Watch Out For Your “TEMPO” to Avoid Impulse Shopping / Spending
Impulse shopping and spending is a major problem these days.
Thanks to the internet, advertisements are not only thrown at us on virtually every website, but they’re targeted specifically at us because it reads the types of products we’ve been searching and our interests.
That’s why it’s so common to see adverts for things that we actually want when we browse the internet.
It’s quite creepy but also very annoying!
Even if you don’t use the internet much, impulse purchases are always common because of how we’re manipulated by marketers.
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Whether it’s sales, discounts or hot new products pushed by influencers and promotions, it’s all too common to purchase something on a whim and then regret it a few days later.
So in this article, we’re going to be explaining the concept of the TEMPO abbreviation and how it can help you get out of potential money problems by reducing your impulse shopping desires.
What is TEMPO?
TEMPO is an abbreviation that stands for the following:
- Time of Day – When do you prefer doing your shopping? Ideally, you should be making weekly purchases when you have the most energy and mental fortitude. This will protect you from making impulse decisions or being lured by big promotional campaigns that manipulate us into spending more.
- Environment – What kind of environments make you feel obligated to spend? Whether it’s the mall, a games store or even a certain website, try to avoid these places as best as you can to prevent yourself from spending impulsively. Figure out the blander places you can buy things from so that you’re less likely to be lured into paying more for items you don’t really need. In other orders, just keep your wallet safe from the places you’re most likely to impulse spend!
- Mood – What kind of mood are you in when you impulse buy? Many people tend to make impulse purchases when they’re in a very joyous or happy mood, but others tend to buy things impulsively just to cheer themselves up after a long day. For example, you might be more inclined to buy some clothes or a video game when you’re feeling down since it’ll cheer you up. Try to avoid using shopping as a way to boost your mood because it can make you more likely to impulse spend.
- Place – Similar to environment, place refers to specific stores and websites that might tempt you to make a purchase. Environments might be online message boards that talk about the latest electronics goods, or even YouTube channels that do unboxings. These are environments that make you want to purchase things. In contrast, places are specific stores and websites that will make you spend a lot because it’s a brand you like or because there are always sales.
- Occasion – Occasions can also greatly affect our chances of making an impulse purchase. For instance, we might be more inclined to spend money on Valentine’s day on an expensive gift for our partner, or we might be more likely to buy things we don’t need on Black Friday. Try to control your urges during these occasions to prevent yourself from overspending.
How do I use TEMPO?
Now that you’re aware of what TEMPO is, how do you apply it practically?
TEMPO is essentially a list of triggers that could convince you to make an impulse purchase.
The goal here is to be more self-aware of when these triggers occur so you can avoid those situations.
Here are some examples of when you might experience these triggers and how to avoid them.
- Time of day can cause someone to spend more at the end of the day because they’re mentally fatigued. This means you could do your shopping in the morning or in the afternoon when you’re not worn out.
- Environments like malls and social media can cause you to make impulse purchases. Try to actively avoid walking through malls unless you need to make an essential purchase and avoid browsing social media.
- Mood can cause you to spend more to cheer yourself up, so look for other ways to boost your mood that don’t involve spending money.
- Place can be avoided by identifying where you are likely to impulse buy and then avoiding them unless you need to make an essential purchase.
- Occasions like Christmas or Black Friday can trigger us to spend more, so try and plan your purchases ahead of time and decide if they’re worth the money or not.
By understanding TEMPO triggers, you’ll have a much easier time saving money and stopping yourself from making impulse purchases.
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