Strategies to Avoid Buyer's Remorse

The excitement of a new purchase — whether it’s a small purchase at the department store or a large purchase, like a new car — feels good. Psychological studies reveal that the excitement and anticipation of getting a reward (i.e. what you’re buying) increases dopamine levels in the brain. This chemical shift gives shopping and spending money almost addictive quality. 

Until you realize that you’ve blown your budget or the psychological “high” of the purchase fades and you’re faced with buyer’s remorse. Don’t let your spending habits reach this point. You can preemptively avoid this spending cycle by practicing these tips to avoid buyer’s regret.

Related: What I Learned From a Three-Month Retail Spending Freeze

1. Equate price to work hours

You’ve probably heard the old adage, “time is money”. Well, the reverse — ”money is time” — is also true, in a sense. Before making a purchase, take a few seconds to calculate how many work hours it would take for you to earn back what you’d spend on the item. 

For example, if you earn $23 an hour and want to make a sporadic purchase for a $120 jacket, it’ll take you approximately five hours of work (not including tax) to recoup the amount for that splurge. The fact that an impulsive purchase will cost you nearly an entire day’s work may help you think twice before buying.

2. Avoid shopping apps

According to the RescueTime app, a productivity tool, the average U.S. smartphone user spends three hours and 15 minutes on their phones, daily. Some of the highest smartphone users spend more than 4.5 hours on their phones per day. Much of that time is spent on various apps that often have a shopping feature.

Whether you’re scrolling through Instagram and happen upon an intriguing sponsored ad, or are “window” shopping on a resale or retailer’s app, the time spent on your phone is a breeding ground for buyer’s remorse. Delete non-essential apps that encourage you to spend so you’re not faced with regret later on. 

3. Log off of online shopping accounts

Another way to avoid buyer’s regret is by adding more obstacles to your shopping experience. Removing shopping apps from your devices, like in the strategy above helps, but take it a step further by always logging off of your online retail accounts.

Forcing yourself to manually expend the extra two to three seconds to log in to an online shopping account, you’re giving yourself an extra roadblock — and extra time — to rethink your purchase. 

4. Don’t save credit card information online

It might feel like this list focuses a lot on impulsive online shopping, but the reality is that technology makes spending money all too easy. And convenience is a big part of the online shopping experience. A factor that can help you avoid shopping and buyer’s remorse is manually entering your card information for every single transaction. 

Be honest — how many times have you been in bed, mindlessly browsing Amazon or Sephora as you drift to sleep? Chances are that may have put one (or a few) items in your checkout cart. If you didn’t store your credit card details or the checkout system prompts you to enter your Card Verification Value (CCV) code, you probably will think twice about getting out of your comfy sheets to get this information from your wallet. 

5. Wait 72 hours

Admittedly, this one takes a lot of willpower, but it’s effective. Creating “space” between a stimulus (the item you want to buy) and the end response (buying that item — or not), can help you make mindful choices and avoid buyer’s regret. 

Specifically, experts suggest creating 72 hours of space, that is, taking 72 hours to consider a purchase before deciding to buy it. If after this time frame you still want the item, you’re less likely to regret spending money on it. 

6. Budget for your purchase

This strategy takes a bit of patience but is well-suited for large purchases. By establishing a dedicated savings fund or savings bucket for an upcoming big purchase, you’ve mindfully put effort and funds toward a specific goal. This type of intentional spending reduces impulse buys and, in turn, buyer’s remorse.

Creating a budget for life goals, like buying a new car or saving toward a vacation abroad, can help alleviate the regret and guilt of high-cost spending.

7. Try reward-based spending

Instead of spending money randomly, spend money as a reward for accomplishing a particular goal. This strategy keeps you motivated to pace toward your goal, thanks to the promised reward (that you can define) after reaching the finish line. For example, let’s say your goal is to put money aside for your retirement. You can set up quarterly savings goals to hit. When you’ve reached your goal, you can treat yourself to your pre-defined reward (like a pair of shoes you’ve been coveting or a spa day).

If you need help getting a handle on your spending habits, setting up a budget, or establishing reward-based goals we can help. Talk with a financial coach about how to implement these and other strategies to avoid buyer’s regret.