You’ve gotten into the habit of online shopping. You’re browsing through online stores and filling up your digital shopping cart all of the time. And while it’s exciting to get these items delivered to your front door, it’s not so exciting to look at your bank account.
That’s right. Your online shopping habit is hurting your finances.
The Problem with Overspending
An online shopping habit can come with some serious financial consequences, especially when you’re living on a tight budget. A few online sprees could leave you with a drained checking account, a depleted savings account or a high credit card balance. This will make you vulnerable to surprise expenses that come your way.
What if your car needs urgent repairs? What if you lose your phone and need a replacement? What if your plumbing leaks, and you need to get it fixed? You might not have the funds to take care of these emergency expenses right away.
If you’re ever in that situation, don’t panic—you still have options. If your credit card’s balance isn’t too high, you could put the emergency expense onto it and pay down the balance later. Another option is to try to apply for a personal loan online. Before applying for a personal loan online, check whether it’s available in your state. So, if you live in Phoenix, you’ll want to specifically look for a personal loan in Arizona for help. You don’t want to waste your time applying for a loan that isn’t even available in Arizona.
How to Curb Your Online Shopping?
The best way to avoid these financial consequences is to finally curb your online shopping. Here’s how.
Delete Your Info:
One thing you can do to curb your online shopping habit is to remove your credit card information from your favorite retail websites. That way, you can’t purchase an item with a click of a button. You have to get up and find your wallet to fill out the information. That extra bit of effort can stop you from buying things on a whim.
Leave It in the Cart:
Stop impulse purchases by leaving items in your digital shopping cart for 24-48 hours. Once that time is up, you might find the urge to buy it less appealing and remove it from your cart.
Watch for Emotional Triggers:
Do you spend more when you’re stressed? Upset? Bored? Emotional spending is when you turn to shopping as a coping mechanism when you’re in a heightened emotional state. It’s one of the reasons why e-commerce sales surged during the pandemic — people tried to soothe their heightened states of stress and fear by shopping online.
Try to find healthier coping mechanisms when you’re in heightened emotional states. Maybe you could go out for a walk, call up a friend or listen to music when you’re feeling overwhelmed. These options should help you regulate your emotions, all without hurting your finances.
Unfollow Retailers:
Do you follow your favorite retailers on social media? It’s time to unfollow them. All of their posts will tempt you to head to their official site and spend.
Block Online Stores:
If you can’t resist the temptation to browse online stores, you can use website blocking apps to stop yourself. Any time you forget and search for the website, it should show up blank. It’s a harsh strategy, but it will work. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Stop letting your online shopping ruin your finances. Break the habit for good!