Comments on: Impulse Control

By: David/moneycrashers

David/moneycrashers — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 04:00:35 +0000

Controlling “impulses” to me is simply a matter of discipline and willpower.

But I deifinitely tie it into stress too!

Minimizing your stress level is another great way to control impulses

By: michael bash

michael bash — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 20:38:06 +0000

“… I would have went” into the game shop or some such. My god! Trent! The best game is called “Education”.

By: sheila too

sheila too — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 19:34:12 +0000

I hear you about the temptation of books! I have always used the library, but they don’t have all the titles I wanted to read, and so I had been buying lots of books from Amazon. I’ve since cut back on reading blogs so that I won’t have additional recommendations and thus the temptation to order more books. I’ve joined paperbackswap to help me get rid of some of the books in my collection. I’ve had more books going out than coming in on paperbackswap in the month since I joined, and I’m saving my credits to use in the coming months.

I agree with those who have a misc. budget or an allowance for temptations. I have a “keep the change” game going. Last month, I used part of it to buy winter gloves. This month, I used a bit more when a gal pal and I went for a hike then bought coffee drinks at a local cafe so that we could hang out for a while longer and talk about books we’ve been reading. I never buy coffee out any more, unless I’m meeting a friend or I’m out on a date with my husband.

The change game has been great, I always question if a purchase would be a good use of my funds; it takes me about a month to amass $25, and I find that I am very reluctant to spend it when the impulse to buy something comes up — unless it’s something that I am sure will be a good purchase.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 17:17:34 +0000

Every Tuesday I have to pick my daughter up from school and take her right to gymnastics. I have started planning many of my errands for right before that time. The first few weeks I had coupons for free Frappes at McDonalds and I would swing by and enjoy one while reading a book and waiting on my daughter. I ran out of coupons, yet kept stopping by. I have never been someone who goes through drive thus – ever. But yet, I found myself spending $2.29 every Tuesday. I am currently trying to break myself of this habit and have successfully done it 2 weeks in a row. It is hard to avoid the impulses!

By: Gal @ Equally Happy

Gal @ Equally Happy — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 16:17:24 +0000

I think your first piece of advice is the best Trent, avoid putting yourself in these situations altogether. It’s very difficult to think of the long term when we’re faced with a very short term benefit. So rather than imagining ourselves capable of impossible feats of self control, just avoid putting yourself in that situation to begin with.

I’ve stopped going to all you can eat buffets because I know I tend to overeat. I also avoid certain shopping areas because I know I tend to go into the local candy store and buy too much.

By: Megan

Megan — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:45:59 +0000

My impulses often seem to come out of nowhere. Normally, I really dislike spending money, to the point of “cheap” not frugal, which I’m working on. But ever so often, I’ll say to myself, “I’m too cheap” and buy something on a whim.

It may be something I’ve wanted for a while, but because I don’t like spending money, I haven’t done as much research on it. Or I bought it at a time when we couldn’t really afford whatever it was.

There’s a happy medium there, but I haven’t found it yet.

By: KP

KP — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:19:57 +0000

Self-control is the key to taking control of your money. Impulse purchases can really add up and using the tips you provided definitely helps. As for me, I tend to stick with my shopping list and delay other purchases to evaluate the need.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 12:55:46 +0000

Julia,
You can find some good, fast recipes online. Consider it a culinary adventure to find the recipes you like best.

My husband discovered a great app called Epicurious that lets you type in whatever misc items you have in your frig or cabinet and come up with recipes you can use for them (you can also set for low-salt,etc.)

Also, the crock pot is your friend ;-)

By: ditchtheboss

ditchtheboss — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 06:27:51 +0000

Great post! It can be hard to control impulsiveness. My weakness is take away food. I hate cooking but I love eating. Anyone sympathize to that? On the weekends I want to spend time with my wife and kids so I tend to encourage take away so we reduce the amount of time spent in the kitchen. However this can very quickly add up to a significant amount over a period of time.

I hope to control this impulsive behavior soon.

