A financial expert has revealed her top tip for avoiding impulse buys and saving money in the long run.
The crucial advice was shared in a new video on TikTok by Paige Pritchard, founder of the online community Exceeding overspendingwhere she helps others reach their ‘full financial potential’.
Pritchard, who lives in Texas, opens up about how she once spent a $60,000-a-year salary while living with her parents after college.
But since then, she’s managed to keep her spending in check, paying off $98,000 in student loans and building a six-figure investment portfolio by the time she was 29.
Since then, she has been sharing financial wisdom with her followers on social media and coaching them on how to spend less, and this time was no different.
Financial expert Paige Pritchard has reined in her own spending, paid off $98,000 in student loans and built a six-figure investment portfolio by the time she was 29
Pritchard began the clip by explaining a concept typically used with toddlers who want something and throw a tantrum when told no.
She said parents typically take a picture of their toddler with the item they’re asking for and then promise to come back to it at another time.
It turns out, however, that this method isn’t just for kids. Pritchard recommends adults try it for themselves, too.
“I know you’re an adult, I know you’re a grown woman, but the truth is, and I talk to myself too, we’re not that different from our toddlers,” Pritchard explained.
“We still don’t want to be told ‘no,’ we still panic when we want something but we tell ourselves we can’t have it,” she continued.
So she instructed viewers to take pictures of the things they want to buy, just like parents do for their toddlers, and add them to their own personal list.
Pritchard does this herself: she puts all the screenshots and photos she takes of the items she wants to buy in a special album on her phone.
“I think half the things on my list I never end up buying,” the expert admitted.
She recently instructed followers to take photos of the things they want to buy, just like parents do for their toddlers, and add them to their own personal list
Pritchard does this herself, by adding all the screenshots or photos she has taken of things she would like to buy to a special album on her phone
And there’s a reason why this method is “so effective.”
“When you say to yourself, ‘no,’ when you see something you want to buy… you have to rely on a lot of willpower because your brain interprets that as limitation and deprivation, and that’s clearly something your brain hates,” Pritchard said.
She explained that when you simply take a picture of the object, you’re essentially telling your brain “maybe” instead of “no,” and that’s something your brain can live with.
Of course, the list can also help you save money, as you may find that you don’t need everything you put on the list.
Pritchard received a lot of praise for the method in the comments on her video, with some people even admitting to trying it out themselves.
“I literally do this and never know what I want so I go straight to looking at the pictures,” one person wrote.
Another agreed: ‘I do this for myself and my friends when we go shopping. I said let’s take a picture with it, and then if I ever need gift ideas I have a whole photo album.’
“It has to sit in my cart for at least a week before I’m allowed to buy it. I end up deleting most things,” someone else typed.
So the next time you feel the urge to buy something during your trip to Target or Sephora, just snap a photo. Your wallet will thank you later.