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5 steps to stop compulsive spending

Wait 20 minutes before buying
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Wait 20 minutes before buying

When you're shopping and you see something you really want, your body actually takes over your mind and you're not thinking clearly, Yarrow says.

To counter the urge to spend, ask the store clerk to hold your item for 20 minutes. "Wait 20 minutes for your brain to go back to normal," says Yarrow.

After 20 minutes, people usually realize that they don't really want the item and manage to fight off the compulsive spending urge.

Yarrow obeyed this 20-minute rule when she was out shopping recently. She saw an item she wanted to buy, but it was heavy and she didn't want to lug it around the store as she continued to shop. She asked the clerk to hold it for 20 minutes because she wasn't sure if she really needed to buy it.

"If people would wait 20 minutes, they wouldn't believe how much money they would save," says Yarrow.


 

 

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