3. Shopping Because of Boredom

If you have nothing to do on your lunch break, why not pop over to the mall? A free Friday night would be perfect for hitting up shops and restaurants downtown. Sound familiar? If so, you may be treating shopping as a hobby or pastime rather than a necessity. Shopping out of boredom – both in-store and online – can cause you to overspend and purchase items you don’t need, both busting your budget and cluttering your home.

Tips to Fix: Prevent boredom by looking into other free activities you can do when you have a spare hour or two. Catch up on your favorite podcast, go for a run, call up a friend for coffee, or read a book. By having a few alternatives in place, the mall won’t be the only place to turn when you’re bored.

4. Impulse Shopping

We all know impulse shopping is wrong – it causes you to spend outside of your budget. However, stopping yourself from making those buys is easier said than done. When you’re walking past a store and see a jacket you can’t live without, it’s very easy to whip out your credit card and walk out with exactly what you want.

Fast Fix: By knowing what clothing items you already have in your closet and acknowledging what triggers your shopping, you can avoid blowing your budget on unplanned purchases. Check out these tips:

• Know Your Personal Inventory. By keeping track of what you own, you won’t be swayed by a new pencil skirt when you already have a great one at home.
• Check Your Triggers. Perhaps you have a specific store that lulls you to buy over and over, or you like making purchases when perusing online auction sites. Identify your triggers and you can work to avoid them.
• Walk Away. This is the ultimate in impulse-buy prevention. Even if you’re totally in love with something, walk away for a day. If you find yourself still thinking about that item, see where your budget might allow for the purchase before you take the plunge.

Impulse shopping can definitely derail the best-laid budget plans, so be on the lookout for anything that entices you to make an unplanned purchase.