Many women have a love-hate relationship when it comes to shopping. With the ever-changing fashion trends, one can easily overspend at the expense of other obligations. Scooping online deals or spending hours at the mall may be fun, but they are likely to leave you with regrets when not carefully planned for.
If you are using your new accessories and outfit as a way to fight negative emotions, bad shopping habits are likely to creep up. Don’t be too hard on yourself though; no one is perfect.
Here are several ways to tame bad shopping habits and regain your composure. Have a read;
Avoid Excessive Plastic Shopping
Shopping with your debit or credit card leaves you with virtually no way of tracking spending. When you don’t see money physical leaving your wallet, you naturally lose the sense of planning. Debit cards, with no limit on spending, can suck you down an impulsive spending spiral.
When going out to your favorite fashion store, why not carry fixed cash instead? This way, you can’t overspend on irresistible pieces no matter how badly you crave them. This old-fashioned way will revolutionize how you view money altogether.
Once you have exhausted the money on you, there’s no other option other than going home! With time, this will become a habit.
Desist from Impulsive Buying
Once you buy fashion items out of impulse, your finances suffer slowly but steadily. However, it is not as easy to stop impulse buying when you are so used to it. Unplanned purchases can be a thing of the past once you go through your wardrobe and acknowledging what trigger impulse shopping.
How many times have you bought a fashion item, only to find that it doesn’t fit with your wardrobe? This will only compel you to go purchase a matching item. By following the ‘three outfits’ rule, you will avoid bad shopping habits. If it can’t be worn with existing outfits, it’s not worth buying!
Impeccably-laid budget plans can be put to ruins by impulsive shopping. Identify the triggers and keep away from them.
Use Coupons and Offers
While you may view people using coupons as being ‘desperate’, today’s digital world gives us innumerable choices. You can easily forego paying the full price for your favorite accessories, shoes, and clothing.
Traditionally, activating coupons meant clipping newspaper ads. Nowadays, you can easily download promotions and offers through your smartphone. Across mobile platforms, there are several applications which scan through fashion stores and find coupons.
Most apps also have many coupons ready for use at a moment’s notice. This effortless procedure can be done at any time, with the promise of paying big in quality and savings.
Returning Unusable Goods
If you have bought a fashion item which does not fit, why not return right away and ask for a refund or replacement? Most people, however, find this inconveniencing and would rather watch the items languish away in the wardrobe.
Before making any fashion purchase, go through the manufacturer’s details and find whether there exists a return policy. When the return policy id inconvenient or confusing, you might want to buy from another retailer.
Fashion stores which offer the longest return policies are the best to buy from. Even when an item fails to meet expectations, you can request for your hard-earned money back.
Avoiding Succumbing to Peer Pressure
Your biggest shopping influencers might be the people you spend most of your time with. At the height of peer pressure, you will make decisions geared towards pleasing your friends. Shopping with friends who have deeper pockets will likely ruin your finances.
When going out shopping, select who you go with wisely. Those friends with fashion tastes and budgets similar to yours will give the best advice within your comfortable spending range. When shopping with friends with similar financial resources, you remain grounded.
Visiting out-of-budget stores is a gamble, seeing as you may fall into the temptation of making away with a fashion piece. The right friends will always have your best interests at heart.
Planned Shopping, Not Out Of Boredom
When you have free time on your hands, shopping is not a bright idea. By taking shopping as a hobby, you can easily spend huge sums over the course of time. Whether online or in-store, shopping should strictly be a planned event.
Without a clear budget, you will overspend without a doubt. To kill boredom, why not engage in other activities which will cost you nothing? There are many podcasts you could listen to, offering the best fashion advice or anything which interests you.
With several alternative activities, you will forget about going to the mall altogether. This single move will align so other aspects of your life; it is worth a try!
Storing Card Information Online
Even as we acknowledge the digital age we live in, it is not necessary to embrace all aspects. While the convenience of storing card information online helps you make faster transactions, it can be costly.
When buying your favorite fashion item takes only several clicks, you might drain your credit card in no time. There is also the risk of hackers getting into company servers and stealing your personal information and ultimately, finances.
Credit cards should remain in the wallet; an RFID enabled one offers you protection from malicious electronic pickpockets. You will also have more time before making a purchase to decide if it is worth it.
Going For Quality Rather Than Quantity
Before your next shopping trip, set aside time to review items you wish to purchase. Going through customer reviews in various websites gives you a fair picture of what to expect. While quality will cost you more, it definitely outlives and outperforms quantity.
There is stiff competition for the sale of the highest quality products. If you look hard enough, you will find a slight discount to take advantage of. Shopping at such sites and establishments earns you royalty points and coupons.
Conclusion
If your habit is overspending, it can be neutered before it becomes disastrous. Shopping should be taken as a necessity and not a pastime activity. By making this activity less impulsive and more purposeful, you will enjoy it while satisfying your fashion cravings.
Which shopping habits do you feel guilty about? Let us know; a solution is never far away.