Break the habit
How to stop impulse buying
The want peaks in minutes. Put a day between it and the button.
Why it sticks
Buying something brings a quick lift, and the anticipation of it arriving keeps the lift going for days. Shops and apps are designed to shrink the gap between wanting and paying: one-tap checkout, saved cards, flash sales, free shipping thresholds. The cue is often a mood such as boredom, stress or a bad day, rather than a need. The cost shows up weeks later on a statement, too late to link to the moment.
How to stop impulse buying
Use a 24-hour rule
Put anything you want in the basket and close the tab. If you still want it tomorrow, and can say why, buy it. Most of the urge is gone by the next morning, and the basket remembers for you.
Delete saved card details
Remove your card from every shop and from the browser's autofill. Typing the number out adds a minute, and that is enough time to ask whether you need it.
Delete the shopping apps
Shopping apps send notifications and make buying effortless. Use the website instead. You will still buy what you need, without being prompted to.
Unsubscribe from marketing emails
Sales emails are cues designed to create a want. Unsubscribe from all of them. If you want to know about a sale, you will find it.
Name the feeling
When you feel the pull to buy, ask what you are feeling. Bored, sad, stressed? Shopping fixes that for an hour. A walk, a call or a nap may fix it for longer.
Check your balance weekly
Pick a day and look at your account. Seeing the total of small buys makes them real. Most impulse buyers are surprised by the monthly figure.
What to track instead
A row that only records the habit not happening gets a tick on the days you were never tempted, and tells you nothing on the day it mattered. Give the row to the replacement:
- 24-hour rule used
- Weekly balance check
- No shopping apps
- Unsubscribe from one shop
Print a tracker with these 4 habits or open them in a spreadsheet.
Your first week
- Day 1. Look at last month's statement and add up the unplanned buys.
- Day 2. Delete saved card details from shops and the browser.
- Day 3. Delete the shopping apps from your phone.
- Day 4. Unsubscribe from every marketing email that arrives today.
- Day 5. Use the 24-hour rule on the next thing you want.
- Day 6. When you feel the urge, write down the feeling first.
- Day 7. Do your first weekly balance check.
How to stop impulse buying
Why do I impulse buy?
Buying gives a quick boost, especially when you are bored, stressed or low. Shops are designed to make it easy. Adding friction and waiting a day break the loop.
Is impulse buying a sign of something deeper?
Sometimes. If spending feels out of control, is causing debt or is tied to strong mood swings, talk to a GP. Free debt advice services can also help.
Does the 30-day rule work better than 24 hours?
For big purchases, a longer wait helps. For everyday buys, 24 hours is usually enough for the urge to pass. Use the one you will stick to.
Other habits to break
- How to stop phone addictionMost of the pickups were never decisions. That is where to start.
- How to quit social mediaDecide what you were getting from it before you take it away.
- How to stop eating junk foodMake the better option the quicker option. That is most of the job.
- All the habits65 habits to break or build, each with a first week laid out.
- 70 bad habits, each with a swapThe full list, grouped by where they show up in your day, with a printable for each group.
Track the swap, not the slip
Free on iOS. Three habits, no account needed.
Join 
people building streaks in 13 countries.