Stop Excessive Online Shopping with These Tips

Online shopping has made spending your hard-earned money easy these days. It is more convenient, cheaper, and has a wide variety of products to buy things online than visiting retailers in malls or stores.

Online shopping accelerated due to the pandemic. Without access to malls during lockdowns, people have now found the value of shopping at home.

However, with its accessibility comes a problem with overspending or spending on things you don’t actually need.

Trying to control the urge to excessively shop online can be hard, especially when you are used to it. It can also be caused by the mindset of instant gratification, which online shops use as a tagline in most of their marketing campaigns, trying to entice you to buy “because you deserve it”.

Excessive online shopping can be a big problem that can affect your overall finances. Making the right decisions can help you straighten out your finances and help you save for the rainy days ahead.

Here are some ways to prevent online shopping from becoming a problem:

Limit your time on online shops

One way to prevent shopping online is to limit your time on online shopping apps. You can turn off their notifications on your phone so you can focus on other things rather than browsing the shop.

Ask yourself if you really need to buy it

Identifying if you need to buy the product can help you decide whether it’s time to spend your money on it. Don’t get carried away easily from a SALE, if you need it and it’s on sale, this is the only time you will actually hit a bargain.

Stop impulse buying

Practice delayed gratification. When you come across something you want to buy online, give yourself a waiting period. Delay the purchase for a certain amount of time, like a day or even a week. Often times the initial impulse to buy will be gone, and you’ll realize that you don’t actually need the item.

Becoming a wise buyer is empowering as a consumer. Knowing when is the right time to buy is a power any shopper should have in this digital age. (ASC)