10 Ways to Stop Buying Things You Don’t Need

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Do you want to avoid buyer’s remorse and save money? Then, check out these 10 easy ways to stop buying things you don’t need.

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Do, you wish you could stop spending your money on unnecessary items? This is a common struggle that many of us share. You want to save money. But despite these intentions, you still end up walking into a store, adding something to your cart, and buying things you don’t need.

Why do we spend money we don’t have

There are actually many emotional reasons that we overspend:

  • Boredom– you’ve spent the afternoon browsing your favorite department store for something to do and end up walking out of the store with a shopping bag full of stuff you didn’t need.
  • Being sad or depressed– maybe you’ve had a really bad day at work and you want something to make yourself feel better. 
  • As a reward– you find yourself justifying the purchase even if you can’t afford it because you want to reward yourself.
  • To keep up with the Joneses– you are scrolling your Instagram feed and you see that someone you follow has completely updated their bathroom. Your bathroom looks nice, but you find yourself browsing Home Depot that weekend shopping for new fixtures. 
  • To relieve stress– you’re stressed about an upcoming deadline and without thinking you find yourself shopping online hoping to distract yourself and end up adding things to your cart that you don’t need.

Our emotions are one of the biggest culprits of why we overspend. Taking the time to understand why we spend money unnecessarily will help us learn how to change our money habits so we are making better financial decisions in the future.

10 Ways to Stop Buying Things You Don’t Need

online shopping laptop and shopping bags

 

1. Be aware of your wants vs. your needs

Since we already know that most of our purchases are based on our emotions, we need to take a step back and really think about whether it’s something we want or what we need.  Being aware of your wants vs. your needs will help you understand your finances more clearly. For example- you need to buy food but you don’t need a new phone if your phone is working fine. 

It may be helpful to sit down and make a list of all the things you need such as food, shelter, and transportation, and another list of your wants that may include clothing or entertainment. The list will help you prioritize the things that you can do without.

When you are about to make a purchase, always ask yourself if you need the item. Challenge yourself to walk away. Wait a week, and see if you are still thinking about the item. Most times, when we spend money impulsively our emotions are the result so by holding off on the purchase we may not be dealing with those emotions the next time and we will make smarter choices.

2. Stop temptation

 Are you the type of person that gets tempted when window shopping? Do you get excited when your favorite store has a sale and you can’t resist stopping in after work, just to see what they have? Temptation is another big reason that we spend money that we don’t have.

If you know that you are someone who can’t resist a good deal, then avoid window shopping. Before you go to the store make a list of everything you need and then only bring cash so you are not tempted to spend money on other things.

Unsubscribe from emails

 By unsubscribing, you stop receiving notifications about upcoming sales and promotions. If you don’t know about the sale, then you won’t spend the money. 

Delete retail apps on your phone

Retail apps can tempt you to impulse shop when you are bored or stressed after a difficult day at work. Instead of shopping, take a walk to clear your head, read a book, or start a new series on Netflix to decompress. 

3. Avoid impulse purchases

Let’s face it, impulse shopping can happen to the best of us. Whether we have walked into a store simply to browse only to be enticed by a sale or we forget to make a list before we went grocery shopping. Either way, impulse shopping can happen at any time, anywhere.

How many times have you walked in a grocery store, and instantly your stomach starts growling. You realized that you walked out of the house without eating lunch and you are starving. An hour later you are walking back out of that store with a cart full of groceries that you didn’t need. The worse part is you just went grocery shopping for the week two days before. 

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Luckily, there are some easy things that you can do to avoid shopping impulsively. Of course, eating before going grocery shopping can always help. You are less likely to buy things you don’t need if you are full. However, there are some other things you can do no matter where you shop:

  • Make a list- having a list when you walk into the store can help with unnecessary spending especially if you make an effort to stick with it. 
  • Wait to make a purchase– If you can’t afford it now, add it to your list of things you want to buy later and save for it instead. You may find that if you wait a few days, a week, or even a month you will have forgotten all about the item.
  • Tell yourself you have enough-If you are finding an item hard to resist, tell yourself you have enough. You would love that cute pair of jeans you saw in the store window but you already have a drawer full of jeans that you love. Take inventory of what you have and remind yourself often.

Another quick tip to avoid impulse purchases when you are shopping is to avoid getting a shopping cart if you are only going in for one or two items. You are much less likely to buy more if you have to carry the items around the whole store with you.

4. Think about how much it’s costing you

An effective way to avoid spending money you don’t have is to evaluate or calculate how much money the item is costing you. So, for example, how many hours would you have to work to pay for it. That scarf may be amazing but is it worth working 5 hours to get it. 

5. Be aware of what you have by decluttering

Decluttering your home will not only bring you peace of mind because you are eliminating clutter but it can also help you avoid unnecessary purchases.

