Since it’s so easy to do and omnipresent, online shopping can sometimes lead to debt. If this is the case for you, there are steps you can take to rein in your digital purchases, such as identifying triggers, deleting your card info from apps and websites, and trying other strategies.
Online shopping can give you access to a multitude of retailers with just a click or two, and its popularity continues to grow. The number of Americans using e-commerce is expected to grow by almost 22% between 2024 and 2029, adding 60 million online shoppers to the current estimate of 273.5 million. To help you curb excessive online shopping, try these tactics for spotting bad spending habits and building better ones.
Key Points
• Online shopping can lead to debt; identifying triggers and removing saved card information can help curb spending.
• Developing new hobbies can replace time spent online shopping, and unsubscribing from retailer emails can help avoid temptation.
• Setting specific financial goals and sharing them with others can provide accountability and motivation.
• Creating a realistic budget using methods like the 50/30/20 rule can help manage spending effectively.
• Using apps and tools to track spending can help maintain progress towards financial goals.
Understanding Your Online Shopping Habits
It’s easy to ignore poor online shopping habits and assume they’re no big deal. Until, that is, you see how low your checking account is or how high your credit card balance has risen. That can quickly bring you back to reality.
When those moments occur (or, better still, before they do), it can be wise to evaluate whether you need to cut back on online shopping.
Identifying Triggers and Patterns
If you’re wondering whether it’s time to cut back on shopping and spending, here are a few signs to watch for:
• You’re spending a lot of your free time and money on online shopping.
• Your online shopping is making it hard to stick to your budget.
• Buying items online is causing you to have credit card debt or owe a higher balance than in the past.
• It’s tough to resist making purchases, even when you know it might hurt your finances or lead to debt.
• You may be prioritizing shopping over other important responsibilities.
• You feel uneasy or tense when you’re not shopping.
• There’s a sense of guilt or regret about your online spending habits.
• After a tough day, you often turn to online shopping to lift your mood.
• You often buy something just because it’s on sale.
These can be signals that it’s time to stop online shopping and develop better financial habits.
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Assessing the Impact on Your Finances
Do you know that around 40% of Americans say they have a budget for online shopping, but about 32% admit they often go over it, according to Badcredit.org? While going over budget now and then might not hurt your finances too much, doing so regularly can lead to debt and make it harder to get back on track to reaching your money goals.
If you want to see how much you’re really spending online, here are some ways you might track your purchases and check if you’re overspending:
• Keep your receipts: Holding onto your receipts (whether paper or emailed) can make it easier to remember and review what you’ve spent at the end of the month.
• Check credit card and bank statements: Many credit cards and banks have built-in budget trackers on their online platforms and in their apps. Some even break your spending into categories so you can easily see where your money is going.
• Record your transactions: Even small buys, like toothpaste from Amazon, count as online spending. Keep your eyes peeled for these items which are easy to overlook. Budgeting apps, whether from your bank or a third party, or a little notebook can help you easily track your transactions.
By keeping an eye on your online spending with one of these methods, you can see if you’re going over your budget and determine if you need to cut back on your spending habits.
Strategies to Curb Online Shopping
Whether your spending habits are big or small, using a few smart tactics can help you reduce your online shopping and make the most of your money. Here’s how.
Creating a Realistic Budget
Creating a budget (and sticking to it) is one of the best ways to manage your spending habits more effectively. While there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, there are plenty of strategies you can use to find what works best for you. A few to consider:
• 50/30/20 Rule: This budgeting method has you split your monthly take-home income into three categories: 50% for needs (like rent or mortgage, groceries, utilities, and minimum debt payments), 30% for wants (like dining out, travel, or movies), and 20% for savings or additional debt payments. Say you net $5,000 a month. If you use this method, you’d set aside $2,500 for needs, $1,500 for wants, and $1,000 for savings. You can use an online 50/30/20 budget calculator to do the math.
• 70/20/10 Rule: This strategy is similar to the 50/30/20 rule, but you allocate 70% for needs and wants, 20% for savings, and 10% for paying off debt or charitable donations. This is a good option if debt repayment is one of your main focuses or if you have big savings goals.
• Zero-based budgeting: With this strategy, you assign every dollar to a job or expense, like dining out, health care, or clothes. Start with your monthly income and subtract all your expenses — including savings — until you reach zero. This approach helps you stay aware of where every dollar is going.
• Envelope budget system: Set aside a specific amount of cash divided into envelopes for each spending category, like $3,000 for housing or $600 for food. Once the money in each category is gone, you either wait until next month or adjust by borrowing from another category, like cutting back on streaming services to fund your grocery bill.
Developing Healthier Shopping Habits
If you find that impulse buying is becoming a bad habit, there are ways to start building healthier spending patterns. Here are some tips to help you get started:
• Try the 24-hour rule. When you find something you want to buy that isn’t a necessity, try waiting at least 24 hours before buying it. This gives you more time to think about whether you really need it. If you still want it after waiting, shop around to find the best deal, as different sites usually offer different prices and deals. Some people find that the 24-hour period isn’t long enough to have the “I’ve got to have it” feelings potentially subside. You could extend it to a week or even a month.
