Impulse shopping

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I remember someone describing their spending habits on here...
First, they become aware of something...Then comes the research. Then a cooling off period. Then more research... Then suddenly, informed impulse buy.

It was something along those lines, and about how their wife has come to recognise the initial research and realised that once at a certain point, pretty much nothing will stop the purchase being made.

That really resonates with me

I have spent the last couple of days on and off looking at cellos. About 6 months ago I went on a big research binge. I have done so again over the last couple of days after visiting a friend who received a student viola for Christmas. My mind is rolling the thought that 'I CAN PICK THIS INSTRUMENT UP AND PLAY IT' around in my mind, and I'll still be over the base savings threshold I have set for myself...

I have made several incredibly well-justified music purchases in the last year and a half, though I did pick up a second-hand flute last week that is going to require a lot of work to get working as I couldn't play it before I bought it for obvious reasons... So there's the downside. But yes! I know exactly what you mean. Now if you'll excuse me, there are some cellos to be enquired into in the area

^ It has been done. I've been looking at one for $500, the only thing stopping me was the 4-hour round trip to pick it up. The guy suggested we meet in the city. Once I'm at this point there's very likely nothing that will stop me from jamming out on some sweet sweet cello tonight

This video also helped with the decision-making process...

I go impulse shopping on amazon. It's pretty bad, because they have the "one click buy" feature, which makes it so much easier to spend money I shouldn't. This morning I pre-ordered a dinosaur DVD that's coming out in March. I don't need it; I already have nine videos on the subject, I just got really excited because it's so hard to find dinosaur documentaries that aren't just compilations of episodes from different videos that I've seen before, and this one, being brand new, can't possibly have anything in it that's been previously released.

^ I've avoided getting in the habit of online shopping for the same reason It's bad enough that I can one-click order food delivered to my door, laziness ensues!

Yes I tend to do impulse online shopping sometimes, good luck ever getting me to go to an actual store

I have a problem with impulsively buying digital content. I buy very few actual products because I don't have the space for them. I have bought a lot of ebooks from Kobo and Amazon but they are all books I actually want to read at some point. I also have lots of Steam, Xbox 360, Xbox One games and I have stopped doing that until I play them all at least once. I think it's because buying games and books makes me feel happier, at least temporarily, but I often feel guilty about spending money in such a careless way. I'm not in debt but I don't have a proper job so I shouldn't really be spending so much.

I'm quite the opposite. I spend an excessive amount of time researching products before making purchases.

I research products a lot before purchasing too. I'm sure a part of that is obsessiveness and procrastination. I like researching things in general but I feel a great deal of anxiety about any large purchases so I have to really convince myself and sometimes others that the product is good and that I will make use of it. I always feel some regret after buying something even if I really like the item. I don't feel the same way about smaller purchases like books or discounted games on Steam. I have wanted to buy a new tablet to replace my Nexus 7 but I'm agonising over the purchase as I really don't need a new tablet. I want one though and I use my tablet far more than a PC or laptop.

Impulse shopping is normal. Almost everyone does that. Not a particularly aspie behavior. I think that's what the economy is based on and why marketing works. If you can afford it easily, don't beat yourself about it. Just enjoy what you bought to get your money's worth.

If you have trouble with over spending it would be good to set a budget for "impulse purchase" and stick to it. I use one account for my allowance only. I transfer a set amount into it and use that bank card (or paypal) to pay for stuff. If that money is gone then no more fluff purchase until the next period.

I used to impulsively buy things I couldn't really afford but had to have.

But since getting my symptoms under control the last couple years, my entire life has changed for the better - including my spending habits.

A couple years ago I was over $100K in debt for a variety of reasons - bad business decisions, health/unable to work etc. Then I was bankrupt. My bankruptcy discharged 15 1/2 months ago and I had $300-400 to my name. Since then I've been working & saving. I've spent very little on anything I don't need. Basically, I only buy what I need - food, clothing, shelter, medicine etc & spend very little else. I did buy new glasses ($1000) and a couple new jackets, but otherwise I've been cheap cheap cheap - heck, I only spent $700 on my car. Buying only what I actually Need and saving/investing the rest has allowed me to save ~$28K (approx - it fluctuates a bit with the stock market) and I'm continuing to save and invest. There are very few things I want these days. I don't want "things." I want a secure financial future, capital to start the business(es) I want to be in etc far more than impulse buys of useless crap. I am planning on spending some money on sporting goods this year, but other than that I don't really want anything. In fact, I want to get rid of things I have and don't use or need anymore as they just clutter up my room/garage and life.

I've also been a lot more content. When you don't actually want anything, you kinda have everything you want. Make sense? Well, in terms of things anyways.. there are still non-material things I want in life, but they will come in time.

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No for supporting trump. Because doing so is deplorable.

Opposite here, mostly. I'm a "beeline" shopper, I write my list at home, go get the stuff, and carry it back. Even on Amazon I generally only buy after a lot of thought.

But I do sometimes almost impulse-buy. If I happen to see something cheap that looks like it might work for me, I might take a calculated risk, and that can be fun compared to analysing everything.

I used to be very different. I'd find it hard to leave a shop empty-handed, and I used to get a great buzz out of acquiring a new gadget. But I noticed a couple of disadvantages - I'm hopeless at throwing things away and keeping the place tidy, so I was getting swamped with gadgets, and the obsession with all those toys had a social price tag because I wasn't good at time management. I had a strange sinking feeling when I bought my first VCR, and I saw how obsessional I became about analysing everything it could do. It was a couple of days before I surfaced. So these days I try to think ahead about what's likely to happen to me if I buy this or that, which protects me from a lot of impulse-buying.

I impulse shop sometimes. I don't go to malls or stores because I hate crowded places, but thanks to the Internet you can buy anything you want when you want. And for me sometimes it's deadly, for example how many times I've bought DVD's, Books or others things from Amazon, Ebay or other websites and 2 days later getting them at my door. Often I buy something and then I regret it. This Friday I ordered a new multi-tool, a Leatherman New Surge (I like multi tools and use them all the them when I work on sets), I won't receive it until tomorrow but somehow I'm already regretting it because I already have a lot of multi tools from the Letherman Supertool, to the Skeletool, to the Wave and the Swisstools and a lot of Victorinox's. So why did I do it? I don't know... Sometimes I have periods where I won't buy anything, and others where I'll spend 300 to 500 euros in a week online.