"I can't walk into Target without spending $100."
"When I go to Dunkin' Donuts for coffee, I can't resist getting a donut too."
"I hate how ads for things I've shopped for online keep popping up in my browser! Too tempting!"
"When I buy chips I eat the whole bag."
"That pesky Buy now with 1-Click option on Amazon gets me into way too much trouble."
Regardless of whether these particular statements resonate with you, I'd be willing to wager there is something that tempts you. We often feel like victims of temptation, but if we anticipate the temptation, we can prevent it from happening. Rather than spending energy on resisting temptation, we can minimize it instead.
So when you just need body wash and milk, go to the grocery store or drug store instead of Target. You might spend a dollar or two more than you would have at Target on that body wash, but you might save yourself $90 on other stuff!
To the Dunkin' Donuts lover: get your coffee somewhere else OR go through the drive-thru if it's seeing the donuts that tempts you OR buy a pound of Dunkin' Donuts coffee and make it yourself at home OR go into the store with only the exact amount for coffee so you don't have enough to buy a donut OR ask the co-worker who also stops at Dunkin' Donuts to pick up yours for you sometimes.
Those ads driving you crazy? Google "How to block ads" and you will find a long list of articles to help you remove ads on everything from YouTube to Facebook to Chrome to Skype and more. This has made a huge difference in curbing my online shopping.
If you can't eat just one chip, don't buy chips or buy single-portion bags. It's also a good idea to just place a few chips on a plate instead of eating out of the bag itself.
And to prevent impulse purchases on Amazon, turn off 1-click ordering so you need to add items to a cart instead. And rather than saving a credit card, use gift cards only so you have a limited amount of spending available to you.
Think about what temptation you've been having trouble resisting. How can you minimize or avoid the temptation altogether?
Photo by Greta Punch on Unsplash