• Delete your saved credit card details. Today’s digital tools can make life more convenient, as with online banking and hotel reservation apps. But online shopping can lower the barrier to purchase and make it easy (some might say too easy) to buy items with just one click. By removing your saved card info, you add an extra step to the purchase process. This also gives you more time to decide if the purchase is really necessary.
• Pick up a new hobby. Instead of browsing shopping sites when at loose ends or bored, try picking up a new inexpensive hobby like reading, photography, or learning coding or social media strategy online. Swapping out your old shopping habit for a new hobby can help reduce the temptation to shop online.
• Unsubscribe from retailer and merchant emails. Stores love to tempt you with emails about their latest deals. Unsubscribing from these emails can help you avoid the urge to make impulse purchases. If you don’t know about the deal, you won’t be tempted to buy.
• Limit your shopping time. The more time you spend looking at online retail sites or being served ads on social media, the more enticing objects you’ll be exposed to. Try to limit how much time you spend browsing to help reduce the temptation to shop. You might use a browser extension (such as Pause) to limit access to shopping sites as an easy way to save money.
Seeking Support and Accountability
Setting financial goals is a great way to help you stay accountable. Start by creating specific savings or spending goals. For example, you might want to build your emergency savings fund to cover three to six months’ worth of income or save money for that dream beach vacation. Whatever your goals are, make them specific, set a deadline, and create a savings plan.
You may also want to share your goals with friends or family members who can support you and hold you accountable. You can even schedule regular check-ins to track your progress, make adjustments if needed, and recommit to your money goals. Having someone to share this process with can keep you motivated and on track. Plus, isn’t it more fun when you have someone cheering you on?
Dealing with Setbacks and Maintaining Progress
Even after you’ve created a budget, set goals, and built healthy spending habits, setbacks are bound to happen — and that’s okay. It’s not about being perfect 100% of the time. It’s about making progress and continuing to move toward your goals.
Here are a few tips to help you handle those bumps in the road when it comes to reducing online shopping:
• Review your budget and make adjustments. Set aside time to regularly review your budget, perhaps weekly and monthly. By tracking your spending, you can see where you stand. If something isn’t working, don’t be afraid to tweak it to fit your current needs.
• Set up automatic bank transfers. Setting up automatic transfers between bank accounts (say, from your checking to savings right after you’re paid) can simplify the saving process for you. This way, you can stay consistent without having to think about it, which can help you stay on track to achieve your goals. Also, having money whisked out of your checking account can be a good thing. You won’t be feeling as rich and therefore tempted to start shopping.
• Build an emergency fund. Unexpected expenses pop up all the time. Not having an emergency fund can leave you vulnerable to going into debt when surprise costs arise — like pricey car repairs or plane tickets for holiday travel. This cushion will help ease the stress when life throws you a curveball.
• Use budgeting tools. Plenty of apps and tools are available to help you track spending and savings. One of these can keep you on top of your spending habits and help you avoid going over budget. You might start by seeing what your financial institution offers and then research third-party apps, if needed.
The Takeaway
If your spending habits have become a problem and you’re wondering how to stop online shopping, there are plenty of ways to tackle it. Start by creating a budget, blocking access to your favorite shopping sites, and focusing on positive spending habits. You may find that you need new hobbies to fill the time you used to spend shopping online, or that you can delete your banking details saved on websites and in apps, thereby discouraging impulse buys.
The right banking partner can also help make it easier to monitor your money and stay on track.
Interested in opening an online bank account? When you sign up for a SoFi Checking and Savings account with direct deposit, you’ll get a competitive annual percentage yield (APY), pay zero account fees, and enjoy an array of rewards, such as access to the Allpoint Network of 55,000+ fee-free ATMs globally. Qualifying accounts can even access their paycheck up to two days early.
FAQ
What are some effective strategies to curb impulse online purchases?
Some of the best ways to curb your online impulse buying are to create a budget, stick to shopping lists, limit time spent online, and delete financial information saved online or in apps (that could lead to impulse buying). You can also try delaying gratification, where you wait at least a period of time before making a purchase. This gives you time to think it over, and often you’ll realize you don’t really need the item.
How can I block or limit access to online shopping sites?
One way to limit your online shopping is by using a browser extension like Pause, which blocks distracting sites (it comes preloaded with some; you can add more) for a brief, programmable period of time. This gives you time to think before diving in. You can also block specific sites directly through your browser’s privacy and security settings. Deleting saved financial details (such as credit card numbers) from sites and in apps can also slow down the online shopping process and give you time to reconsider a purchase.
Are there apps that can help control online shopping habits?
Yes, there are apps like Stop Impulse Buying and the Daily Bean (a diary-style log) that can help you reduce those online shopping urges by tracking your spending habits. You can also try budgeting apps and tools provided by your financial institution to keep a closer eye on where your money is going.
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