Avoid Impulse Spending! -- This is important because if you want to fix your credit report, you've got to get a handle on your bills, and a tendency to overspend can undermine even the best budget.You know that you need to work on limiting your own impulse spending habits if:
1.) Your spouse complains that you spend too much money every month.
2.) You're surprised each month when your credit card bill arrives at how much more you charged than you thought you had.
3.) You have accumulated more shoes and outfits in your closet than you could ever possibly wear.
4.) You buy things you didn’t know you wanted until you saw them on display in a store.
Sadly, impulse spending will prevent you from saving for the important things like a house, a new car, a vacation or investing your money for retirement. To achieve your financial goals, you simply MUST resist spending money on things that really don’t matter in the long run.
Impulse spending will not only put a strain on your finances but on your relationships, as well. To overcome the problem, the first thing to do is learn to separate your needs from your wants. The best technique is to have a "cooling off" period in which to allow emotions to settle down and let logic take over.
Advertisers blitz us hawking their products at us 24/7. The trick is to give yourself a cooling-off period before you buy anything that you have not planned for. So try this: the next time you go shopping, pr-plan ahead. Make a list and take only enough cash to pay for what you have planned to buy. Leave your credit cards at home. When you pay in cash, you usually will be more hesitant to hand over greenbacks vs. paying with plastic.
On the other hand, if you spot a new item that you think you really do need, give yourself a few days to decide if it is really something you need or something you can easily do without. By following this simple solution, in time you will mend your financial fences and your relationships.
Avoiding impulse spending is a new habit that will take the place of your bad habit of overspending, or worse, of spending money you do not have! This can affect your credit, because you're more prone to be late on bills when you aren't careful with your money, and late payments will drastically lower your credit score.
