by Michelle Wilkinson

Created on: December 02, 2009   Last Updated: December 06, 2009

It can be difficult to avoid making impulse purchases when doing your Christmas shopping because you have an excuse to splash out, since you are buying gifts for your nearest and dearest, not yourself. You want to give your friends and relatives presents you think they'd appreciate and thus you can end up spending more money than you'd intended to as you keep stumbling upon the 'perfect' gift for them. It is therefore not a particularly good idea to go shopping without a list of gifts you need to purchase, as you are even more likely to go overboard without one.

When you buy on impulse you don't think through the consequences of your actions - you don't consider how much money you have wasted or whether the gift is really worth the money or even appropriate - you simply become fixated on buying that item.

It may be better to give than to receive, but you ought to keep in mind that just because you spend a fortune on gifts won't mean the people who give you presents will do the same. If a friend or relative hasn't spent as much money on your gift as you have on theirs they may feel bad about it, even though it is because you have got carried away with your spending. It therefore helps to bear in mind that a very expensive gift might not actually be appreciated.

You shouldn't let yourself get sidetracked by all the special offers on show, either, as stores tend to start their sales before Christmas, trying to attract customers. You might think you are getting a good deal, but is the item something that someone else wants or will it end up in the back of your drawer because you couldn't think of anyone who would actually want such an item? Special offers are designed to encourage you to part with your cash, and thus you have to wise up to the tricks employed by stores to get you spending if you are to avoid making impulse purchases.

It may be worth deciding beforehand how much money you are intending to spend on each person, leaving the credit cards at home and only taking as much cash as you need so that even if you're tempted to buy something on impulse you will be unable to without leaving yourself unable to buy an item that is actually on your list. It may also be a good idea to take along a friend or relative who is likely to stop you from taking rash decisions and buying unnecessary items.

Impulse buying is all too easy to do, especially around Christmas time, which is why it helps to carry a list with you when shopping and avoid the many temptations on offer where possible.

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