Free Investment Advice

Maybe you’ve carefully crafted a budget that accounts for every penny that comes in each month. Or maybe budgeting seems like a waste of time to you. Either way, impulse buying can have a negative effect on your financial picture.

There’s nothing wrong with buying something we want every now and then if we have the money. If you work hard for your money, you should be able to spend some of it on things that make you happy. But when we don’t carefully consider our discretionary spending, we may end up doing too much of it. This can leave us saddled with debt, scrambling to pay bills or skimping on the savings.

There’s a simple rule that can help us avoid impulse spending. Instead of buying something you want as soon as the thought crosses your mind, wait a month before you make your purchase. A month might seem like an eternity when you want or feel that you need something, but unless it’s food, shelter, clothing or water and you don’t have any, it can probably wait that long.

Waiting a month before buying has several advantages:

* Once a month has passed, you can more clearly evaluate whether or not the purchase is wise. When we first see something that appeals to us, it is exciting. We may get the feeling that we need it right then, when in reality it’s something that we may never even use. Waiting a while will give that euphoria time to wear off, and we’ll be able to look at the purchase more realistically.

* You’ll have time to do some research. A month is more than enough time to check prices from a variety of sources. You can also look for alternatives that might better suit your needs. When it’s decision time, you’ll be much better informed.

* The price on the item you’ve got your eye on could go down. Electronics often experience a drop in price a few months after they hit the market. So if you’re interested in a newish gadget, waiting could save you money. This is also true for clothing, so if you see something that you love mid-season, waiting a month could give it time to hit the clearance rack.

In today’s fast-paced society, it’s easy to get in the mindset that we need things right now. This way of thinking leads to impulse spending. By slowing down and giving ourselves time to really think things through, we can avoid spending money on things that we could do without. And if we do find that we really needed the item, we can buy with confidence that we won’t regret the purchase in a week or two.