Tame Your Impulsive Spending

We often tell ourselves that spending is based on necessity, but emotions can influence our decisions. This is why big ad agencies will focus on influencing unplanned, emotionally driven purchases of things we don’t need. Impulsive buys are triggered by some desire but possess little thought. To avoid impulse purchases, try increasing your awareness with two personal interventions.

1. Wait 24 hours before buying to see if you still want it
2. Set a meaningful goal for the money you’d otherwise spend. This creates a strong incentive to skip the impulse purchase in favor of something more valuable later.

4/24/2025