The atmosphere feels so cool and colorful decorations are already being put up by different establishments. If you start seeing the lights on every corner of the street, it’s already Christmas. With certainty, we should also expect to see many billboards, posters, and social media pages with all the attention-getting shopping promotions and deals. If you are one of those people who easily gets tempted with all of these kinds of marketing strategies, you are not alone.
These commercials and promotions are just intended to manipulate your mind in order to encourage you to accept and ultimately buy what they are selling. This is called “neuromarketing” in the industry. Neuroscience discipline is used to manipulate customer behavior and decision-making. This makes buyers like you want to do impulse buying. If you do not like to press add to cart many times but you cannot let go of the impulse to control yourself, sit down and take a look at the science behind this kind of buying patterns.
There is a part called the amygdala within our brains responsible for our thoughts, emotional actions, and even our motivations. Stimulating the amygdala allows an individual to experience particular stressful emotions that each person must let go of naturally. If not, you will continue to experience the tension.
Each person deals with stress differently depending on what they find therapeutic. This could be having time alone, watching all your favorite shows, going for a run or swim, binge-eating, or perhaps going for a shopping spree.
It is really problematic if your way of taking away your stress is through shopping. This is certainly an expensive habit. The brain will get used to the rush of relief from adding shopping bags from the supermarket to the cart. When you feel depressed or worn-out, you can keep going back to that feeling. What you’ve formed now is a pattern called purchasing impulses.
Overcoming this negative habit is possible. This article will help you learn tips on how to stop impulse buying.
Since you already know how businesses influence our brains to buy their products, this means that we can also tell our brains not to buy. From a Psychology Today interview with Dr. Julian Ford, there is a method called S. O. S. for those who are regularly experiencing impulse buying. S. O. S. stands for Step back, Orient yourself, and Self-check. Here is a discussion of this in detail.
Contents
Step back
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Take a moment to step back and clear your mind when you feel overwhelmed due to all the issues you see, hear, and experience. A good habit you can develop if you feel bogged down is what we’re trying to implement here. You should take a break to relax, slowly and thoroughly breathe in and out, and then stretch to unknot stressed places in your body instead of hanging around the checkout. This exercise encourages you to quiet down your amygdala.
Orient yourself
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You can reconnect and re-orient yourself to what is important by asking your heart what are your real motivations, inspirations, and aspirations. Think about what you truly respect and believe and for a moment, then imagine it. Do you appreciate simplicity because you do not live in debt? Do you believe in saving money for what truly matters? You disengage yourself from reacting through impulse when you’re focused. Now you are taking care of your mind and your life consciously.
Self-check
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Dr. Ford adds that you have a quick assessment of yourself by asking yourself these questions.
Firstly, on a scale from 10 being the worst ever to 1 being absolutely calm and happy, how depressed are you? Next, how concentrated are you, being entirely focused on your deepest beliefs on a scale of 1 to 10 and being fully swept up in mindless reactions and impulses?”
Responding frankly to these two questions helps you become conscious of the things that stress you and how they affect you. Doing so helps you to pay attention to yourself, to how you react and feel, so those reckless and impulsive choices are not made. This also tells you that you still have control and you are not controlled by stress.
Dr. Ford also advises that SOS should be practiced as a way to exercise mindfulness and self-control on a daily basis because when you have already purchased a lot of things you don’t really need, it won’t do much.
The most appropriate time to perform S. O. S. is when you are not feeling stressed. Dedicate a couple of minutes to take a break by clearing your mind and focusing your attention on one thing, and lastly, determining how stressed you are and the level of your focus.
Once you make this a habit, you will start becoming more conscious of what you do and you will eventually feel satisfaction in controlling your life. Always remember that money can never compensate for peace of mind. Also, during these difficult times, whether you are rich or poor, you must be a responsible buyer and spender.
In emergency cases
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In case that there are things that you really have to spend on urgently, online services could help you by giving you a microloan. This online money lender for Filipinos aims to grow and diversify its business to help Filipinos in need of financial help. You can fund various financial emergencies almost instantly whether it be groceries, birthday celebrations, car repair, home renovation, repaying personal debt, or other personal needs.
For more, visit https://robocash.ph/articles/emergency-loans
In order for you to be qualified as a borrower, you must be a Filipino citizen, 21 to 70 years of age, a gainfully employed individual, or belong to selected professionals. Just present a valid government ID and a mobile phone number that is not blocked. Clients do not need to leave their homes to apply for a loan since all transactions are fully automated. For those who do not have the internet, you can visit your nearest offline office and bring a valid ID with you.
Loans can be transferred fast and easily in just a few steps. From creating an account online to choosing the amount to be borrowed and the preferred mode of money transfer, some services make it trouble-free for its customers. You can borrow from Php 1,000 to Php 25,000. As long as you are a Filipino citizen with a valid government ID, you will easily get a loan. Just keep in mind that loans must be returned on time, and this method can be used only in extreme cases.
