How is everyone doing with their holiday shopping?
If you’re like me, you may struggle with impulsive spending. Especially around this time of year. You can always think of one more person that could use a Christmas gift. It can be hard to put the credit card down. And that has become even more of a struggle with so many websites where you can purchase things at the click of a button.
So how do we combat this habit when stores have made it so easy for us to just give in to our spending impulses?
I don’t have all the answers, but I can share with you one tip that I learned from a coworker in my days of working retail that has helped.
When you work retail, especially if you have an impulsive spending habit like I do, it can feel like you get your paycheck, and then you turn right back around and spend it all at the store that just paid you. In my early days at one of the retail stores in which I worked, one of my coworkers gave me the advice to take a small portion of my paycheck each month and purchase a gift card from the store in which I worked. Then when I would go to make a purchase, I could only use the money that was on the gift card. Once the card was spent, then that was it. That was my allowance.
Was it a perfect solution? No, of course not. I still spent, and still occasionally do spend more money than I should on impulse purchases. However, it worked well enough that I still use this system, especially when it comes to purchasing things on websites like Amazon, and especially around the holidays. I will give myself a limit, and purchase a gift card for that amount. Once the gift card has nothing left on it, my holiday shopping is done. It has kept me from going overboard. Especially on my kids.
More than anything, though, what it has taught me is to be more considerate about what I’m purchasing, and for whom. I’m not going to buy a Christmas gift for my across-the-street neighbor’s dog when I still have my husband, mother, and kids to shop for. I’m not going to purchase something on a whim just because it’s cute with the hope that I will think of someone to give it to before Christmas.
So it has not eliminated my urge to impulse shop entirely, as I expect it would not for you, but it has helped immensely in its own way. So consider trying it, and see if it is something that would work for you.
What are some tips and ideas that you have for reducing impulse spending around the holidays? I would really love to know.
