When you feel the urge to shop that is so overpowering that you just have to get
By suspenseful
@suspenseful (40193)
Canada
March 14, 2008 12:46pm CST
out there?
The last couple of days, I was looking at my collection of DVds and deciding that I did need a Dvd holder so the ones at the end would not fall down. I had already a few crates, but my collection has expanded since I bought them. I was then comparing that to last month, when I had to fight the urge to get something else, I think it was a new printer. I usually get paid once a month near the end of the month since I am on a pension and that is when the pension checks come or are put in direct deposit in our banks and I came to the conclusion that this urge to shop comes two weeks before I get paid.
So for those like me who are on a budget, when do you have that overpowering urge to go to shop and how do you resist it other than saying it is too cold to go outside or you something else to do or you will regret it later?
3 people like this
20 responses
@highflyingxangel (9225)
• United States
14 Mar 08
I'm a broke college student, so I just hav eto avoid going out period. If I know I'm going to be tempted to spend money, I just try to stay in and not go anywhere so I don't spend anything. After all, I did read that if you go out and decide to purchase one thing, you are more likely to purchase one or two other things or even more. It's like buying one thing makes it so you are less likely to care about whether or not you buy anything else so you just buy it anyway. So for me, avoiding going out is the best way for me not to spend money. I just have to find other things to do to keep me occupied.
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (160665)
• United States
14 Mar 08
I think that is a really good strategy. I also think the person who says they talk online to distract themselves is on the right track as well.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
16 Mar 08
Yes but the snow is starting to melt, and now there will be no excuse for me to stay home.
1 person likes this
@slickcut (8141)
• United States
14 Mar 08
Oh i know just what you mean..I get this urge myself,but my urges tend to focus outside on my garden..I love a pretty yard,and i want to get it just so perfect..I search all the plants and planters,and all kinds of yard and plant things..I supposs we all have differnt types of desires...I also have a large supply of Dvd's myself because beside yard work i just love a good movie..I have found that Biglots have some selections of cd &dvd holders down here..I don't know if you have a Biglots but i do and i get mine there....
2 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
12 Jun 08
It does not matter, but the most feeling I have to shop is usually around the eleventh to the fifteenth. It does not matter whether it is necessary or not, I have to stop myself from going into a store, and telling me, that I can wait at least a week so that it will be on next month's balance not this. And it also hurts when I have already spent the money for this month. Like this month, there was Our Anniversary, my granddaughter's birthday, and Father's Day coming up, so that is three presents already, then since we do plan to go to the States in the fall, I had to put some money aside for that, so as it was I have only $10 or so left to spend, unless I go into my back money.
But I am sure that if I wait a few days, then that urge will disappear as it usually does.
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
15 Mar 08
i don't have any money so I never get an urge to shop, it would be just too disappointing if I did.
1 person likes this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
13 Jun 08
that is exactly how I feel I do not have the money to make ends meet every month that means I do not have money to pay utilities etc, I have no money the disability checks pays the rent and nothing, nothing, nothing more.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
14 Jun 08
I hope things get better soon. It is ironic that the only time you can receive enough money to live on is when you are sixty-five and if you are not in good health, there are the pharmacist bills to pay plus the medical treatments that hospital bills don't cover. So far I am lucky, but my husband is not.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
13 Jun 08
You should have seen how I felt before I got my Old Age Security. I would go to the Mall and look at all the stuff, and I would go home saddened because I could not even buy the stuff I needed. At least, now there are only five days a week when I feel that disappointment. Why before I could not even afford to get a chocolate bar or a bag of tacos, not that I needed it, but junk food once in a while would have made me feel a lot better. 
1 person likes this
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
15 Mar 08
Just know when my money is gone its gone for the time I get paid agin Do alot of payments juggling to get extras that I need now I need new glasses that wont come for awhile am also trin gto save money to go to family reunion for this one might be my moms last. ANd its hard to do with gas and food and every thing else going up!
1 person likes this
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
13 Jun 08
I get paid the 3rd Wed. of the monthand that came in hany when hubby was alive for his came on the first so we had 2 checkds to look forward too but since he passed I lose $600 a month which I dont think thats right I didnt get to keep any of what I drew and not all that he drew
1 person likes this
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
14 Jun 08
thats just not right for you have worked hard and put into the fund but you dont get back nearly as much as ya put in . Here is cause some of it goes to people on SSI which goes to people that have never worked! and I hate that for that takes away from the poeple that worked hard to have a pension!
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
13 Jun 08
Both my husband and I are on pension, but he gets a good one from his work and he has stocks, but I do not have that much to work with. I am putting so much aside each month and if I did not, I would probably not have any left over. Also there are things that I was unable to get before I got my Old Age Security, and I am gradually getting them now, but that leaves me with having my alloted spending down before the 12th and it is between the 12th and the 15th that I have this urge to spend.
So far, I have not done any, but I feel so miserable because I want to spend that money.
@revdauphinee (5703)
• United States
14 Mar 08
when I get that urge (and i am in the same position i am on a pension also)what I do is get on here and get buisy talking to folks on here keeps me buisy and at home safe from spending!
