I can't stop spending money

[Saju1]

Every time I leave my house I am spending at least £30. Even when I just go out for a walk ..

If I don't buy something when I am out, I am thinking about what I could buy online.

I have a young baby, so always need to buy something or other, and as I am walking the aisles, I always find something I want and 'need'.

I'm not rich, and I'm burnings into my savings. How do I stop????

Do you think it is boredom?

Could you try putting things in your cart online and then if you still need them at the end of the week then buy them?

Also make it as tricky as possible. Leave card at home when going out and carried limited cash. Don't save card details to websites. Go through two factor authentication on PayPal.

Don’t take your purse out. Take Apple Pay off your phone.

I would allow myself a treat day (say a Friday) for a takeaway coffee or whatever.

bring a flask of coffee to have out and about. why do you always need stuff for the baby (I had two so not trying to be silly) can you do a large grocery shop and make sure you have all you need for the baby (plus trip to pharmacy that day )

Put your savings away somewhere safe where you can't get at the money. An ISA? Even a deposit account where you have to give notice to withdraw.

Just take out cash for what you need. So if you are running out of nappies just take out the amount you need to buy them.

Have a set amount you can 'burn' a month. Every time you want to buy something keep a list of it. At the end of the month pick what.you want to buy / what's most important to buy. Do not go over your set limit. Things can go onto next months list.

Do not take cards or cash out with you. Get rid of any ways to pay on your phone.

Put some in savings at the end of the month and watch it grow (its adictive)

You need to plan treats in advance and have something to aim for. I am a SAHP/care for elderly parent but prior to this I had a high income and busy week so splurging wasn’t a big deal when I had time. I now have more time and less cash.

I aim for one coffee/cake a week with friends and otherwise it’s a walk with water from home.
Once a month I do lunch/shopping but always have something set in mind like winter boots or replacing make up etc.

Nights out are less frequent and I try to use the clothes I have with small seasonal updates.

This year I am really trying to cut back on buying so many clothes for the DC’s - they end up in charity bags mostly lightly worn as they outgrow them and have as big a wardrobe as I do only my items are tears if not decades old.

It's so tempting isn't it? I try to find other things to do and stay out of shops & cafes - our local children's centre has a good programme of free activities, the library has a baby singing session, and I try to reserve coffee / lunch out for when I'm meeting a friend.
I spent wayyy too much on vinted at first though - as none of my clothes fitted & I got a bit carried away with cute baby stuff!

Need a proper weekly shopping list including baby stuff and set a budget for that. Once you've done the shop you shouldn't need any top ups. Leave cards at home and take small amount of cash on walks. Try having a good clear out and sort through at home so you know exactly what you have in and what things you might need for the baby.

I’m having A no spend January as I feel I’ve done similar. I’ve been off sick since September. I’ve gone cold Turkey with hubby buying everything hopefully that will get me out of the habit.

Use a Monzo card - transfer a fixed budget for your coffees/baby things per month and only use that card for that stuff.

it can be £50 or £1000 per month - whatever you can comfortably afford but once it’s gone for the month it’s gone

I add stuff to my amazon baskets online all month and only decide at the end of the month whether I truly still want it and also if there is enough spare cash!

Also, morbid but realistic, things only have to be sorted by someone when you're dead and I don't like the idea of leaving that burden!

As an ex-shopaholic, I'd say allocate a small amount, say £2 - £5. Don't try and go cold turkey as you'll feel deprived / depressed. This can also have a negative effect and push you to making an extravagant purchase, eg. spending £10K on jewellery all of a sudden.

What exactly are you spending money on?

If you are buying lots of 'stuff' and can't resist a bargain... take a good hard look at yourself and your surroundings to see if you are on the path to becoming a hoarder. Do you have unworn shoes & dresses still in shop bags with receipts stuffed into your wardrobe? Can't move for books and DVD's from the charity shop? Have enough make-up for all the contestants of the next Miss World?

Ask yourself if this isn't part of a bigger problem and you are using retail therapy to make yourself feel better? Is something making you feel unhappy?

Sadly we live in a consumerist society where we are constantly under pressure to buy stuff. Maybe ask yourself if you really need it?

Employ delaying tactics, 'I won't buy this dress today, but will wait until I see something even better tomorrow / next week, etc.

I could write a book on this subject.

Do your supermarket shop online to avoid impulse buying.

Don't treat "wandering around the shops" as a leisure activity - go for walks in parks etc where you aren't going to be tempted to spend

Move most of your money out of your current account.

If you like to buy makeup try watching youtubers on a no buy.

I'm a bit like this.
Spend too much in supermarkets. Amazon. Buying clothes. Random higher purchases.
Bored and lonely.

I once did this as an exercise - I went on the John Lewis site (as they sell the biggest range of things I wanted) and added EVERYTHING I vaguely wanted to a basket. Clothes, accessories, make up, the lot. Everything. I didn’t browse but everything I’d been sort of thinking I wanted, I added. I was signed in so it saved my basket and every time in the next few weeks I started thinking “hmm, I could do with some navy trousers” or whatever, I added them. And then I just left the basket and came back to it a few months later. It was interesting how few of those things I’d actually bought! Because it turned out I didn’t really need them after all. The selecting and the adding had actually done about 90% of what buying the stuff would have done for me.

This works for me with online shopping - a bit like window shopping. I'll add stuff to basket, then leave without buying. I only go back to purchase about 1 in 10 times as the "buzz" was looking for stuff.

I try and only go in shops for specific things; even charity shops, I'll have a mental list (looking for Mog the cat books & a wooden train set for DS). I need to steer clear of B&M / Home Bargains... if go in for dog treats & washing powder I'll come out with £30 of random stuff I haven't budgeted for.