Emotional Spending and Its Impulsive Shopping Impact

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Discover the impact of emotional spending and how it can lead to impulsive shopping decisions.

Learn how to control your emotions and make more mindful purchasing choices.

Fuel For Emotional Shopping

• Have you ever found yourself bored and decided to go shopping?
• Did you have a rough day at work or a spat with someone and find yourself at the mall?

Mall shopping ropes you into spending, and your brain turns to mush.

These may be situations where you shop with your emotions rather than shopping for what you need.  

We don’t go into the mall often, but when we do, we are overwhelmed with the various shops, signs, sales, and smell of food, all so enticing.

So we are walking through the mall, and then suddenly…Mmmm

Do people go mad for this stuff?

The pungent aroma of popcorn at Kernels Popcorn forces you to do a 360, nose in the air as if nothing else matters.  

You get to the counter looking for samples to feed your emotional spending.

The sales clerk hands you a small cup of double caramel popcorn.

You waste no time getting it in; it melts in your mouth.

What happens next is that money melts from your pocket.

“Thanks, and come again,” the clerk says as you walk away with a large bag of popped buttery gold.

I bet you’re laughing because you know you have done this or thought about it but convinced yourself, no.

Two Important Tips To Curb Emotional Spending

Tip #1: Don’t shop when you are hungry.

If you are hungry, talk yourself out of spending money on junk to eat that you don’t need. Wait until you get home.

Tip #2: If shopping with children, bring snacks and drinks so you don’t have to purchase them for your children.

Packaging a beverage and snack for yourself also doesn’t hurt because that’s money saved.

You can also overspend at the grocery store or any other store.

I think most of us can agree we tend to convince ourselves why we need to buy something when we don’t need it.

Traps Emotional Spenders Fall Into

It’s a situation (not a Jersey Shore Mike situation, but a problem): It’s dead easy to fall into any of these emotional spending traps below.

• Look at that (enter item here), and it’s on sale. I can use it to make…
• I can use that (enter item here) later this year when I…
• That smells or looks so good; I need to buy it now to make it later.
• Those (enter item here) would look great one day when…
• I might need this, and it’s a great price so I must buy it now.

Don’t laugh. You know you’ve done this.

Convincing Ourselves To Spend

We then go on to convince ourselves why we need to get it, and then what do we do in that split second?

Once we have negotiated with our silent selves, we end up at the cash register or put it back on the shelf.

I’ll admit this happens to us, and it should. It’s all marketing tactics and our own emotions.

How we handle these situations and emotions is what’s important.

How To Break Emotional Spending Habits

Below are some ways we help deal with emotions when shopping so we don’t overspend on our budget.

• Only bring Cash when you shop– we do this sometimes, depending on where we shop. This is good if you are also not good with debit or credit card shopping.
• Get In, Get Out Theory– This is the theory the wife, and I often use.” Ok”, we say, “This is what we need, let’s get in and get out.” That way, we don’t shop around the store. We get what we need, keep our blinders on, and blast straight to the cash register.
• Make a list– Always make a list to go by when shopping. If you deviate from that list, you must make sure there is an excellent reason for it.
• Take a break– If you see too much you want to buy, take a break. If you are in the mall or a shop, go to the restrooms, sit on a bench, and think about the potential purchase.
• Sleep on it– We like to think about the purchase for a day. We will go home and talk about it. We will get it the next day if we feel we need it. If not, then we drop the subject and move on.
• Purchase it– We buy it and keep the receipt in a safe spot. If we later decide we don’t need the item, we return it. However, this is an option we try to avoid as most people don’t return the item. You then end up paying for “stuff” you don’t need.
• Want/Need– Ask yourself if the item is a want or a need. Be truthful. Think about how many hours you must work to pay for this item. Is it worth it now?

Financial Health Relies On Ownership

So there you have it, folks, my “Get in, Get Out Theory” of emotional shopping.  

You will feel better at the end of the day, and your bank account will thank you.

If you like to shop and soak up all the new toys, fashions, and decor, you can still do that; leave your wallet at home.

If all else fails, smile with a friend or enjoy a hot cuppa tea and stay away from the stores.

Discussion: What other ways do you emotionally shop, and how do you combat this so it doesn’t push you into debt?

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