Impulse Buying

rockm87

Sharon87 wrote: »

Not really. It means I would never find a job and be even more skint! I had an interview today which was advertised on Facebook so getting rid of the Internet would be plain stupid. Besides I live in a house share so I think they want it too!

It's not that you would 'never' find a job. you would just have to try different avenues.

I used to work in recruitment and we only put jobs online if they were really specialist or we really couldn't get appropriate candidates. It didn't mean we didn't have any jobs just because we weren't advertising them online.

Teacher2

Hi there,

I have been reading this thread and see that you have problems with self control.

To be honest everyone has problems with self control. I have quite good self control and even I have problems with self control at some times both with money and with weight.

Here are a couple of quick fixes which, if you follow them, you can turn into good habits and keep them up.

I would put them under the heading of 'distraction and avoidance'.

You clearly need to distract yourself from visiting both shopping websites and shops. Therefore, find a way of diverting your attention. I have devised a structure for my day (I'm early-retired so I have plenty of time on my hands for spending money!) whereby I am pretty well always occupied. I have a series of daily domestic tasks and have found that listening to catch-up radio (Radio Four Extra's plays and stories) keeps me distracted. When I browse online I go for the free news webites (Guardian, Daily Mail, BBC etc.) which involve me taking in information from outside rather than seeking purchases. I go for walks to get myself away from the computer, to enjoy nature and to get exercise.

I deliberately bypass temptation now by avoiding going to shopping centres. I first started to avoid my favourite shopping street as the car park charge increased to £5.80 which I couldn't afford on a pension. Now I park for free in supermarkets' free car parks and do a quick shopping 'sweep' with a list from which I don't divert. I don't try clothes on and I avoid browsing in any shop which would provide alluring temptation. I know I love 'Monsoon' and 'Phase Eight' so I don't go into their stores.

Online avoidance can be tricky as, once you have bought somethng from them, stores never stop sending tempting e-mails with offers and discounts. What I do when I get them is immediately delete the ads. At times I have opened the e-mail, browsed the site and even gone so far as to order something. In this case I delete before I pay. Delete, delete, delete.

These tricks have solidified into habits. Good luck.

Sharon87

rockm87 wrote: »

It's not that you would 'never' find a job. you would just have to try different avenues.

I used to work in recruitment and we only put jobs online if they were really specialist or we really couldn't get appropriate candidates. It didn't mean we didn't have any jobs just because we weren't advertising them online.

In my industry, without internet I'd be screwed. I need it to either email companie/people I've worked with before or use the TV related job sites or Facebook groups to find a job. Everyone loves the Facebook groups because you can find people really quickly on them, and they're rigorously monitored by admins who also work in the industry. I know my industry and I know no internet = death of working in that industry.

Sharon87

Thanks for the advice Teacher2

I did start a while back either unsubscribing from shops email lists or at least diverting all future emails from them into another folder in my inbox, so I wouldn't be tempted, but I'm getting a few again, so maybe should do this for the other companies.

I remember a time I saw an email with a 'Schuh' sale. So I went on it had a look, decided not to buy this pair of converse I liked. Went onto other websites and with their 'target' advertising and using cookies, the advert was those pair of shoes I wanted! I kept seeing the same advert for those shoes for months, steadily going down in price. But I did resist that! Mostly because I didn't want to give in to the new way of advertising!

As for last night, luckily it was free drinks and luckily I didn't spend anything extra, not even food at the end of the night. So one free night out - even the transport was free as I was already maxed out on the underground with my tasks earlier in the day (going to doctors and an interview)

Sharon87

So today I've not spent any money

I went to the gym and done a longer than usual workout. I'm also having leftovers from yesterday for dinner. So no temptation of take aways, which is another impulse purchase I do nearly every 3-4 weeks. £10-£15 on a takeaway is something I can live without, I'd rather spend that money on healthier foods, which cost more, for example salmon, prawns.etc

Gigervamp

Sharon87 wrote: »

I remember a time I saw an email with a 'Schuh' sale. So I went on it had a look, decided not to buy this pair of converse I liked. Went onto other websites and with their 'target' advertising and using cookies, the advert was those pair of shoes I wanted! I kept seeing the same advert for those shoes for months, steadily going down in price. But I did resist that! Mostly because I didn't want to give in to the new way of advertising!

I don't see any ads because I've got Adbloc installed. It works really well.

Purplesky_2

Try to install an add-on called leechblock. It's designed for time sucks but works well for money sucks too.
Ticket sites, shopping sites etc, pop all the web addresses into the tool and set limits on it. (For instance you can choose to have it of all the time, off all days except monday, or it can allow you 5 mins before it times out on you, so that if you do need something, you have to go in and get it and get out again?)

And yes, having running lists of wants and needs is useful for me (I pop them in a memo on my phone).

You can also try to figure out how much your time is worth by figuring out your hourly wage? Then decide if it's worth working for three days straight for an hour and a half's concert + transport, or whatever.

Finally, try another add-on called adblock, and reduce or eliminate your recreational advertised-at time (TV time, 'shopping for fun', going to the cinema etc). The less time you spend looking at advertisements the better, frankly.

Sharon87

Purplesky wrote: »

Try to install an add-on called leechblock. It's designed for time sucks but works well for money sucks too.
Ticket sites, shopping sites etc, pop all the web addresses into the tool and set limits on it. (For instance you can choose to have it of all the time, off all days except monday, or it can allow you 5 mins before it times out on you, so that if you do need something, you have to go in and get it and get out again?)

And yes, having running lists of wants and needs is useful for me (I pop them in a memo on my phone).

You can also try to figure out how much your time is worth by figuring out your hourly wage? Then decide if it's worth working for three days straight for an hour and a half's concert + transport, or whatever.

Finally, try another add-on called adblock, and reduce or eliminate your recreational advertised-at time (TV time, 'shopping for fun', going to the cinema etc). The less time you spend looking at advertisements the better, frankly.

I have in the past looked at prices for tickets and said 'so that's half a days pay after tax', or that festival will cost be a week's wage after tax, so I will need to save for it.

For larger things like festivals/holidays I am good at saving for it, but obviously that money could have gone towards my credit cards!

I'm going to make a diary on the other forum, will post the link on here.

Sharon87

Link to my diary here:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/68816450#Comment_68816450

cavegrrl

It sounds like you're OK at money saving, you just have this bad impulsive habit you need to break. Is it linked to emotions?
I would try keeping it simple - set yourself the target to never buy straight away. Tell yourself you can buy it in the morning and then get on with something else. Maybe try doing something that will positively affect you - a short burst of exercise (10 squats or jumps or something you can do on the spot). Hopefully by the next day, that urge would have faded. Enough times, you'll break the habit and can focus on your goals and how to achieve them.

On another note - my budget allows for very little extra so I created a list of 'essentials' - things that I use and do not want to give up. It's all practical stuff, but when I start running low on something, I head to the internet and I try to find a way of spending as little as possible on it - researching new brands, new suppliers, looking for vouchers etc. It qwells the shopping urge. Anyway, if you make a similar list, you can either do the same or set yourself the rule of only impulse buying from the list. At least then, its practical.

Another idea to stop the urge is enter some competitions instead? It has a similar sort of buzz.