frenzy and bust my budget.
Brewing up for a spending frenzy
Take yesterday. I felt exhausted and needed cheering up. Then I got an email inviting me to submit a short video clip which potentially could be used on an upcoming Channel 5 programme. Oooh, exciting, I thought, but what will I wear? I NEED something new! I shot into town to find a new top. I found one in Marks and Spencer and fortunately had a £25 voucher from my birthday. Only then I found a bargain pair of jeans – just £15!
I needed more jeans as I have only one pair that fit, so I actually could justify this purchase and, with the voucher, I had only spent £7.50 on these two items. But then something else happened….I came upon the footwear section and remembered that I NEEDED some sandals! I tried on a pair of £45 leather ones and decided that I would buy those too.
I was feeling ever so slightly nervous about the sandals. I knew I should have looked around to see if there was anything else suitable but cheaper. I decided to try New Look and, sure enough, they had a similar (but not leather) pair for £8.99. At this point I came to my senses and took the £45 pair back to the shop. They were nice, but not nice enough to destroy my carefully crafted budget and send me into an overdraft!
Of course, the M&S were better quality than my cheapie sandals and would last longer, but I will wait until July when the summer sales start and buy a decent pair then. That’s if I still feel I NEED them, of course. My last pair from New Look lasted 3 years!
How to stop yourself when you feel the urge to splash the cash
So, spending frenzy over, I got to thinking. What to do if you find yourself in a similar frame of mind surrounded by shops full of temptation? How can you fight the urge to splurge on those beautiful displays of tantalising goodies you never knew you wanted until that moment? Here are some things I (usually) do when I am possessed by the impulse to spend more money than I can afford.
Remind yourself of your long term goals – why are you trying to save money?
If you are impulse buying to make yourself feel better, ask yourself if this purchase will really cheer you up? Is it more likely to make you anxious in the long term?
Before you make a purchase more questions to ask: Do I REALLY want this? Do I actually need it? If I don’t buy it, will I care tomorrow?
Work out how many hours you would have to work to pay for whatever is tempting you.
Think about what else you could do with the money.
And a further question: ‘Could I get this, or something similar, more cheaply?’
If you desperately need a bit of retail therapy, visit a charity shop and give yourself a £5 limit.
Take a step back rather than immediately giving into your impulse purchase. Have a cup of tea or phone a friend. Sit in a café and write down your savings goals. Go home and allow yourself to return and purchase the item if you find you still need it after 24 hours. The chances are you won’t!
Long term ways to avoid a spending frenzy
The way I generally avoid impulse purchases is to avoid shopping centres unless I know what I am going to buy. I don’t go shopping for fun! Those marketing people know how to do their work on you once you are in their den. It is the same online. If you consciously decide to buy something on the internet, do your research. If you find something you want, you will soon find the best price by looking around.
For example, a few years ago I found a gorgeous pair of Hotter boots on a leaflet that came through the door. They were on offer on the Hotter website at £100 rather than £120. My old boots were pretty worn out so I could justify a purchase, but £100? I had a look on eBay and found the exact same pair at £60, brand new! I put in a cheeky offer of £50 and it was accepted. This was worth a little victory dance! I still have these boots – they are excellent quality and were a really good purchase.
When you are shopping, work out your budget in advance and take cash so that you don’t over spend. As Dave Ramsey says, it hurts much more to hand over physical notes than a piece of plastic. You cannot avoid knowing what you are actually spending.
If credit cards are your problem, cut them up. I used to have 4. I paid them all off and now I keep one, but not in my purse. It is in my knicker drawer and is for larger purchases where I want some insurance, such as when I am booking a holiday. I don’t use it unless I can immediately pay it off in full.
Know that you cannot spend your way to happiness
In my heart I know that buying stuff doesn’t make me happy. At best it gives me a little lift for a couple of hours. That satisfaction is no more or less than if I had found an item for a few pounds at a boot sale, for free in a skip or for £45 in M&S. Sometimes saying no is more satisfying that having as spending frenzy. I need to recognise and understand my triggers!
What about you? Have you given into impulse buying or gone on a spending frenzy lately?
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Savannah says
My way of stopping a spending frenzy is to have them on line! I pick a store I would never be able afford to shop in, happily browse through the website adding stuff to my basket as I go, checking it every so often to see how much I’ve totted up (£89 for that top, £175 for that dress etc). Then after a happy hour or two surfing and ‘basketing’ I close the site down. I’ve had my shopping fix, ‘bought’ a lot of stuff, and it’s not cost me a penny! Plus I now have ideas on how to repurpose the clothes I’ve already got. Result.
Julia says
My spending seems to go in fits and bursts. I can go months and months without going into a clothing shop, but when I do I usually buy more than I went in for. But is all usually badly needed, and mostly for the kids as they wear their clothes to rags!
Since the demise of BHS I’m now limited to Primark for clothes for me, but I hate that they only do skinny jeans so am forced to spend more in M&S of Debenhams when I need a new pair – which thankfully, as I got a couple of pairs last year, shouldn’t be for several more years now! 😀
I do have a credit card but I use it like a debit card. Each week I transfer the amount I’ve spent on it into a savings account to pay it off (IN FULL!) when the bill comes, and keep a close check on how near to the (low!) limit I’m getting in case I need to make a mid-month payment. It gives cashback rewards, which are currently sitting at £300! 🙂
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
I am with you on skinny jeans. They make me look like Max Wall! TheM&S one’s were good value and I got boot leg ones, which are more flattering for me
Margaret Powling says
I’m surprised you can remember Max Wall, Jane! But yes, that’s what skinny jeans make most women look like – I’m too chubby to wear them, I’d never get into them! Or more importantly, once in, I’d never get out of them, ha ha!
Regarding the sandals, are the cheap ones comfortable? That is my main concern I have regarding very cheap footwear of any kind. Also, if they are plastic and not leather, will your feet get too hot in them, even though they are sandals?
I buy few clothes and rarely have mad moments of buying them. I stick to navy blue spiced up with bright scarves much of the time, Breton tops (in navy/white, red/white) and in winter, a good navy coat. Boring for some, but inexpensive and always smart. My most recent purchase was a dress from Joules (bought online) last autumn which I wore on Christmas day and only twice since then, but I do like to have one garment in the wardrobe that feels just a bit special – this is it.
Margaret P
Julia says
I don’t mind jeans being tight above the knee, it’s below the knee that irritates me and makes me feel like I’m in a straight-jacket. I prefer the straight cut which drop straight from the knee. 🙂
Gillian says
I’ll be honest, I mostly go on a splurge when i’m feeling bored – fed up with my ‘old’ stuff, even though a lot of my clothes have hardly been worn. Ridiculous really. Even supermarkets can draw me in with their ‘bargains’, so the easiest way for me to avoid splurging is to avoid going to the shops in the first place.
I love the advice from The Frugalwoods: if you see something you want to buy, give yourself 24 hours and see how you feel then. Very little is so desperately needed that we must have it there & then. (Actually I will argue that an exception to this rule is cat food; it’s always an emergency when I find I’ve run out!)
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
You are like the rest of us! Actually the Frugalwoods make you wait 72 hours, but if you can’t get out of the shop that is tricky