I have a list of things I want to buy.
If I see something I like, I write it down (often in detail with place and price). It allows me to recognize the desire to have that item, but I haven’t actually bought it. Sometimes I look at my list and am able to check some things off that I did save up for to buy over a time period. I only buy items on that list if I am able to pay cash, outside of our main budget. Because my list is digital, (I love Evernote!) I am easily able to update it if there was a sale price or if I found it cheaper at another place and add a link or two so I can keep an eye on it.
Two perks of this method: I don’t spend money that I don’t have and, when I do finally buy the item, I don’t have buyer’s remorse because I know that I got the best price on something that I have wanted for a long time.
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Great tip. Impulse buys tend to take the most money, so doing away with that would definitely help reduce spending
Thanks 🙂 I just looked it up and found this article on how Canadians spend $3720 on impules buys every year. Small sample size for their survey but it shows how quickly those buys add up.