You finally manage to reach the shampoo aisle and throw your usual bottle in the basket. You take a step to walk away, but suddenly return to your spot because you noticed a different shampoo that you’ve seen in the commercials and you remember your friend saying that she uses it and she loves it. So you stand there, your usual bottle in one hand and the new bottle in the other, taking time to read all the extra oomph each shampoo has to offer. After five full minutes, you decide that you just want to stick to your usual shampoo ... it’s cheaper and it’s familiar. You also figure that since you were considering spending twice as much on the newer shampoo, you might as well pick up your conditioner as well since you’re already there, even though you have a lot more at home! After adding those, you notice that your basket is starting to get heavy ... the two black rubber handles are making their imprint on your skin.
You know you should start heading out since you got what you wanted, but you just want to see what DVDs are on sale, so you wander over to the electronics section and browse the DVD selection ...
AND YOU KNOW HOW THE REST OF THE STORY GOES ... You end up returning to the entrance to switch out your basket for a cart, and before you know it, your shopping list went from one item to pushing a full cart to the checkout stand.
IF THIS SOUNDS ALL TOO FAMILIAR, HEED MY ADVICE FOR THE FRIVILOUS SPENDER! Believe me, I am a recovering frivolous spender.
1) Have an ongoing “TO BUY” list with you at all times (in your phone, PDA, or in your little notebook). ONLY list your necessities in that list (groceries, toiletries, etc). When you need to go to the store and buy them, have the list out with you throughout your whole store visit. It will remind you that those items are the ONLY ones that you NEED.
