Impulse Buying, Life and Relationships

Impulse buying refers to an unplanned decision to buy or a situation when the decision is made just before a purchase. An impulse buyer or impulse spender takes the decision to buy after seeing the product or a nicely done advertising campaign. It is thought that human emotions and feelings play the most important role in impulse buying.

Are you an impulse buyer? In order to know that answer the following questions truthfully:

1. Does your spouse or partner complain that you spend too much money?
2. Are you surprised each month when your credit card bill arrives at how much more you charged than you thought you had?
3. Do you have more shoes and clothes in your closet than you could ever possibly wear?
4. Do you own every new gadget before it has time to collect dust on a retailer’s shelf?
5. Do you buy things you didn’t know you wanted until you saw them on display in a store?

If your answer was "yes" to any two of the above questions, rest assured that you are an impulse spender and indulge yourself in so-called retail therapy!

This is not a good thing. Mind it. Because impulse spending usually lead to problems such as financial difficulties, family disapproval, or feeling of guilt or disappointment. It will prevent you from saving for the important things like a house, a new car, a vacation, retirement or whatever.

If you want to live a financially stable life, you must set some solid financial goals and resist spending money on items that really don’t matter in the long run. Impulse spending will not only put a strain on your finances but your relationships, as well.

To overcome the problem of impulse spending, the first thing you need to do is learn to separate your needs from your wants. Give yourself a cooling-off period before you buy anything that you have not planned for. When you go shopping, make a list and take only enough cash to pay for what you have planned to buy. Leave your credit cards at home.

And if you see something that you think you really need, don't buy it instantly. Instead give yourself a few days to decide if it is really something you need or something you can easily do without. In this way, by taking some careful steps while shopping, you will be able to easily mend your financial fences and your relationships.