Impulse Spending & ADHD | The Dopamine Loop Trap | 108

How do I stop impulse spending?

In this episode, Jewlz The Budget Nerd shares insights on managing impulse buys, especially for those with ADHD, emphasizing understanding dopamine triggers, creating safeguards, and planning ahead to stay aligned with financial goals.

What You'll Learn:

Spot dopamine and impulse spending patterns

Strategies to interrupt impulsive buying

Creating safeguards and guardrails

Using a 24-hour rule for purchases

Buffer funds for indulgences

If impulse spending is your biggest struggle, we build real-life guardrails inside my membership so you’re not relying on willpower at 9pm. Learn more at https://www.jewlzthebudgetnerd.com/membership.

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Full Show Notes: https://www.jewlzthebudgetnerd.com/blog/how-to-stop-impulse-spending

Podcast Disclaimer:

This podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only. As a financial coach, I share insights, strategies, and tools to help you make more confident decisions with your money—but personal finance is personal. Your situation, priorities, and goals are unique, and what works for one person may not be the right fit for you.

This content should not be considered financial, legal, or investment advice. I encourage you to seek guidance from a trusted financial professional who can understand your full financial picture and provide personalized recommendations.

Additionally, while we may discuss topics related to stress, habits, and behavior, I am not a licensed medical or mental health professional. Any insights shared are based on personal experience and research and are not intended to diagnose, treat, or replace professional medical or psychological advice. Please consult a qualified healthcare provider for support in those areas.

By listening to this podcast, you acknowledge that you are responsible for your own financial and personal decisions.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hello and welcome back to this miniseries about ADHD and money
management and some of the top questions I get asked.
So if you're a brand new here, the show's taken a little bit of
a pivot to hone in on something that I, as I started sharing
more about my story, I realized how many more people struggle

(00:20):
with some, you know, ADHD thingswhen it comes to just being
busy, overwhelmed, and the moneymanagement part is like oil and
water and when you have ADHD. And so my own personal story,
we've eliminated $107,000 in debt.
I got a degree in economics and that was before I had all that
debt and then paid it off. And then I was diagnosed with

(00:42):
ADHD this last year. And so my story is kind of all
over the place when it comes to the way that I learned things
and then the way I was able to implement them, and then just
all the shame that I felt. And so I wanted to share some of
the things that I learned and also answer some of the most
commonly asked questions that I get because they are very

(01:03):
common. And so you might have been
listening to the show for a while, which by the way, Leah,
thank you so much for joining mefor today's episode.
But thank you so much, Leah, forlistening.
I am so glad to have you in my world.
So today's question, how do I stop impulse spending?
So we think about impulse spending maybe is a bad thing

(01:23):
and it is not necessarily, it's not about us.
It's not a spending problem. And I had this question and this
thing come up recently and I'm going to do an episode here
shortly on this because I postedsomething online and people were
so kind about it and they obviously weren't listeners to
the show or people that didn't have kind things to say about

(01:43):
the thing that I had posted. And they're like, well,
obviously you have a spending problem.
And I didn't get the opportunityto because it just got out of
control as social media can sometimes.
But the point I'm trying to makeis some people will think that
this is a spending issue. But if you, especially if you
have been diagnosed or think youmight have ADHD, all of us have

(02:05):
this level of dopamine in our world or in our brains that we
need to satisfy and that we want.
And so our brains, when it comesto spending money, it is, it's a
dopamine hit. It's a rush, right?
And so our brains are doing exactly what they were designed
to do. And so when we talk about
impulse spending, we can have this negative connotation and it

(02:27):
can feel this is where the shamespiral can go real hard, real
fast. And so I want to talk about this
today because it isn't about willpower, it's about
interruption. And so how do we, when we see
these patterns happen, how do weinterrupt that in a positive
way? But then also, what do we do?
How do we plan ahead for these impulse spending moments so that

(02:52):
we are not completely derailing our finances and getting off
track from the goals that we have set for ourselves and our
families. So First off, the dopamine hit
happens when we're maybe we're shopping online or we're in the
store and we're like, my gosh, yes, maybe this is going to
solve all of our problems. Maybe it's a planner that we've
seen like 1000 times and we're like, this planner is going to

(03:12):
be the thing that helps me manage my time and all of these
things, right? And then so we buy it and then
we regret it, right? Because Oh my gosh, we've done
this before and the results haven't been great.
Or I've bought this before and Iset it aside and now I have a
closet full of these things thatI'm not using.