2 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
16 Mar 08
That is what I do. At least there is snow still on the ground here, that gives me an excuse to not walk to the Mall. And when we go grocery shopping and paying bills, well we have to get home because there is so much to do, so that is another excuse for not spending money.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
13 Jun 08
We have Value Village here, and I have found some good buys. I also buy my binders there rather than at Staples because they are cheaper. I also found some nine by nine inch square pans because they are no longer made in Canada (we use the eight by eight) and a bundt pan, I found a pair of sunglasses, and some organ music. I looked around for singing music, but most of it for the women is in the middle range and I am a high soprano so I had to go with my friend all across the city to get some.
But it hurts when what you want is not cheap and you cannot afford it, and it is too close to the credit card statement to charge it without going over.
Then I have to resist and hope nothing comes up.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
13 Jun 08
We had our anniversary, so I had to buy my husband a present, there was this bridal shower so I had to chip in for the bridal gift, then there is Father's Day as well as my granddaughter's first birthday and I want to get her something special and since I get 10 percent off at Zellers because I am a senior, I had to get it at the beginning of the month. So most of my budget was gone before it started. Trouble what happens if I need something in the middle of the month? Then I am stuck.
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
15 Mar 08
i usually prevent myself from spending by just staying at home... that way, i will resist the temptation... the temptation usually comes from the eyes... when i see something, then i want to buy it... if i stay home, then i will be safe from spending... another way is by asking whether i really really need the item or not... if i don't really need it, then i won't buy it even though it is on special... it will becomes junk and a waste of money... btw, i live on a very tight budget as well... so i really have to watch my spending very carefully...
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
16 Mar 08
It is the things that I need, and not having the money to get it. I do not look at something and say I want it, I am the type of person who sees something on Tv, and thinks, "well finally they have invented the thing I wanted for such a long time," or "finally they invented the printer I was thinking of buying." I like getting things that will last. Now I am getting a bit more money, only what to get first.
@bonbon664 (3466)
• Canada
19 Mar 08
When I get into those shopping "moods", I try to stay away all together. I have a tendancy to spend money on stuff I don't need. If I really feel like going shopping, and don't have much money, I head out to the dollar store. I can have 5 bucks in my hand and buy a few trinkets that I haven't spent much money on.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
14 Apr 08
I was all right for a while. The beginning of the month I went to Zellers and got some health pills, panty hose, and a mop, then the next week, I got some sesame seed oil, and health tea, but these were necessities. Then I cashed in a gift card for a flash drive, and a DVd, but these were what I planned to get all along. then I bought some batteries but it was the wrong kind and a Cd, that was because I had a little left on the card. The only want was a bag of chips. So most of the stuff was stuff I needed and planned to get. So now I have to figure when to get the other stuff.
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
15 Mar 08
Thank heavens I am not an impulsive shopper. I do occasionally have the urge and it is so easy to indulge one self with online shopping but I usually am successful in suppressing myself.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
16 Mar 08
I am not an impulse shopper. It is just that I have wanting this stuff for so long, have planned to buy it for well some over two years, and then this other stuff that I need also comes up and I feel I have to get it all at once and I have to resist that. I am also afraid as soon as I buy the things I wanted from two years back, that the minute I do, my shoes will break down, my printer will go to pieces. etc. know it is a silly superstition, but it does happen.
I have this list on my computer of in what order to buy things. Now that list has increased.
@mamasan34 (6518)
• United States
19 Mar 08
Yes I do have an overpowering urge to buy things when I am out and about. I even have an overpowering urge to do so when I am at home and on ebay! I am not necessarily on a pension but I am not working right now and my husband is paid twice monthly. most often I buy clothes for church or for my daughter. My other passion is for decorative items for the house. I try to find unique older items on ebay that are good deals.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
13 Jun 08
It is so hard to resist. The only thing that keeps me from buying is having a goal that I have to save so much each month for emergencies, etc. So when I get close to that amount, even though I want to buy something and even if it is necessary, I say I cannot afford it. Now if I had any sense, I would spread out my spending through the month and not spend it in the first two weeks, but maybe now that I wrote it down, I will make sure that I do. But why are the good sales always at the beginning of the month?
@newzealtralian (3930)
• Australia
19 Mar 08
I have very good impulse control when it comes to shopping. Note: Exceptions to the rule are craft items and clothing for my kids!
I think having my kids with me when shopping helps because I am always thinking of their needs and worrying about what they are touching.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
13 Jun 08
I can resist buying, but I regret it when I planned to get something for a while, then went and bought it and a week or so later, something important comes up that I feel guilty about if I did not buy it, like a week after I finally buy that Dvd of my favorite show, my shoes fall apart. It is not that I just save to buy junk, but it seems that I have this guilt trip that anyone else even someone who makes less money than i CAN get something, but I am not allowed to get. So when I get the impulse, I am fighting this and the want to buy and it seems that the guilt trip wins, I go home, but boy I wish I had bought it.
