We’ve all been there: it’s a Sunday night, you’re cramming for your 8:30 a.m. midterm the next morning (should 8:30 a.m. midterms on Mondays even be allowed??), and you suddenly find yourself scrolling through your phone. Maybe you started on Instagram and *accidentally* clicked on a Garage ad, or maybe you shamelessly opened the app on your phone, needing a distraction from the *pain* that is Sunday night studying. A mere 10 minutes later, you have 14 items in your cart, and you intend to buy them all. But wait! Do you actually need five new tank tops in the middle of winter, or is it possible that you’re *stress spending*?
Believe it or not, stress spending (which literally just means spending money when you’re stressed) could lead to even more stress, and possibly increased spending; this doesn’t seem too bad until you’ve spent all your money in a stress-fuelled spending frenzy, and you realize your rent is due in two days. Yikes. Luckily, we’ve got a few tips that’ll help you (and your bank account) through these stressful times:
1. Take some time—48 hours, to be exact
If you really love that top, you’ll still love it 2 days from now. Waiting 48 hours between when you decide you want to buy something and when you actually buy it may just save your bank account from those spur-of-the-moment purchases you don’t actually need (or even want).
2. Give your Pinterest board a makeover
Wanting to get a new duvet cover to match the ever-changing aesthetic of your room? Maybe you’re better off making a vision board of how you want your room to look overall before you start buying décor that might not even fit into your new aesthetic. You could pin some inspiration images on your Pinterest board, or you could even make a vision board to use as your laptop background to help you keep your overall design in mind when you feel inclined to buy that $200 bedding from UO.
3. Ask yourself, “why?”
Maybe you want to buy new tops for spring or pretty bedding for your redecorated room, but what if you’re not sure why you’re buying something at all? Before clicking “checkout,” take a second to ask yourself, “why am I buying this?” If you have an answer that doesn’t quite justify spending the amount you’re about to spend, or if don’t have an answer at all, go back to tip #2 and add these items to your Pinterest board instead. They’ll probably still be ready for you to buy whenever you actually know why you’re doing so.
4. Delete, delete, delete
We hate to be the bearers of bad news, but all those shopping apps at your fingertips probably aren’t helping you stop your impulsive buying. If you find yourself frequently swiping through them, adding things to your cart left, right, and centre, you may benefit from deleting the apps from your phone. We know, we know, this is hard to bring yourself to do, but we promise your stress levels and your bank account will be grateful.
5. Ignore sneaky sales
These brands know exactly what they’re doing. Think of the countless times you’ve added something to your cart, then received an email an hour later saying something along the lines of “you forgot this in your cart … here’s 10% off!” Do. Not. Fall. For. This. Simply buying something because it’s on sale is no better than buying something just to buy something (in other words, this stress-fuelled retail “therapy”). Again, if you’re really wanting or needing to buy something, odds are you’d be willing to pay full price, and you can wait for a couple days.
At the end of the day, if you’ve taken the time to let the impulsivity wear off and you’ve determined your why, we’re not going to stop you from taking advantage of those deals—just make sure you’re not using them as justification for your impulsive purchases.
Happy stress-free spending!