Sleep on It

Monday Money continues with advice to those of us who are impulsive.

Stop.

Okay, that’s too simple.

Couples that agree about spending (and are successful) often do very little impulse spending.

Or they have a budget for impulse spending!

Nearly each time I had to make an important decision to make, I would force myself to wait.  It could be for a few hours, or a few days.

Generally I would put it off until the next day and see how important it was after a good nights sleep.

Granted there are times when you need to decide right now, but not as often as you might be doing now.

Replace a furnace? We made that decision in an hour.

Replace a car?  I did that last year when the car died on a Saturday afternoon.  Sunday I went to my favorite used car dealer and did my research including CARFAX reports with the VIN #’s from 4 cars I was considering.

Then on Monday, my wife dropped me off at the dealership and  I checked out each car and made my decision WHICH car to buy, not IF I should buy.

I’ve done the opposite too.  Last fall I wanted to get a better deal on my cellphone and ended up walking out with a new phone and 2 year agreement.

A month later, I finally gave up that phone, paid the penalty and it cost me dearly.   I should have followed my usual Sleep on It rule.

Besides spending money, this Sleep on It rule can apply to many other areas of our lives too.

What do you do to control impulse spending?