A woman who describes herself as a "shopping addict" has devised the perfect way to stop herself from making impulse purchases she doesn't really need - saving her money in the process.
Alexandra Hourigan shared the money-saving tip on her podcast, 2 Broke Chicks, where she explained that whenever she finds herself picking up something in a shop or looking at something online, she has a conversation with herself about how much it costs.
The woman said she thinks about the possibility of someone offering her the amount of money she's thinking of spending, and if she would rather take the cash than buy the item, then she knows she doesn't really need it.
Alexandra, who is from Australia, said in the podcast clip: "If you see, for example, an iPhone case that you really want and this iPhone case is $25, and I turn to you and I say, ‘Ok, you can either have the phone case or I’ll give you $25 cash'.
Get the news you want straight to your inbox. Sign up for a Mirror newsletter here.
"If you’re like, ‘Actually I do really need a new phone case my one is looking tired', then you know to buy that - you know you really need that.
"Whereas if you’re like, ‘You know what? $25 - that’s maybe two happy hour cocktails this weekend, I’m going to go with that’, then you know which way you need to go."
The podcast clip was also shared on the @twobrokechicks_ TikTok account, where Alexandra also pointed out that the cocktails were merely an example because they are her "passion".
She wrote in the comments: "The cocktails are an example. I would spend the $25 on cocktails because they are my passion, you can spend $25 on your passion!"
Commenters on the video were split, with some saying the tip was super helpful - and others poking holes in the logic.
One person wrote: "Genuis ... I'm not much of an impulse buyer but this is great!"
While another said: "I’m definitely going to use this thinking now! Thank you!"
But someone else disagreed, posting: "No because my mind is just like, take the $25 and use it to buy the phone case."
Other commenters shared their own tips to stop themselves from making impulse purchases, with one person saying they equate the cost of an item to how long they'd have to work to make up for the money they spent.
They said: "I always compare it to my hourly rate at work. If someone said 'you have to work for 4 hours and we’ll give you this item', if it’s worth it then I’ll get it."
As another stated: "If I see something in a shop I want I give it a week, and if I'm still thinking about it after I week I get it. If I’ve forgotten about it, leave it."
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at yourmirror@trinitymirror.com .
