How I Stopped Buying Things Impulsively

When I entered the workforce in 2015, you could’ve called me “the king of impulse buying”, and you wouldn’t have missed.

I spent money faster than it arrived on things that I could’ve easily lived without.

But fast-forward to now, it’s been years since I last bought something without careful consideration.

What changed?

It was a mix of two tiny habit changes that I’ll be discussing in this short post.

Let’s begin with the first one:

Applying a holding period

Impulse purchases happen when enough time hasn’t passed between noticing something desirable and pulling out the credit card to pay for it.

Companies thrive on this human behaviour, and they make every effort to reduce friction in the purchase process through smoother payments and repeated nudges, such as limited availability, a dream outcome that’s just around the corner, peer pressure, etc.

This is where a holding period is extremely powerful.

Whenever I come across an interesting item and feel a strong urge to buy it, I tell myself that I’ll buy this if I’m still thinking about it a week later.

This delay gives us time to separate ourselves from our material thirst and carefully evaluate the purchase from a distance.

Quite likely, we won’t even remember the thing we were so inclined to buy after a few days, as I’ve noticed time and again over the years of practising this method.

But if I’m still thinking about the item a week or a month later, that’s an indication that it’s either something I genuinely need or want.

For example, around 2020 I had a strong urge to buy a full-frame professional camera, probably after watching too many photography videos on YouTube.

I already had an entry-level DSLR at the time, but this would’ve been quite the upgrade.

But as you have probably guessed when I said “full-frame professional camera” in the same sentence, it was an expensive purchase.

Therefore, instead of giving in to my impulse, I held off on that purchase for nearly a year. And after repeatedly thinking about buying the camera during the time, I finally bought it in 2021.

I’m happy to report that it was one of the best things I’ve bought.

Now, some people apply this technique by setting an explicit reminder in an app or on their calendar to buy the thing.

I believe that defeats the purpose because it unnaturally floats the idea of buying the item back to the top of our minds even though we might've long forgotten about the product.

Instead, we should let our minds act as a delayed filter and nag us into buying what we genuinely want, while forgetting the things we don’t care about.

Now, while this holding period works wonders, it might still lead to an unwanted spending habit when gamed, which is where the second habit comes in handy:

Spending money more consciously

Conscious spending is all about not spending money on things you might buy out of peer pressure or impulses generated from effective advertising, and instead, spending that money on things that genuinely bring you joy.

So, even if a potential purchase passes your initial holding period, this second filter will ensure you buy things that won’t turn into junk a week later.

And I do this by diligently tracking every expense in the Ducat app:

What this does, unlike automated expense tracking or worse, zero tracking, is that this approach keeps me in the loop of my spending habits and helps me realise if I’m overindulging.

For example, I love stationery items, and it’s a category I can easily buy things in too easily.

Tracking my spending helps here by reminding me that I’ve recently spent way too much money on notebooks and other goods that are still sitting somewhere in the house waiting to be utilised before I buy another notebook.

This helps me be more content with what I already have, rather than splurging on more such items just because I love and can afford to buy more.

So:

Where do you start?

Start by consciously tracking your everyday spending using an app like Ducat.

Even with just a week of tracking your expenses, you’ll have a good idea of how you’re spending your money.

Then, the next time you see an item online or at a store and feel like you have to buy it, see if you can hold off on that purchase for at least a few days.

You might not feel the same urge anymore after a few days of waiting, and therefore, would’ve saved yourself from making an unnecessary expense.

But in case you do feel the urge, you’ll be making a conscious purchase instead of an impulse one.

Try it.