I have a great piece of financial advice for you today. “Save money by never leaving your house!” Seriously, stay home. Don’t go shopping. Don’t go to the grocery store. Just stay at home, and the money is bound to pile up eventually, right? Well, we all know that isn’t possible. Everyone has to go to the store sometimes and it’s impossible to avoid places where you can spend money altogether. However, limiting those excursions does have its benefits.
We all have “spending triggers.” All of us have something that we love buying. My “something” used to be cleaning products. Trust me, I have a closet full of Mr. Clean in different scents, and I love them all. I also used to love buying clothes and makeup. Now, I try to limit my exposure and it seems to be working pretty well.
The Temptation of Shopping
Avoid spending triggers, like the mall, and your finances will thank you!
I love Target. I love the clean and organized aisles of laundry detergent, baby items, and adorable children’s clothing. I love shopping there and just browsing around. Often, they have incredible deals on various items if you have the corresponding coupon. I could shop at Target for hours if I had time to do such a thing. Since I know that Target is a temptation of mine, I try to avoid it.
Recently, we took our two daughters there to get their pictures taken. I did a great job pretending that I didn’t see all of the wonderful items that were for sale. I had tunnel vision on my way back to the photo department. We had our kids pictures taken, ordered them, and I managed to not buy anything on my way out. Success!
While I may enjoy getting great bargains on household items, I don’t like to shop for clothing. I really don’t like going to the mall and I think this is a huge bonus for me financially. I don’t like crowds or waiting in line. I’m not a fan of indoor spaces without windows. I don’t enjoy browsing in store after store after store. I always hear the term “retail therapy” and am unable to understand what is exactly therapeutic about the whole experience. Spending money makes me more anxious than anything, so going shopping to blow off some steam actually backfires on me. I’m much happier saving money than I am spending it.
My Grocery Store Temptation
I also used to have a problem at the grocery store. Years ago, before we had a financial awakening, I could easily spend $1,000 per month on groceries for two people. It was absolutely insane. I would buy whatever I wanted because I felt, no matter how much I spent, it would still be cheaper than eating out. Unfortunately, “eating at home” often meant steaming crab legs , grilling steaks, or baking salmon several nights a week. Obviously, I wasn’t really saving any money by doing this even though I had convinced myself that I was.
We finally realized what a ridiculous amount of money we were spending on food each month when we started tracking our expenses through a zero-sum budget. Now, we spend $500 per month on food…for 4 people!!! That amount also includes what we spend on toiletries and other household items bought from the grocery store. By being aware of our spending and make a conscious effort to stay within our budget, we easily stay within the $500 limit we have set for ourselves.
I have found that shopping with a list helps immensely. If I make a list ahead of time, I get exactly what I want and need and am able create my list from the grocery circular ahead of time. If what I am truly craving is not on sale, I usually don’t buy it…unless it is a special occasion. Most food that I crave just goes to my ass anyways, so buying something that isn’t absolutely necessary can also be a double whammy.
Over the years, I have learned to avoid these spending triggers in order to keep my spending under control. Luckily, when I can’t avoid them, I’ve learned how to control my impulses. What are some of your spending triggers? What tips do you have for controlling your spending impulses? We’d love to hear your comments below!
About Holly
STAY AWAY FROM HARDWARE STORES! That’s my one and only rule. There’s no other type of store in the world that does anything for me except hardware stores. Lowe’s, Home Depot. Ace, local places… I could spend hours in there. I’m pretty good about remembering the tools I already have and not getting more that I don’t need, but why even torture myself? I just stay away from hardware stores unless I absolutely need something there!
That’s a good idea! I have a problem with Home Depot too. It always makes me feel like I need new flooring or something. =)
We were spending $700/mo. on groceries and eating out with 2 people per month. Now we’re also spending $500/mo. with 4 people. It’s a great feeling to stay within the budget! I really can’t stand shopping. I actually do a lot online except for clothing. I try to get whoever needs clothes into the stores to try the clothes on before bringing them home. I love your idea of just staying home. That’s going to be my answer when someone in our house tells me they need something from somewhere. “Sorry…Holly told me to stay home. No can do!”
Don’t go shopping, Whitney! That is a direct order~!!!!!
You ate like rock stars! Yummm…that food sounds so good.
To be honest I’m not sure what my spending triggers are. We rarely spend money and avoid doing a lot of things. We’ll go to a sporting event on occasion but we don’t have the traps that many people do. However, 6 years ago things were totally different. Eating out and partying were my problem. A few appetizers, a main dish, and a dessert? Yes please.
Yes, crab legs are delicious but pricey! I used to drop $20-$30 on crab legs to steam at home all the time. Dumb!
