Are you shopping too much? Are you wondering where your money is going? Do you wish you could have more money in your bank account instead of all that stuff? Defeat your spending habit with these 5 easy tips to shop less. They worked for me and I’m sure they can work for you too!
5 Easy Tips to Shop Less
1. Stay out of the stores
The most important thing you can do to decrease your shopping is to stay out of the stores where you spend all of your money. Avoid them at all costs.
Do not walk by and window shop.
Drive a different way home so you don’t have to pass them and be tempted.
If there is a store that you NEED to go to for something, make sure it’s not near another store that’ll you’ll be tempted to go in. For example, there are 2 Targets pretty close to me. The one in my town is in the mall. THE MALL! I will not go to this Target. Instead, I go to the Target in the next town over. It takes me 10 minutes longer to get there. It’s so worth it to not be tempted to go to any other store.
If you do have to go to somewhere like Target for something, walk directly to the section on the item you need with blinders on. Do not look around. Do not stop and browse the dollar spot. If you need groceries, walk directly to the food section, collect your items, and walk directly to the register.
Bonus Tip: Do not be afraid to put things back at the register!
If you find realize you have something in your cart that you can live without, simply hand it to the cashier and tell them you’re not going to get this. Don’t feel bad about it. People do this all the time! It’s easier to put something back at the register than to return it later.
2. Remind yourself!
Chances are that if you are trying to spend less money shopping, there’s a reason. Remind yourself of that reason as much as you possibly can!
Write your reason on a post-it note and put it in a visible spot in your car. This will help to motivate you to stay out of those stores.
Put another post-it in your wallet. This will be your last line of defense before you pull out your credit card. It might even motivate you to put some things back at the register!
3. Find other things to do
Replace your shopping habit with a more beneficial and less expensive way to enjoy your time, like reading, cooking, walking (or reading blogs!).
“Window shop” online. Fill up your cart with stuff, but don’t actually buy it! You can even window shop on Pinterest. Pin things you like instead of shopping for them. Just be careful because Pinterest has buyable pins now. Don’t buy anything online!
Instead of meeting your friends at Home Goods (or whatever your store of choice is), meet at your home. Invite them over for a cup of coffee instead of an afternoon of shopping. You’ll get more quality time to chat this way anyway!
Another great other thing you can do…
4. “Shop” your own closet
I bet you have a ton of clothes that you don’t even wear. I know I do! When I feel the urge to go buy new clothes, I’ll look through my closet and drawers. I always find so many clothes that I’ve totally forgotten about!
Wearing something I love and haven’t worn in a long time totally satisfies my desire for a new outfit. Sometimes I’ll even find brand new things that I bought on sale at the end of a season and never even wore!
I highly recommend that you dig around your closet and see what you can find!
5. Keep track of your progress
Did you resist temptation in Target? Maybe you drove past a store without pulling in? Have you invited a friend over instead of going shopping? Write it down!
Keep track of all your success. When you start to feel discouraged, look back at the times you were successful. This will encourage you to keep going. If you’ve done it before, you can do it again!
I hope these 5 easy tips to shop less help you save more money!
What do you do to shop less? Leave a comment below.
Want more? Here are some of my best posts:
The 1st Step to Saving More Money
How to get a Good Deal on a Car
3 Tips to cut your Electric Bill in Half
The Easiest Way to Lower your Phone Bill
You can read more about my story here: A Spender and A Saver Fall in Love
Choose who does the shopping by personal skills! If I go to the store I tend to stock up and buy extra things. If my husband goes he only gets what is on the list, so I go once a month for the major trip and he picks up things the rest of the month.