Posted on February 7, 2008 at 12:58 am Answer these questions truthfully:   1.)  Does your spouse or partner complain that you spend too much money?   2.)  Are you surprised each month when your credit card bill arrives at how much more you charged than you thought you had?   3.)  Do you have more shoes and clothes in your closet than you could ever possibly wear?   4.)  Do you own every new gadget before it has time to collect dust on a retailer’s shelf?   5.)  Do you buy things you didn’t know you wanted until you saw them on display in a store?   If you answered “yes” to any two of the above questions, you are an impulse spender and indulge yourself in retail therapy.   This is not a good thing. It will prevent you from saving for the important things like a house, a new car, a vacation or retirement. You must set some financial goals and resist spending money on items that really don’t matter in the long run.   Impulse spending will not only put a strain on your finances but your relationships, as well. To overcome the problem, the first thing to do is learn to separate your needs from your wants.   Advertisers blitz us hawking their products at us 24/7. The trick is to give yourself a cooling-off period before you buy anything that you have not planned for.   When you go shopping, make a list and take only enough cash to pay for what you have planned to buy. Leave your credit cards at home.   If you see something you think you really need, give yourself two weeks to decide if it is really something you need or something you can easily do without. By following this simple solution, you will mend your financial fences and your relationships.  

Posted on September 23, 2008 at 11:36 am So true.  I think you need to write down everything you spend- whether it be with cash or credit and look to see what you are doing each day.  Seeing this in writing at the time- should stop you from doing so. Also it's a good idea to have your credit cards online- that way you can log in each day to see what is hitting the card-- when you see your balance going up- Stop using it!

Posted on September 30, 2008 at 4:12 am Thanks for the information.They will be very sueful.I had written down all the points and took a print out of the points.

Posted on March 24, 2009 at 10:32 am I never use credit cards. I cannot qualify for them because I have ruined my credit at a young age, but I am pretty happy these days that I do not have one.

Posted on March 24, 2009 at 11:52 am Before my daughter was born, I was a big time impulse spender. But, I broke that habit quickly after I went broke trying to afford baby supplies (charged on my credit cards) and the rest of the stuff too. It took three or four years to completely get out of the impulse spending habit and now I'm happy to say that I find it difficult to buy anything!I debate endlessly before making purchases and sometimes miss the chance to get the item at all. But I still have my money if I miss out. And, I'm not broke anymore. So that's a good thing. Thanks for the great article. Very helpful.

Posted on March 31, 2009 at 9:45 am What a relief to know that I'm not an impulse buyer. Must not be too relaxed though, should keep it that way and avoid buying something just because I feel like doing it.

Posted on April 2, 2009 at 8:20 am a grocery list is a lot of help, but be sure to stick to the list...

Posted on April 2, 2009 at 8:22 am good idea, i do something like this but not as detailed

Posted on April 2, 2009 at 8:24 am thank for your information and sharing,

Posted on April 3, 2009 at 2:27 am I tend to be an impulse buyer/spender sometimes. But this happen only rarely, when the things that I really want are not necessarily what I need. The bad thing is, even though it's rare to happen, I always end up spending for them. Maybe I really need to have a stronger self-restraint.