Since I've been blogging and blog reading I've never spent so much money and it has got to the point where even I, patron saint of materialistic ho-bags says 'Enough!' I'm constantly tempted by beautiful things on blogs and unless I want a kick up the arse from my hubby I need to sort it out and pronto. I've come up with a few strategies to help me be less tempted.
- Ask myself do I NEED it? A lot of the time I think I need something, like a 10th red lippie, but no, I don't NEED it, I just want it.
- Ask myself will I use it? If it's a multiple of something I've already got, probably not!
- Ask myself have I got something similar? If so, leave it.
- Ask myself can it wait or will it sell out? If it'll be there in a week or two, leave it for now. If it's sale or limited edition & having answered the first 3 questions with yes, I might go ahead.
- Avoid wishlist posts. I end up wishing, which turns into buying.
- Avoid haul posts. They trigger me to spend.
- Avoid online shopping late at night, which is my trigger time.
- Avoid impulse shopping. If I still want something as badly a few days later then I might consider a purchase. I always search for discount codes on dealsdaddy.co.uk before checkout so that I can save some money.
- Think of what I can do with the money I don't spend. Save it, buy something nice for the flat, spoil someone else.
- Remind myself I can't have everything and it's silly to want to.
- Remind myself I'm running out of room.
- Remind myself a childhood of poverty needn't mean I buy errrrthang to prove to myself I'm no longer poor.
- Remind myself that purchases never cheer me up for long.
- Make a deal that for whatever I bring into the house, one item has to go to charity.
- Do online shopping hit and runs. I fill up my basket with goodies then close the page. I think the thought of spending money is sometimes nearly as good as the real thing.
What are your tips for avoiding spending?
Thanks for reading.
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