Anyone can make shopping blunders like spending beyond their budget. Bad shopping habits ruin your finances severely, hence denying you financial prosperity.
More than you might know, your consumer habits are responsible for your happiness, poverty, wealth, sadness, bad relationships, good relationships, good, and bad health.
This implies that what you do every day with what you earn matters a lot in defining your current financial status. Just as costly habits work to derail your finances, a few smart habits work to help you master your money moves and become financially prosperous.
If you are the kind of person with the worst money habits, this article offers you free advice on shopping habits you should change to be financially prosperous. You will get a simple answer to
“How can I change my shopping habits?”
What are the Buying Habits of Consumers?
The tendencies one has when they are using money is what we call consumer habits. Very few people have the mastery of using their money effectively and enjoy the financial freedom that comes with it. The majority though, are still struggling to use their money well. Here are some of the shopping habits you should change to prosper financially.
1. Late Payments
Missing payment dates is among the top-most bad shopping habits to change if you are to find financial prosperity. It mostly affects shoppers who use their credit cards to buy stuff. They may deliberately or unintentionally fail to make payments on time, which affects their credit score negatively.
There is more to making late payments than paying a small fine afterward. Apart from lowering your credit score, it also affects your borrowing limit when you want lenders to give you money for buying a car, home, and other big purchases in the future.
Online shopping is a contributing factor to late payments, especially for those who pay over the internet for goods and services. What you need to know when shopping online is to set up reminders on your phone calendar and pay bills you might owe at the same time every month. This way, you avoid any complications that may result from late payments.
Automating your money and spending is another good idea to ensure that you achieve financial prosperity within no time at all.
2. Not Keeping Receipts
Keeping receipts of all the purchases you make is an essential part of shopping. This can save you great losses if you have to make returns or exchanges. Receipts could even earn you great discounts because many shops give promotions for items bought before an offer takes effect. Other stores do not accept goods returned without the receipt. How can they be sure that they are the ones who sold you the goods, anyway? Additionally, read the terms and conditions for the return of goods sold (they are mostly written at the back of a receipt).
Other products come with a warranty, so with the receipt, you can easily exchange the spoilt one for a brand new item if the warranty period has not expired. Failure to keep receipts would mean that you are the one to pay for other people’s mistakes, and financial prosperity will be way too far from you if you keep on spending in this manner.
3. Impulsive Buying
Most shoppers will admit to having been victims of impulse buying at one point, or all the time they go shopping.
Do you have to buy all the items you like at the mall? No. Often, most people find themselves buying extra clothing items for winter during summer. This is laughable but you are not alone in this as it is a global epidemic.
Before purchasing any item, think about the many times you are going to use it, and many of its kind, to avoid wasting money. Only buy things that can last you long and are important.
Additionally, come up with a list of items and set aside enough budget for them, leaving extra money to use later. This way, you don’t buy things that you didn’t plan for before leaving your house.
4. Always Craving for the Latest Merchandise
This “mental condition” seems similar to impulse buying. Some people can’t help but succumb to the appetite for the latest merchandise in the market. If this defines you, then you should always learn to wait for a few weeks before purchasing anything to do with newly-released items.
When you wait a bit, you save a lot of money because new releases have a high price tag. Doing this is also a way to cut down on your cravings. So, if you can’t beat the urge to buy newly-released gadgets or clothes, give it time before making a move.
5. Card Splurges
Often, it is almost impossible to ignore or resist the tempting credit card offers at the shopping mall. This may make you spend beyond your means while you chase after offers and other mouth-watering deals.
You can, for example, avoid store credit cards that come with huge interest rates. If it is possible, swipe your credit card only after realizing that you don’t have enough balance. By doing this, you will avoid falling into unmanageable debts that could even lower your borrowing scores to greater extents.
6. Skipping the Fitting Room
Even though spending precious time in the fitting room may seem bothersome to most of us, it is good to fit your clothing before a purchase. This is because it is the surest way to know whether those jeans or cold weather jumper is right for you. If you choose to skip the fitting room, you are likely to find yourself going back to the shop to exchange the item for a fitting one. Isn’t this an irritating inconvenience? It is. Purchasing wrong sizes is something you just shouldn’t do because you feel that you are in a hurry.
Just spare a few minutes of your time and buy clothing items that fit and that will provide you the best look and comfort.
7. Bad Shopping Habits Triggered by Personal Vices
Personal vices include smoking, drinking, buying gambling tickets, and eating too much, or being a shopaholic.
These behaviors tempt you to spend way large amounts of money you are aware that you should not be spending. Some habits such as eating too much at fast-food joints inside shopping malls are quite less-obvious that most people don’t realize that they are vices that derail your finances.
Learn to quit these habits and both your wallet and life will be happier henceforth.
8. Loving Convenience
Often, convenience purchases come across as the best treats ever, especially if you happen to be in a hurry. Unfortunately, most shoppers have made it a routine to love convenience, not fully aware that such purchases take a little thought when being bought. Now, if you are addicted to convenience buying, it will cost you in the end.
It is imperative to stop buying fast foods every other day and start learning how to make basic meals at home. You can bring along cooked food to your workplace, which can help you save a lot of money weekly.
Such preparation will help you avoid calling for delivery meals, even if you feel like it. Financial prosperity goes down to strategy.
So, stop buying chocolate drinks as you head for work every morning and wake up 5 minutes earlier to prepare a cup of such drink at your house. What we are trying to mean here is that a little effort on your part could save you a lot of money big time.
9. Shopping Without a Budget
You can never get ahead – never mind staying afloat financially – if you do your shopping without a budget in place.
A budget allows you to see how you are using your money so that you can adjust appropriately in case you stray off course. It also helps you to avoid getting into the red each month because you can see where to make changes that can save more finances.
Drawing a budget does not have to be a big task. You can start by carrying small amounts of money or putting aside money in different envelopes for paying different bills. Come up with creative ways to ensure that you stick to your budget.
10. Shopping Because of Peer Pressure
It is not surprising that the biggest influences on your shopping routine are your peers or other people. When you see your peers in a good dress, you’ll want it. This applies to any other thing visible. Others go to the extent of buying items that are beyond their price range just because their friends have done it.
If you have peers that spend large amounts of money, you are likely to get tempted to overspend, especially if you are purchasing items that your friends view to be trendy.
11. Doing it Because of Boredom
Recall the adage: “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop”? If you are bored and have nothing to do, why not stroll inside the shopping mall? Perhaps potato chips can fix this idleness. Does this sound familiar? Well, most people treat shopping as a good way to strike out boredom out of their lazy bodies. It should not be like that because shopping should be a necessity rather than a pastime.
Now Enjoy Financial Prosperity
This list is by no means exhaustive because all of us have habits. But if these habits cause us to spend beyond our means, then it is time to think twice, or thrice. No, shopping is not a hobby but a necessity. Make it more purposeful and financial prosperity won’t disappear from your sight.