Reducing the clutter in your home helps you be aware of what you already have. When you have too much stuff piling up around you. You can’t find anything so instead of spending hours searching for it, you give up and go buy something you probably already have.

Wouldn’t it be nice to know exactly what you have in your home and where it is? It sounds amazing, right? Decluttering can help you do just that. Take a few minutes every day to start decluttering in your home. Start small. Declutter a cabinet while making dinner. Declutter the fridge while putting away groceries. Progress adds up. 

Decluttering will help you be more mindful of what you decide to bring into your home so you are not buying things unnecessarily.

Don’t know where to start decluttering? 

6. Resist the urge to buy sale items

Don’t buy something just because it’s on sale. Ask yourself if you are actually going to use the item, or if it’s something you really need. If not, then you’re not getting a good deal, you are just wasting your money. 

If your goal is to save money, then every time you get the urge to buy something, ask yourself these questions: 

  • Do I need it?
  • Do I have space for it?
  • Can it wait?

When trying to save money it’s important to really think about what you are bringing into your home otherwise it’s just adding clutter. A few years ago, I was into couponing and I thought that I was saving money when in reality I was buying things that I wouldn’t have bought at full price. These items sat in my cabinets and were rarely used.

Even though I may have been only spending a $1 or $2 on the item, it still added up and it’s money that could have been used elsewhere. Not to mention the space that the extra items took up. Since we live in a small home, it just added clutter that we didn’t have room for.

Is it actually free shipping?

How many times have you seen a good deal online, added it to your cart only to checkout and find that they offered free shipping on purchases of $50 or more? Your item is only $30 but you can’t justify paying $10 for shipping so you continue shopping to try to find something that is $20 so you get the free shipping. 

You eventually end up adding something to your cart that you may not have wanted in the first place just to get that free shipping. You sit back proud of yourself for saving money. But, then a few minutes go by and you realize that you ended up spending more money and that good deal wasn’t really a good deal after all.

Yeah, I’ve been there. It’s easy to justify at the time when we are getting too good of a deal to pass up but harder to face the guilt of spending money we didn’t have.

Now, if I see a good deal and I know it’s something that we are going to use. I will wait if shipping is too high, chances are they will eventually have a better sale, and if not then I can look for something similar at a better price.

It’s not saving money if it’s not something you would normally buy.

7. Be aware of spending traps

You would be surprised at the lengths that retailers go to try to seduce you into spending more money in their store. The layout, the lighting, the music, and the smells are all some of the ways that retailers try to entice you while shopping.

It’s not coincidental that when you walk into a grocery store, the first thing you see and smell is the bakery or hot food items. It’s inviting, right? You immediately start to get hungry and before you know it, you’ve loaded your cart with stuff that wasn’t on your list and had no intention of buying when you walked in the store.

So, next time you walk into a store, make sure you have a list in hand or at least know what you are walking into the store for. Head to that item and try to ignore all the other distractions around you.

You can read my post on spending traps so you know what to look for and are prepared the next time you go shopping.

8. Make a plan for your money

Plan what to buy

Decide how much you want to spend before you walk into the store and only bring cash so it forces you not to overspend. It’s too easy to pull out your debit or credit card when making purchases and easier to add a few more items on. Hold yourself accountable and leave the debit and credit card at home. 

Plan what to save

Setting goals and making a plan for your money can be one of the best things that you can do to stop buying things you don’t need. If you have a goal you are more likely to stop and think about what you are purchasing. So, make a plan. Are you looking to buy a house or take a vacation, maybe save for Christmas, pay down debt or build up that emergency fund you’ve been putting off? Whatever your goal just make sure it’s big enough that you want to save for it so it will prevent you from overspending.

Budget your money

Whenever you want to save money, it’s smart to create a budget. A budget will tell you where your money is going and what you can afford to buy. If you budget a small amount of money to spend every week you will be less likely to waste your money on things you don’t need.

9. Try a no-spend challenge

A no-spend challenge will help force you to save money by choosing only to buy essentials for an entire month.  Since you are only paying for things you absolutely need, like utilities, car payments, mortgage etc, it encourages you to be more mindful of what you are buying. It literally forces you to be content with what you have since you have made the choice to stop spending on unnecessary things.

10. Be happy with what you have

Ultimately, it comes down to learning to be happy with what you have. Being content and prioritizing what matters in your life will help you avoid the temptation to spend money because you know that material things will not make you truly happy.

Once we stop trying to impress or compare ourselves with others, we learn to live a life of intention. We become grateful for the simple pleasures and learn to appreciate all the moments big and small with the people that we love.

Don’t let your emotions influence your shopping decisions

By letting our emotions influence our financial decisions, we are not only wasting our money but making ourselves feel guilty and adding clutter to our homes. Understanding and learning to identify the triggers that can cause you to spend money unnecessarily will help you take back control of your money and build better financial habits for the future.

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