I remember, a few weeks ago, I saw a really fabulous fur coat with this leopard print I knew was my style. Yes, I love those fauna prints and the vibe of a good ol' garment that represents elegance and wealth. I knew I did not need it and that I did not even have any intense desire to buy it, for I live in a tropical country and I don't even have functions to attend where that may be an appropriate outfit. Buying it would merely mean hoarding, but staring at it with fascination, I realized that if I were 15 with the same load of cash I have now, I would have non-hesitantly purchased the coat and with just a mere glance on its size--yes no price check.

Now, I am not really here to just discuss how I mastered the rejection of such temptation to buy unnecessary materials but to rather educate you on how we tend to have those impulsive shopping decisions so that you could come up with your own technique.

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The Tricks Exposed

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Obviously, it is not just our brains that have the sole responsibility to our tendency to impulse-shop. There is a whole world of advertising and marketing strategies out there to which our brains respond to. I mean we can't deny how those 50% off and Buy 1 Take 1's have swept us into those stores a few or even several times. Top it off with the "Avail Promo Before It Ends Soon!" in bright red font plastered on the entire glass of the stores, and you're really up for a hell of a regret to deal with afterwards.

Now, those marketing strategies have always succeeded in getting us into taking out our cash and cards because as humans, we are naturally built to feeling different things that manifest even in our general and daily interactions that somehow play big roles in our shopping habits.

You see, ironically, our desire to save things may it be memories down to cash could drive us really crazy. When we want to save money and see those promos all over the stores we pass by, we are more inclined to think "Oh, that's a good deal!" rather than "Oh I don't really need that, do I?" This is because we tend to focus our mindsets on the concept of saving through bargains rather than actually just saving--doing nothing at all. We are people--we like moving along, thus we go with the temptation of a so-called bargain that is actually just the real and only reasonable way companies should sell their products to you. Now, that's a capitalist thing, so let's just go back to our agenda.

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Then Check Your Issues

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We all know a person who is really impulsive when it comes to shopping. It could be immaturity for some but it could also be that the person is simply unhappy that shopping serves as therapy or as they call it, retail therapy.

It does sound irresponsible, but try looking past it and assess the whole side of impulsive shopping in that therapy sense. See, we humans have a thing for collection. Most of us are hoarders that the minimalist movement still seems to be a minority in this society. We like acquiring more and more materials, for such collection gives off a feeling that we are happy or we are supposed to be happy because we have a bunch of possessions. It's a classic and problematic mindset, really.

However, if that collection issue were really the case, how come people just don't collect cash instead of what it could buy? Made you think? That should start your process in finding your technique to overcome this tempting shopping issue.

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Now, Let's Get Inside the Brain

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Just like in that gif, your brain definitely goes crazy when you are tempted by an attractive thing on the store shelf or online shop selection. The following are parts of the brain that are involved in this madness:

Nucleus Accumbens

This part of the brain activates for primary reward drives such as sex and food (damn, two best things in the world indeed, eh?). It is also the same part of the brain that activates how thrilled you will be to own that product you have been wanting to buy.

Insula

It is the part of the brain that is activated when we are in a verge of being attacked or when we smell unpleasant odor. In your shopping cases, this is the part of the brain that reacts to the price of the product--the higher the price, the stronger its activation.

Mesial Prefrontal Cortex

It is the part of the brain that activates or reacts to the price of a perceived good deal.

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Conclusion

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It is a common misconception that when one studies the inner workings of the brain like that in various situations, those parts of the brain and their activity are to be blamed. It's funny, because it is us who make these activities on our own.

It is our choices that influence these activities. These activities are not the cause of our choices but rather the skeleton of them. Now, what you have to do is to make sure to keep in mind that those factors those brain parts activate for are to be watched. Therefore, you must always focus on the following:

• Look at the rationality of buying the product rather than the temporary excitement it could give you.
• Always calculate the practicality of the price of the product you want to purchase with the amount of money you have with you.
• Have a wise classification of what a good deal really is, and again, with relation to your financial status.

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references:

• Psychology Today
• My Psychology Class Notes

img sources:

• Card tricks
• Shopping is my cardio
• Cash
• Brain
• Throwing cash