The Risks of Impulsive Christmas Shopping
Impulsive Christmas shopping brings with it a variety of complaints from going over budget, buying frivolous items or even forgetting what you've bought. Each of these problems brings its own dilemmas and in this article I'll highlight those dilemmas and how you can overcome them. Of course, while there are many issues associated with impulse shopping it does sometimes have its merits.
Problem 1 – going over budget
One of the largest risks of impulse shopping at Christmas is going over your budget. You might find yourself picking up little gifts every time you go shopping. While these gifts may cost less than £ 10 each over a period of time those small items start to add up, and before you know it you're way over budget. To overcome this problem make sure you write down the gift you bought, who it is for, and how much it cost. This will make sure you are aware of the total cost of all of these little gifts.
Problem 2 – buying frivolous gifts
Have you ever gone into a store and bought some cute gift items, only to realize when you get them home that they're quite silly and a waste of money? This is one of the problems with impulse shopping. What do you do when this happens? You can either return the gift and buy something more appropriate, or you could give it to your friend anyway. If you decide to return it then you might have trouble finding a replacement depending on how close it is to Christmas. You may have no choice but to give the frivolous gift you bought on impulse.
Problem 3 – forgetting what you've bought
This is the pitfall that I always fall into. I buy small gifts for people every time I go shopping and I stash them somewhere safe at home, and then I completely forget about them. When I come to wrap up my Christmas gifts I find I have bought far too many items and spent too much money. Or worse still I forget about them until after Christmas! To overcome this problem you need to keep a list. Write down every gift you buy so that you know exactly where you are with your Christmas shopping.
When impulse shopping is a good idea
Of course there are times when impulse shopping can have its benefits. If you are out shopping and you see the perfect gift for your friend or relative and you snap it up straight away then that is impulse shopping. I'm not saying you should not do this as sometimes the best gifts are bought this way. What you need to do is add it to your list so that you do not forget about it or go over your Christmas budget.
