Have fun at the mall without spending a bundle
By Dana Dratch • Bankrate.com

A mall offers something for just about everyone. But if you're the least bit weak of will or wallet, it can be a financial minefield.

Still, with a little planning you can enjoy the mall experience without wearing out your credit cards or draining your wallet.

First, "be conscious of the reasons you're going to the mall," says Paco Underhill, retail sociologist and author of "Call of the Mall."

"Historically, two-thirds of what we buy in a shopping mall, we have no intention of buying when we walk in the door," he says.

Today, shopping might be more about feeling good than finding a bargain, says Jim Pooler, author of "Why We Shop: Emotional Rewards and Retail Strategies". "One reason people shop is to reward themselves," he says. "[They] go out after work and reward themselves because they did good at the job. Or buy something to make themselves feel good."

There's nothing wrong with it. But if you want to control spending, it helps to know why you're at the mall in the first place.

You have to think!
If you're going, have a plan. And if you're going to buy, have a list. Decide ahead of time why you're there and which stores you want to visit.

"It helps to have a purpose," says Mark Oleson, director of the Financial Counseling Clinic at Iowa State University. "Usually people get into trouble if they don't have a plan."

That doesn't mean the plan can't include window shopping, walking for exercise, people watching or just taking a break from the grind for an hour or two.

"It's perfectly permissible to be in a mall, to go shopping is a form of therapy," says Underhill, founder and managing director of Envirosell, an international market research and consulting firm. "We don't have to buy."

Take friends or relatives and shopping becomes a fun social outing. "You can think of it as a form of recreation," says Pooler. "It's very similar to the experience of food, where the meal becomes a social event and an entertainment event. Shopping is the same thing nowadays."

Want to enjoy the experience without the temptation of charging up the cards? Limit yourself to one small necessity or spend cash.

Some mall rats can spend hours looking and buy themselves a small reward, perhaps even something they needed or would have purchased anyway somewhere else.

If you don't want to be tempted to charge up your credit card, leave it at home, says Oleson. Or try the smart gambler's approach: Go to the ATM beforehand and take out only as much as you want to spend. When the cash is gone, you're done.

"There's something about cash that makes it a lot harder to spend than credit," says Oleson. "If I want those $100 shoes, it's pretty easy to pull out the credit card. But it's harder to pull out five 20s, and it might make me think twice."

Shopping for bargains
Certain times of the year were once synonymous with mall sales and bargains. But, for the most part, those days are gone. "Today, maybe after Christmas is the only legitimate one," Underhill says. But if you know where to look and shop carefully, "There are bargains all the time."