Budget Hack: Hit the Pause Button

Video Transcript

We're all looking for ways to make our budgets work better for us. Here's a quick budget hack to help you stick to your budget, I call this one, hit the pause button.
 
So whether were shopping in person in store or doing some online shopping, it's always inevitable that something we didn't plan on buying will catch our attention. So before you take that item to the register or check out online, I want you to hit the pause button and give yourself some time to really think about whether or not you really want this item. Because sometimes these impulse purchases are just a momentary emotional decision and by giving yourself a little bit of space  and a little bit of time, you can see if you really want that item or if it was something that  just caught your eye and looked nice on the shelf.
 
So, if you're shopping in person, I want you to take that item and I want you to put it back on the shelf and just continue shopping for the  things that you actually came to the store for and then just check out an leave. If the next day you wake up and you still really want that item, you can calmly go check you budget and then see if you have the money to actually go back and buy it. And this actually goes for online shopping as well.
 
So I want you to take that item, add it to your shopping cart like you were going to do, and then just close your computer or app and then go for a walk or watch a show, whatever it take to distract  yourself and then just check back in the next day.
 
Because here's a quick little tip, sometimes retailers will send you a promo code if you leave an item just sitting in you cart for a couple of days. They want you to come back and finish buying whatever it was they thought you were going to buy, so if you can just hold out and build up a little bit of willpower to wait long enough, you might actually catch a nice extra discount.