Today’s article is a guest post from Ann Smarty. It’s been a crazy busy week around here – updates coming soon. Thanks for filling in, Ann!
Imagine the situation: you come to the mall to buy some tiny thing. You are walking along the shelves considering various products. Then you choose something… and something breaks. You feel like buying more. You just can’t stop. You no more consider, you just keep putting things into the cart.
Has this ever happened to you? This process of going from deliberation phase to acting (buying) phase is called shopping momentum. This is the most effective way to manipulate the consumer’s behavior and make you spend more.
Now, let’s learn how you can break the shopping momentum and avoid extra (unnecessary) purchases.
1. Pay in cash: It is a well-known fact that counting actual money makes you think about what you are doing. So leave your credit card at home, take only cash with you (another effective way is to take exactly the amount of money you plan to spend).
2. Avoid buying anything in the checkout line. Most stupid purchases are made while you are waiting in the checkout line. That’s why you usually see so many “cool” bright things there. Just don’t look – open the newspaper or magazine instead.
3. Avoid payday shopping. The day of the salary makes us feel rich and powerful … and excited – not the best feelings for going shopping if you plan to save.
4. Maintain weekly and monthly shopping lists. Getting organized is the most effective way to keep your head.
5. Eat before going shopping. An interesting study suggests that exposure to something that stimulates the appetite can make a person more impulsive with unrelated purchases. So make sure you feel full before going to the mall.
6. Clip and take any coupons you managed to find. Like cash, coupons make sure you remember you are there to save. Consider looking for coupons online. Internet offers great tools to search and organize both online and printed coupons.
Any more tips? Please share them in the comments!
Guest post by Ann Smarty.
Gabriel says
I was interested to read about eating before shopping in general. I try never to go to the grocery store hungry (or I regret it), but I hadn’t thought about doing that for any shopping trip. It doesn’t help that I’m pregnant and hungry ALL the time.
Jessie says
I think it can also be helpful to go shopping with a friend or partner if they have the same goals as you. Kind of like going to the gym with a buddy – it’s easier to save with a buddy to (if they are like minded)
FruGal says
#3 is absolutely the hardest rule for me to follow. Whenever I see that direct deposit, I suddenly feel rich. I forget that the money has to last for at least 2 weeks. Working in a busy office also makes payday shopping get out of hand fast. My co-workers usually go out to eat and/or shop at the mall on payday Fridays, so I end up spending anywhere from $15-$150 during one lunch hour. Since I have fun and get to hang out with co-workers, I always justify my purchases.
Payday shopping plus mob mentality is a dangerous combination.