@idaantipolo (472)
• Philippines
15 Mar 08
Usually, before I decide to go out, I list the things that I needed and the things that I want, so that I can set a budget for that and I shouldn't get over the budget that I set until at least for the next payday. In this way, I can avoid such unnecessary purchases and regret buying something that I really do not need after all.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
13 Jun 08
I usually plan what i am going for that month. Next month there are a couple of dvds I want to get, this last time, I had to put money aside for our trip to the States. But it is the extras that get me. It is not that I really do not need the things I buy, it is I cannot afford as of yet to buy the things I need. So I have to say, this month i will buy this, the next I will buy that, the month after I will get that and hope nothing messes me up.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
13 Jun 08
I go through the mall and look at the stuff that I want or need to get, and then I go home again. So then when I get the money, I decide that this time, I will get this and the next time the other, but I have always been told I cannot afford even the necessities that when I can afford to get something, I am torn between happiness that I got it and guilt that something bad will happen because I went and bought it.
@GardenGerty (160665)
• United States
14 Mar 08
Most of the time it is pretty easy because I am just too busy to go. I fight for months at a time, then I have to go splurge. I think maybe you get that urge because you know you can't really do it. I know if I absolutely cannot do something, I really want to do it. Since it is time for myLot payout, maybe you could shop with that.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
16 Mar 08
Don't have enough for my Mac Pro laptop computer yet. 
1 person likes this
@chiyosan (30184)
• Philippines
15 Mar 08
hehe really? im just glad i do not have these kind of urges. also i am not very much into shopping. i hate going to shop with all the people around. so i go buy what i need and when i need them.
with that i will have no regrets at all about what i have spent my money on after buying cause i know that what i bought was what i needed in the first place.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
16 Mar 08
The trouble is I really needed the stuff, but I kept putting it off because I did not have enough money in my bank account to transfer to my credit card when it became time to buy it.
Then something else came up, like replacement stuff. So now it is almost near the end of the month and I certainly do not want to go on a spending spree.
but the budget is always in question...nope i dont regret after shopping..i felt happy and contented with what i bought@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
13 Jun 08
I am on a budget, it is a variable budget because I did not get the Old Age Security until March and I am still getting out the kinks, and I have a hard time resisting buying from around the 12to about the 15th of each month. And it happens then when I cannot buy anything, or cannot afford to, I come home and there is a big let down, because I wish I had not had those expenses in the last part of last month and the first part of this month. I really should divide my budget into weeks, but I had to put some money aside this month for the trip to the States and there were these other expenses I had to get.
When I do buy something, if it is what I have planned for, I am so happy.
@Katlady2 (9904)
• United States
15 Mar 08
I usually get the urge to shop when hubby has a bunch of overtime on his paycheck. Sometimes I give in and sometimes I manage to resist....barely. I try to convince myself that gas is just waaaayyyyy to expensive to make an unnecessary trip to the music store, or to WalMart, and that will do the trick most of the time. But every once in a while I'll just say "heck with it" and go anyway. Then I get to put up with hubby snickering at me for a week because of it. LOL
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
16 Mar 08
With us, it is well I have to help my husband fix up the basement and he needs me to hold up a two by four or the end of a tape. Another time it is it is too cold, it is slippery and I might slip and people will come from all corners of the neighborhood armed with cameras and laugh at me.
@bowtieguy (5915)
• United States
15 Mar 08
I do get ngs to shop but they are never so overwhelming to the point that it becomes a problem. I also have many dvd's and cd's and clothes but it is accumulated over several years and I limit myself within a budget to keep my shopping habits under control.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
13 Jun 08
The trouble is that before I never had enough money to buy what I needed. Now there are somethings that I actually have to have, like new shoes and new sandals. I just bought a new dress. I never could accumulate these things. I do put away so much each month and tell myself I have to have $100 left over from my pension and that is working quite well, but it seems that there is a period from the 12th to the 15th that I have this overwhelming need to shop and I have to make sure I do not buy anything. The other days of the month, I am okay and it does not matter if I have no money to spend or a lot. I think it is psychological.
@Inzy4jonny (37)
• Bahamas
14 Mar 08
Well im without a job at this time and still have the urge to shop, it comes at you very quickly and can knock you down if you don't try to fight it. Sometimes you have to brace your self and talk to yourself very hard....especially if you can't afford to buy certain things. It's a mind thing actually, and once you make up in your mind that you don't need it, whether you can afford it or not, no one will be able to convince you otherwise.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
12 Jun 08
I do have some money now, thanks to my Old Age Security and what I make from myLot, but the trouble is I have to catch up on the things I neglected to get those years I only got my piddly little pension. I was thinking of setting up a weekly rather than a monthly budget. It is hard when you get the money in once a month rather than every week or every two weeks, so I have to be able to stretch the buying over four weeks, rather than do it all in the first two weeks of the month. Then there is those unexpected things coming up, and that really screws me up and this time they came all at once. I have enough money to pay for them, but those others things I do need, so I will have to wait for next month.
