7 minute read
At the beginning of the year I was prompted to take a hard look at my spending. I’ve known for a while that my impulse buying was getting out of hand. I would see a video on TikTok and immediately open the Amazon app and click Buy Now. I found my home was full of barely used junk. I was surrounded by stuff that had no place, and I was constantly having to tidy up because my home was so cluttered.
But seeing the data was another story. I was spending thousands of dollars per month on Amazon. I would venture about 10% of that was stuff I actually needed. 40% I could justify. 50% was pure junk. I knew I needed to change. I set an intention for myself to stop impulse spending and limit Amazon purchases. Here are some things I changed to set myself up for success:
Make it harder! Convenience is costing you.
The ease of impulse buying lets you spend before you think. You can make a few simple changes to force yourself to think before you buy.
Delete subscriptions
First, I deleted my Amazon Prime subscription. That alone saves me $15/month but it also keeps me from buying a $13 item without thinking about it (100 times a year). Amazon still has free shipping on $25 orders, so if I really need something I will have to wait until I have a few items to buy to avoid paying for shipping.
Delete shopping apps from your phone
Next, I deleted the Amazon app from my phone. It was too easy to spend $15, $25, $50 at the click of a button. Now I have to open my laptop to make a purchase. It’s a small but effective hurdle to knee-jerk spending.
Delete saved CC info
Delete the saved Credit Card information from shopping websites and from your web browser. This one is more effective than you might think. Is the thought of getting off the couch to get your wallet too much work? Then you don’t need that thing you were about to buy.
Save for Later
You’d be surprised how a little time will change your mind about a purchase. Something you think you need right this moment seems absurd 3 days later. If you really want to add it to your cart, go ahead and do it but then click Save for Later. At the end of the week, evaluate which items you actually want to buy.
Keep a List
Instead of immediately adding a product to your cart, keep a list of items you want to buy. Set your own rules for when you can buy an item from this list. A certain dollar amount per month? When it goes on sale? When you accomplish a goal?
I keep two lists in my Notes app. One is my Wish List. These are things I want but don’t need.
The other is my Refill list. If I see a recommendation for a new face moisturizer that I want to try, but I already have a face moisturizer, I add it to my refill list. When my current moisturizer is used up, I can purchase the new one to replace it.
Keep a written log of your spending
Set a reminder on your phone to write down every dollar you spend each day. You can do this in a journal, planner, calendar, or a spreadsheet. Find a way that works for you. Highlight your *No Spend* days so you can see how often you’re spending money. I like to keep my regular bills in a separate list so I can really focus on my ad hoc spending.
At the end of the week and month, add it all up and see how you’re doing. You might need to do this for a couple months before you have a good baseline to compare against.
Tracking your spending has a lot of benefits. It keeps your spending and expenses at the forefront of your mind. It forces you to be accountable to yourself and think twice before clicking Submit Order. It encourages you to strive for lower and less frequent spending.
Use back stock before buying something new
I have 6 bottles of shampoo in my shower right now. I like trying new products and I’m too excited to try them to wait until I finish the last bottle. I’ve set a new rule for myself to finish all of the shampoos in my shower before I buy a new bottle.
You can apply this policy to a lot of different consumables – food, craft supplies, toiletries, etc.
Exceptions: There are certain things I always need and try to buy on sale like toilet paper. I will let myself buy more toilet paper before I run out if I see a good price.
Shop around
We often assume that Amazon is going to be the cheapest. In reality, Amazon prices are incredibly variable. If you need to buy something specific, check a search engine like Google Shopping or other stores to see if you can find it cheaper or with a discount code.
Find an accountability buddy
Ask a friend or family member to be your accountability buddy. This should be someone like-minded who won’t encourage you to overspend. Give them questions they can ask you like,
- Is this a need or a want?
- Do you need it now or can you wait on it?
- Do you have something else you can use instead?
- Can you borrow it?
- How many times are you going to use it?
- Do you have space for it?
Text them whenever you feel like making an impulse purchase. It’s possible you’ll choose not to make a purchase before even texting them, knowing you’re not going to be able to justify the purchase.
Curate an anti-consumption/de-influencer feed on your socials
First, become aware of who you follow and what their goals are. Influencers make money from selling you products. Some are less than honest about their opinions and suggestions.
I found that my social media feeds influence my spending quite a bit. I once took a month away from TikTok and found that my impulse buying went down drastically. If you don’t want to completely eliminate social media, there are things you can do to manipulate your feed:
TikTok
The TikTok algorithm takes your activity into account. How much time you spend watching a video, if you click into the comments or the user’s profile, liking or commenting on a video, etc. If you don’t want “Target haul” videos to show up on your feed for example, swipe away from those types of videos right away. If you want to see more content about budgeting, interact with those videos – like, comment, etc. You can search for topics to seek out different subjects like saving money or anti-consumption. TikTok learns what you like and starts to show you more videos like that.
Instagram is becoming more shopping and ad focused, but there are still things you can do to influence your feed. My favorite is the finsta or fake instagram account method. I limit my main Instagram account following to people I know, my community, or certain blogs I love like Cup of Jo. For everything else, I keep separate topic-focused Instagram accounts. I have a fitness instagram account where I follow healthy meal and workout accounts. I have a craft instagram where I follow other craft accounts. And I have a money instagram account where I follow accounts that are sharing their money saving journeys and tips. You can also follow hashtags like #lowspendyear and #budgeting.
Lastly, be liberal with the unfollow button. If something is not serving you, get rid of it.
Keep Track
In addition to tracking your spending, keep track of your money/spending goals and intentions. Keep it with your spending tracker or somewhere visible like your fridge. Find a place to write it down and then keep these sections:
Goals
What are your specific, measurable goals? Do you want to pay down a debt by the end of the year? Contribute $2,000 to your savings by X date? Limit eating out to 2x per week?
Intentions
Intentions are less measurable and more about how you want to live and how you want to feel. Do you want to be less influenced by social media to spend money? Do you want to feel less shackled by your possessions?
Strategies
How are you going to meet your goals and intentions? These are specific actions you can take. I’m going to track my spending every day. I’m going to commit to 2 No Spend days per week. I’m going to unfollow influencers on Instragram.
Inspiration
What is inspiring you to change? Write it down for the times you need to be reminded.
He who buys what he does not need, steals from himself.
Wins
Keep a running list of what you’ve accomplished so far. This in itself will serve as inspiration when you’re feeling defeated. Decreased your monthly subscriptions from $345/month to $78/month? Huge!
Accept Imperfection
Lastly, don’t expect perfection from yourself. I struggle with an all-or-nothing mentality. Ate a donut in the morning? I guess I’ll just eat junk the rest of the day. Forgive yourself when you stray from your intentions and then move on. Take a deep breath and don’t wait for the next day, week, month to start fresh. You got this.
What did I miss?
How do you struggle with impulse spending? What strategies do you use when you’re influenced to buy things? Let me know below in the comments!
