I have a terrible habit of buying things on impulse and then when I get home deciding I don't like them. Often I will stick them at the back of the wardrobe or cupboard and forget about them. It's a waste of money and I have come to the conclusion that I often buy for the sake of it because I want to treat myself and then buy something I'm not sure of. I've now decided that if I'm not 100% sure that I like something I will go off and think about it for 10 minutes. If the urge to buy it goes off in that time then I know that I didn't like it enough to part with my hard earned cash. It seems to be working and saving me money. Do you buy things you're not sure of?
One aspect of your life you need to work on is drawing up a budget before setting out on any journey to buy products. one thing that we have to know is that our wants as human beings are unlimited, while the amount of money/income we earn to satisfy those wants are limited and not able to provide for all our wants. So, trying to build our mind in a way that we don't try providing all our wants using the limited resources at our disposal. Once you can be able to guide the way you spend by making a budget before setting out on shopping, it will guide you to focus on what brought you to the shopping mall while you ignore all those wants that you may not need at that moment. I think that way, you are on your way to solving the issue of impulse spending.
Though I don't always buy things on impulse, whenever I want to buy something, I will surely give myself many "good reasons" of buying it, hence I'll make myself feel good buying it. I have learned to ask these questions before I buy or do something: "Is this essential?", "Does this spark joy?" I don't want to add more clutter to my home too, so I always remind myself not to buy something I will not use it. But now I tend to buy more digital stuff, and add more digital clutter to my computer.
Buying for the sake of it is a sign you're making good money. A person with less money will be tighter. However, though, that's not always the case, though. Maybe it's a stereotype. Anyway, though, buying stuff as a sport is certainly not a way to save money. In fact, even for people making good money, it could be something they regret.
I am definitely an impulse buyer but I have reined that aspect of myself in quite a bit since I don't have a job. I know I have a ton of things that I just don't need and I bought them because they were on sale or I thought it would somehow make my life easier. Yeah that didn't happen. Now I try to get rid of things that I don't use and it is just sitting around my house. I get anxious when I feel as though I am surrounded by clutter. I sometimes think I need to rent a dumpster and just clear the house out once and for all.
I am an impulsive buyer. I always see the thing that I think I need but in the long run, I will just be cluttering my room. Most of the things I would buy are just random stuff that no one would think they would need. Somehow, at that moment, ideas would flood my head on how useful that item would be. Once I am at home, those ideas would vanish. So now, my main concern is how to control it. Well, I am actually winning this battle because I am not buying anything that is going to be a dust collector. I always say to my self, by something that you would need now. It works. I would even stay budgeted for a month with that way of thinking.
I always stick to my budget and try to stick to it as far as possible. But sometimes I buy some things to treat myself for celebrating in achieving a milestone. But when I buy those things I always look for the things that I use daily so that the money spent won't go in vain and I won't regret later. So, my advice is to even if you buy things which are not in your regular budget list that you use daily then it won't go as a waste. Good luck.