By: kristine

kristine — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 05:19:45 +0000

Julia, the BK whopper Jr., NO MAYO is the healthiest thing on their menu. (Yes, even more so than the salads). At Mc D’s it is the hamburger. AtC- oh nevermind-nothing. A Dunkin D donut?- Get the french twist donut- it is light and air and the least awful for you. I did research on this a while ago, and keep that doc in my glove compartment. So this way, if I feel the urge, I pick the healthiest fast food item from a specific place, which coincidentally, is usually among the cheapest of items.

By: WR

WR — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 03:58:10 +0000

I share the same weakness for bookstores and game shops.

My remedy for impulse control is to periodically organize my collection of both. I will throw on a podcast and put my books in alpha order. 9 times out of 10 I will find a ‘lost in plain sight’ book that I forgot I had, meant to read and somehow lost track of.

I will shuffle through my games and trade-in any we have not played in a while.

(does not always work. I suppose nothing does)

Another thing I like to do is a pre-emptive strike. There is a great used bookstore close by. We will go and load up periodically which takes the wind out of my need for a new book for a bit.

-WR

By: Brittany

Brittany — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 03:15:13 +0000

I find setting a strict monthly budget allows me to keep on track financially while still allowing for impulsive splurges. I have a strict $25/week food budget, which is about $15 fruit, veggies, and milk and $10 to restock staples and splurge if there’s some left over. Some weeks it’s meat or seafood (I eat mostly veggie). Some weeks it’s nice cheese. Some weeks it’s ice cream. Some weeks I accidentally let staples get too low and don’t get to splurge. But usually I get a “treat” each week, which keeps the “I’m feeling deprived” impulse buys down, makes me happy, and keeps my expenses low.

By: CB

CB — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 02:38:48 +0000

Those coffee confections are not worth it in terms of calories. Switch to a low fat latte or a hot choc with low-fat milk and a half pull. Too much sugar!

By: Daria

Daria — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 01:00:37 +0000

I was really consuming the McDonald’s Caramel Frappacinos. I was buying them in the afternoon when it was buy one get one free from 2-4. I would put the second one in the freezer for another day. However, while visiting family I learned from the new requirements in Phila. to put the calorie counts that a small has 450 calories. We don’t have that requirement in Texas. I have not bought one in a month and several people have asked me if I have lost weight.

By: Julia

Julia — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 00:47:53 +0000

My impulse buys are almost always fast food. By fast food I’m including anything that I buy because I’m too tired, impatient, or hungry to go home & cook. I always have plenty of groceries on hand, just rarely have the energy to do anything with them.
Since moving to a new city, I’ve been eating out more than ever. I’m finding that when I implement impulse control, I usually end up not eating (I went without dinner 4 out 5 workdays last week, without breakfast twice, and went out lunch every single day).

My plan: hurry up and find a permanent home so I can get unpacked and start building a routine.

By: Josh

Josh — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 23:01:18 +0000

Controlling your impulses is the best idea. I think if you just take a few days to make financial decisions and purchase decisions, you will make better decisions.

Finance yourself and then your financial purchases help build your wealth instead of moving wealth to banks.

By: valleycat1

valleycat1 — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 22:41:56 +0000

I have a cc that I pay off every month & use mostly for ‘wants.’ I set up an online alert that emails me when I reach the amount I’ve specified.

I’m learning to not make immediate purchases from catalogs – I mark or save the page and file it for the next bill-pay day or payday. Usually by the time that rolls around, I’m no longer so interested – or decide to wait to see if the item goes on sale. And if I save the whole catalog instead of marking the page, often I can’t figure out why I saved it/what item I had wanted.

By: friend

friend — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 21:41:24 +0000

would have gone.

By: Jamie

Jamie — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 21:30:19 +0000

One thing that I do (in lieu of sharing the billing statement with my spouse– I’m single) is that I keep a running tally of “Misc” purchases in my Monthly Budget spreadsheet– purchases that aren’t food-related or part of my monthly bills.

It’s kind of like counting calories! Knowing that I’ll have to bump up the Misc number at the end of the day makes me less likely to “bite” when I have the urge to buy impulsively.