Impulse buying is behavior more commonly known as impulse shopping, and it is the purchase of an item without planning, research, or budgeting for it. It can include impulse buying food, impulse buying something that you don’t actually need, impulse buying something that is not in your budget, or impulse buying a product you don’t like.

Impulse buying has become a major problem for many people, especially with the proliferation of smartphones and social media. We are all guilty of buying things on impulse, from the time we first get it home until we finally have it in our hands.

• Make a budget and stick to the plan

Spend less than what you earn. This seems simple, but there are many reasons that people spend more than they earn. I’m going to give you four simple tips on how to stop impulse buying, and how you can stick to a budget. It’s easy to let your spending habits slide. Just think about the last time you were tempted by an item you’d sworn you wouldn’t buy, and you probably found a way to justify the purchase. Maybe you rationalized that it was a birthday gift for a friend or a gift for the kids next door. Maybe you said you ‘needed it’s to do your job. Whatever the reason, being able to stop yourself from being tempted is the first step to getting your finances in order.

• Shop with a plan in mind

Impulse buying is the single biggest reason we spend more money than we should at the grocery store. And while it is easy to blame the marketers for stealing our money, at the end of the day, it’s our fault for not thinking ahead. The impulse to buy has become more of a challenge than ever before. So many fast-fashion retailers are offering discounts and sales to lure us into their stores, without the time to consider whether the items we want to buy are really necessary. As a result, we are spending more and more money than we should, on things that we don’t really need. That’s not to say that coupons aren’t useful! If you plan ahead for what you need and get discount coupons only for those categories or stores (from websites like Price), you can actually buy what you need, and probably even save some money in the process. Yes, it is indeed true that discounts can contribute towards saving a huge amount of money. For instance, if you plan to buy letterman jackets for somebody in your family as a holiday gift, then it would be a good idea to look for a shop that can offer hefty discounts. This can allow you to not only get the desired product at a pocket-friendly price but also prevent you from losing a fortune for the sake of holiday gifts. However, if you plan to buy the same product from a store that does not offer any discounts, you might just go broke.

• Take only the amount of cash you need

Impulse buying is a problem for many shoppers, and it’s a big issue for me. My saving grace is that I try to spend only what I need.

For example, I know that I don’t need a new phone every month, and I never buy a new pair of shoes without trying them on first. I even know that I don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on a special social networking application or a new game-I can easily find what I need for a fraction of the price.

Impulse buying is defined as making purchases without having the budget to cover them, but it’s also more than just splurging on the latest gadget or a pair of shoes. Take, for example, you have an iPad that is not functioning properly. So, rather than buying a new one immediately, you might consider looking for Apple-certified repair centers that can Fix iPad and iPhones which in turn can save you a lot of money. Impulse buying can also be a symptom of a variety of behavioral issues, ranging from financial problems to feelings of anxiety or depression.

• Keep your goals in mind

If the goal of this blog is to help you get real-life tips on how to have a successful financial life, we need to talk about the dangers of impulse buying. Impulse buying is something we all do every now and then. You know how it feels when you are bored, and something caught your eye, and your first instinct is to just get it? You probably think to yourself, “I’ll save for it later.” But if that item is something you really want, you may end up not saving for it at all and you simply buy it.

We are constantly bombarded with images of how things have turned out for others we know, and this bombardment is only getting stronger. How many times have you seen a movie with a young couple who made the perfect life plans? They have a beautiful home, children, a nice car and then, surprise!! They have everything they wanted, but they live in a big old house with no children and no car, and do not know what they want to do next with their lives. They have lost their goals.