How To Stop Impulse Buying Useless Products, According to Redditors

Consumers can buy the most inane, useless products at the click of a button. And if you give into your compulsive side, soon enough you’ll be staring at a room filled with hundreds of dollars worth of plastic tchotchkes, disposable “smart” tech, and gag products that you don't need. But, as Redditors explain on r/SimpleLiving, even the most impulsive shoppers can break free from the work, spend, borrow cycle. Here are nine ways to avoid buying useless products, according to frugal, minimalist Redditors.

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Grocery stores are designed to get you to spend. One way around the tempting, eye-catching maze that is the grocery store? Order your groceries for pickup online.

Related: How Curbside Grocery Pickup Can Save Money and Time, According to Redditors

Researchers have discovered that consumers tend to spend more when using a credit card than cash. According to one theory, that’s because credit cards “reduce the pain of payment,” making it easier to spend money. One simple workaround: Cancel (or simply destroy) your credit cards.

Related: Credit Card Debt Has Risen to Record Levels — Here's How to Get Out of It

Since sorting through secondhand goods at a thrift store takes more time than shopping on Amazon or at Walmart, one Redditor claims that it leads to a “mindset shift.” Because the process is less fast-paced, it gives them the opportunity to think about their purchases and if they really need them.

Related: 12 Things You Should Never Buy at a Thrift Store

Adhering to a strict zero-based budget, one wherein every dollar has been accounted for, can keep you from “mindless shopping,” one commenter explains. You can also try a gamified budget challenge to make saving money a little more fun.

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The next time you have an urge to impulse buy something, add it to your “delayed gratification list.” The idea, as one Redditor explains it, is that instead of getting a hit of dopamine for buying the item, you start to enjoy documenting the products you were able to resist. “And then if I decide I don’t really want it, I get all the excitement of decluttering without any real effort or adding to the trash,” the Redditor adds.

One Redditor says that identifying plants and animals while on a walk scratches the same itch that shopping does. Using iNaturalist, for instance, you can catalog your discoveries as you stroll — a more relaxing and less wasteful use of your time than shopping.

Instead of spending your hard-earned cash, get your shopping fix by playing  “Spend Bill Gates’ Money.” As its name suggests, the game lets you choose how to spend Bill Gates’ $100 billion fortune, from small-ticket items to basketball teams and skyscrapers.

If you monitor everything — and we mean everything — that comes into your home, you’ll be more aware of your spending habits. A Redditor says that the process makes them “stop to think before making any purchases.”

In the words of one Redditor, you “gotta get your dopamine for somewhere.” Even still, buying an affordable exercise ball is a whole lot more useful than a self-heating coffee mug. So when you need to buy a treat, just make sure it’s constructive and meaningful.