Part 1: Why You Shop: Impulse
Modern stores are designed to implore you to look, touch, focus, to take your eye from the thing you need to other things you may very well want. Shopping is a conflict between desire and willpower. When our desire for things overwhelms our willpower, then we make an impulse purchase. It all tends to happen in the blink of an eye.

How to Resist: You are most likely to buy on impulse when their self-regulatory impulses are depleted. You may be tired from a long day at work. You may even just be tired from the previous hour of shopping. Or you may be worried about your kids or work. All of those kinds of stresses make you more prone to buy impulsively. Monitor yourself. Don't surf to your favorite website after you've had a glass of wine, a fight with your spouse or a particularly hard day. And don't visit stores when you know you're not at your best.

Read more about the other reasons people spend:
Entertainment | Mood Repair | Habit | Compulsive Behavior

Go on to Step 8, Part 2: How to Protect Yourself and Start Saving Now