The following is a guest post from Ellen at Fun With English, where she explores the origin of English words and expressions. In her spare time, she is on her own journey to improve her financial knowledge! She’s guest posted here several times before with ones like How to Save Money on a Road Trip and Vegas on a Budget.
Everyone has a weak spot – something they pick up on impulse, and later regret buying. My weak spot is discount chocolate.
Every time there’s a holiday (Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, Christmas, etc.), there’s chocolate for sale. There’s a ridiculous amount of it and you can find it every where from the drug store to the hardware store. It comes in all shapes and sizes. You can get milk or dark, plain or fancy, and just about every filling you can think of. And I am a sucker for all of it – especially when it goes on sale.
I have all kinds of excuses on why I should pick it up, preferably in large quantities:
- It’s such a good savings
- I’ll ration it out
- It’ll make great snacks for work
- I’ve had a bad day, I deserve it.
And some of these might be good excuses – if it was food I actually needed, or I actually did ration it out. But I don’t need chocolate, and I certainly never have the willpower to ration it out. I usually eat enough at once that I end up feeling a bit sick. Which is OK when you’re 10, but not so cool in your 30’s.
So, now I’ve splurged on “food” I don’t really need, which I wouldn’t have bought if it wasn’t on sale. And on top of feeling bad about that, I also end up feeling guilty because I’ve eaten crap my body didn’t need, and has a negative effect on my waistline.
My ongoing goal is to try to think before I buy. I need to as myself “If this wasn’t on sale, would I still buy it? And if I would – do I really need it?” I’ve had 2 opportunities since Christmas to pick up discount candy. I managed to resist the first time, but gave in the second time. Not a fantastic track record so far. However, I’m just starting a dairy and gluten free diet, so this should definitely help curb my impulse chocolate buying!
What is your weakness when it comes to impulse shopping? Have you had any luck in taming it? What is the most you’ve ever spent on something you really didn’t need?
Crystal’s Comments: I am totally guilty of this right after Valentine’s Day every year…I really, really love chocolate…
I have strong will power, but my husband’s downfall is candy as well. Not chocolate, but just candy. Unfortunately when he gives into this it’s usually in front of the vending machine at work. (Where the candy is 3 times the normal cost!) I’ve started to buy big bags of candy at the store and ration it out. If I send him with candy everyday it will keep him away from the vending machine. As I write this it makes him sound like a little kid:) But rather than try to change him I’m adapting so that our budget doesn’t suffer!
I used to have impulse control issues with food. When I would go to the grocery store, I’d end up with a lot more than I planned when I went in. I did my diligence in going though the ad and making a list beforehand, but once I would start walking around, I would begin to think of all of the meals I could make and poof: the cart was full! Now, I have much more control, which sometimes means foregoing a nice cut of steak, but the wallet as much happier at least.
I only have will power until I reach my goal weight. Then I lose it. I have done that 3 times last year. Plus if my wife goes off the plan I am the first one out the door.
Jai
The day after Halloween, I was having kind of a lousy day, so I stopped by the discount candy, and saw a giant (like, 2 KG) bag of Tootsie Rolls on for $3. Suddenly, all I wanted in life was a tootsie roll. I figured, no biggie, I can eat all those.
Yeah, I am so sick of tootsie rolls right now! Haha.
My biggest impulse generally tends to be records and DVDs. Like, I can’t even go into a record store! I definitely once spent $100 or so on records when I was really broke, and then had to eat spaghettios for the rest of the month. And when it comes to DVDs, if something that I’ve been wanting goes on sale, I have a really hard time resisting it, even if I know I don’t really need it.
I am not an impulsive person, however I avoid the whole shopping issue. I stay out of shopping malls and other places where I can spend money.
Everyone has their weakness but cheap chocolate is cheap because it uses child slave labor: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_in_cocoa_production
Nice to know I’m not alone in my weakness!
Frugallery – I think you have a good plan. That’s what I always mean to do (ration the candy out), but it never happens!
Melissa – My husband’s weakness is CDs, so he’d sympathize with you.
Krantcents – Avoiding tempation is a good idea. I generally avoid malls, but we have an “underground” path I use in bad weather to get from place A to B, and it’s hard to avoid the stores there!
I remember when I was a kid and I would wait for Easter to roll around. I LOVED saving my money up and buying a bag of candy just to consume by myself. I always got sick…haha. Unfortunately, I don’t have the luxury of consuming endless amounts of sugar or I’d look like a blimp. Kids really do have it good. Great article–that’s why it is so important to have a list with you when you’re shopping–keeps you focused!
Lately my impulse buying has been hot chocolate from Starbucks. It is definitely an impulse…I could chalk it up to a craving since I am pregnant, but it wouldn’t be truthful.
Here’s a question: even if you bought the chocolate at a discount, would you have spent the same amount of money buying chocolate at regular price? Or does it even matter?
Maybe this is why Hershey’s stock shows decent (if not great) returns on investment, year after year.
Jon – glad you liked the article. And you raise a good point. My consumption of sugar has had a negative effect on my waistline..sigh.
Super Frugalette – I understand. I don’t buy it a lot, but Starbuck’s hot chocolate is awesome..especially the stuff you get at Christmas!
101 Centavos – Good question. I think the key for me is that it is *so* cheap. I saw gingerbread houses marked down last night. Full price, I’d never think about it. But on sale..
[...] The following is a guest post from Ellen at Fun With English, where she explores the origin of English words and expressions. In her spare time, she is on her own journey to improve her financial knowledge! She’s guest posted here several times before with ones like How to Save Money on a Road Trip and Impulse Shopping and Discount Chocolate. [...]