(03:34):
So every time you open it up, you see it.
So there's this, there's this amazing feeling we get.
Then it's like scratching an edge.
And then all of a sudden it's like this is, this is not great
and we regret it. And so that cycle can continue
if we don't put some safeguards in place.
Another, another thing that we, that I hear sometimes when

(03:58):
people talk about this is, you know, and you might have heard
this, especially if you've listened to other financial
podcasts or you've watched other, other financial people
talk about impulse spending. But why just just stop spending,
right? You might hear that you're like,
OK, that's so great. If it was that easy, I would be

(04:19):
doing that, right? And so when I say this, know
that I am with you in this because when our brains are
seeking out the maybe the simplest solution to a problem
or the shortest direction or theshortest distance between point
A and point B, or maybe we're having those moments where we're
like, you know what? Today's just a really kind of

(04:41):
day and maybe you're online or maybe you see a commercial on TV
and you're like this thing that sounds amazing, that sounds
amazing, right? And so you buy it.
So what are what can you do in those moments?
Because just stop spending, quote UN quote is terrible
advice, right, Especially for people like us.

(05:02):
So one thing that has been helpful for us, and I know I
know several other families thatdo this as well, is having a is
creating a rule for yourself, maybe some resistance between
that urge and then the action. And so how do you create that
pause? So a few things that are really
great. I have, you know, removing the

(05:23):
auto fill or saving your card number when you're online, if
that's a place that's a challenge for you.
But the other thing is, is creating a 24 hour rule when it
comes to adding things to your shopping cart online.
So if you see something you're like, I want that, put it in
your cart and then you have to give yourself 24 hours before
you check out. That gives you time to analyze

(05:45):
your purchase and think, is thisgoing to bring me closer to my
goal? Or you might want forget about
it, right? That could happen.
And then the other thing that could happen is you decide this
isn't going to bring value to myfamily like I thought it was 24
hours ago. And that's going to help realign
you with your goals. Because if impulse spending is

(06:06):
one of your biggest struggles when it comes to money
management, we want to build those real life guardrails.
And so that's the kind of stuff that we do inside the
membership. So you're not relying on your
willpower at 9:00 PM when you'reat the end of your day and
you're just tired and you're on Instagram and you're like,
that's going to solve all of theproblems I had today, right?

(06:27):
And so it gives you some of those those guardrails so that
you are not having to sacrifice your family's goals and dreams
because you saw an ad online, right?
So this is just one, one example.
Some other things that I have found helpful is creating a
little bit of a buffer and we call it in our in our household,
we call our fun money. And so I have mine and my

(06:49):
husband has his. Those are separate line items in
our budget and that's money thatwe can use to, we can use for
those impulse purchases. So it's a preset amount every
single month. And so it's going to allow us to
indulge that if we want to. We don't fight about that money.
We decide together on all the other things, but we don't fight

(07:10):
about, you know, if he spends his money on something that I
wouldn't have spent my money on,I get to keep my mouth shut.
And so it cuts down on our moneyfights, but also it allows us to
indulge that impulse a little bit, but it doesn't allow us to
go back into debt and completelyderail our goals that we have
set for ourselves. And we're not creating that that
shame spiral. So it kind of it checks all the

(07:32):
boxes. So that's another thing that if
that's if that's an area for youthat you're like, Hey, this is,
this is a struggle for me because we don't know when those
impulses are going to kick in. We know that they will.
And so maybe you do have a set amount that you're like, this is
how much I'm going to spend on this right now.
And so it allows you to to indulge that, but not in a way

(07:54):
that's going to completely, completely derail your finances.
Make sure you check out the shownotes for the information on the
membership and how we create some checks and balances with
this within the within that membership.
If impulse spending is an issue for you and if this episode or
this podcast at all has brought you any kind of helpful advice
or things that you've implemented.

(08:15):
And I would love it if you wouldjump on my website,
debtrebelpodcast.com. And there is a link there so you
can vote for the show as it's been nominated for a women
podcaster award again this year.And we won last year and it
would be amazing to have a repeat.
So thank you so much for listening and we'll see you in
the next episode. Thank you for tuning into the

(08:36):
Debt Rebel show today. Ready to take your family
budgeting to the next level? Stop that paycheck to paycheck
grind and start living debt free?
Head over to my website, debtrebelpodcast.com.
That's DEBTREDEL podcast.com to grab resources, tools and tips

(08:58):
to make it happen. And don't forget, subscribe,
leave a review. And if you know another family
that will love hearing today's episode, it would be such a gift
for both of us, your friend and me.
If you share this episode and remember your debt free life
starts with one brave step and I'm cheering you on every step
of the way. We'll talk soon.

(09:19):
Debt Rebel.