I cannot even imagine the amount of money we spent on eating out and drinking when we were dating. Greg lived in Chicago when we met and we went out A LOT.
I do this every day (not leaving the house) by working from home. I also find that I can save a bundle by limiting my grocery trips each month and buying in bulk. And of course, avoid the mall like the plague. Things there are way overpriced anyway.
The mall sucks! Every time I am there it is overrun by people with shopping bags full of crap. I always wonder how so many people can be shopping when the economy is so bad!
My motto is to just not put myself in a situation where I am going to be tempted. Bottom line – don’t go shopping unless you have to. We try to set a budget for extras that we want and we work towards them. That way they are paced purchases and we can pay cash for them which stops us from hurting any of our other goals.
Sounds like you have it all worked out- good job!
It’s funny…I live within walking distance of a huge mall, but I really hate mall shopping. Even when I walk over to the grocery store there, I usually take the back alley instead of cutting through the mall. It’s not that I’d be tempted or anything. I just don’t like shopping. Maybe it’s the cheap Scottish genes I got from my grandpa. I was probably on a similar level as you two with the grocery spending a while back though. I never bothered tracking my spending, but with how we were eating, I’m sure it was about the same amount.
I don’t really like shopping anymore either. There are too many choices. It feels overwhelming…
Such a simple idea, but so hard for many of us to follow. That really is the key, to avoid temptation. My trigger is anything electonics related. I have to avoid Best Buy like the plague or otherwise I can rationalize almost any purchase. While I too hate shopping, if I have to go, I go only knowing what my budget can withstand and not buy something if it would go beyond the amount I have allocated.
It’s fairly easy for me to avoid temptation right now. Since I have two small kids and it is a giant pain to take them shopping, we try to avoid it altogether. It works great for now!
Thanks for writing!!!
Seeing someone eating some great food or drinking some wine is a trigger for me. My wife and I LOVE a good meal in a great atmosphere away from the home. I am the one who easliy gives in and says “let’s just eat out tonight”, or “I’ll bring something home for dinner”. Luckily, my wife manages the food budget, and let’s me know what’s for dinner!
That is probably a good thing. We’re having pancakes for dinner because I haven’t been to the store! =)
We use a cash envelope system for many different categories. This makes it very difficult for us to “splurge” or spend money on things we haven’t budgeted for. Once the cash is gone, that’s it!
See, everyone is different. I don’t keep cash because I spend it carelessly!
That is a good way to do it though if that works for you. You can’t go over budget if the envelope is empty!
When I was single I wasn’t drawn to spend my money on anything in particular, but after my husband and I setup house for some reason I was constantly buying new towels, duvets and sheets. And there is only the 2 of us. But I just love the feel of new sheets and towels. I stopped that addiction 3 years ago.
Oh, I hear ya! I have a $600 silk duvet/curtains/pillows set that I have had in my bedroom for 6 years because I am determined to get my money out of it!!!!!
Hello Holly,
I was browsing through this site and found some great content written on finance and money, specially on Debt and Budgeting. “Financial Woes: You May Be Your Own Worst Enemy” this article is really interesting. I was hoping I could write a guest post on your blog with an article related to your blog, I believe this will be of interest to your readers as well.
Please let me know what do you think.
Thanks,
Pat
patricia.garner8510@gmail.com
It’s Costco for me. I seem to always come out with something that I didn’t go there to purchase. I just bought a beach chair today…everybody needs one of those right?
LOL, sure, why not?
I am so glad I don’t walk through the shopping district on my way home from work anymore – that’s a huge help! I also find that keeping busy with a social life and sports really helps. Once I go into a store, it’s hard to walk out with nothing…
For the grocery store, I only walk there and never pick up a basket. That way, I can only pick up what fits into my hands, which is at most 1-3 items at a time. This works because there are grocery stores (3!) on my walk home from work. That also means that it’s kind of difficult to pick up a bunch of chocolates since they’ll fall out of my hands easily
We usually go a few times a week to get fresh food- veggies and stuff. It’s on our way home from work and we only have ten minutes or so to get it done before we have to pick up the kids from daycare. So we usually make one bigger shopping trip per month ($100 or so) and then a bunch of little ones ($20 or so). I really think this helps us stay on budget, plus we get good fresh food all the time.
Of course, this only works if you live in close to the proximity to the grocery store!
When I worked in retail a couple of years ago, there were spending triggers left, right and centre. So easy to spend money on your breaks and lunch.
Aside from making lists going to the grocery store, I often make a list of what I’m looking for the odd time I go clothes shopping. Its so easy to go to the mall wanting to buy one thing and then end up buying that and a few other things!
Yes, it is! I don’t work in retail but I could totally see that happening….especially if someone gets an employee discount!!!