It’s happened to us all- we nip out at lunch and end up coming back with a bag full of new clothes or a stash of new CDs or DVDs, or after a stressful week we hit the shops on a Saturday to cheer ourselves up.

But that euphoria is short lived once the credit card bill lands on the mat or you check your account to see your overdraft spiralling out of control. Then you get that all too familiar sinking feeling, need cheering up and the whole thing starts again.

A recent US study by VitalSmarts began with kids being informed that they had the opportunity to earn some money and were asked what they wanted to spend and what they wanted to spend. some money and were asked how much they wanted to save and how much they were going to spend. After they had decided they were let loose in an impulse environment featuring advertising posters, bright colours and samples, not dissimilar to how shopping centres are.

The children were allowed to purchase sweets ‘on credit’, with the amount they spent deducted from the money they were going to earn in the future- to recreate the scenario of adults making payments on credit.

87% was the amount of the money the children said they wanted to save when asked before they went in, but the average that was actually saved was 32%, showing the power of a buying environment and how impulse is a huge factor in the buying process.

This echoes the situation many adults find themselves in, as they set a budget, which is then forgotten once they have consumables in front of them and are in the ‘buy,buy, buy’ environment that most shopping centres are.

Avoiding the shops at all costs is the best way to break the pattern, but this is something which most of us can’t do, as there are necessities we need to purchase. A more realistic method is to take a friend shopping with you and instruct them to keep you within your budget. Choose a friend who won’t get sidetracked and explain to them what your budget is and why it is important you stay within it.

Rewards are another great way of staying on the straight and narrow, as if you give yourself regular treats, which are planned into the budget then you don’t feel as hard done by and our more likely to achieve your spending goals.

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