How to Stop Overspending: 6 Tips to Regain Control of Your Money
Posted: August 26, 2025
Updated: August 26, 2025
Overspending is a common habit that many of us have without realizing it. Often it comes down to simple purchases in the moment that aren’t within your shopping budget. A cup of coffee here, some discounted clothes there. These add up over time and before you know it, you’ve got four figures of debt on your credit card!
In a time when influencers and FOMO culture are all too common, it’s hard to resist impulse buying or other overspending habits. In fact, 68% of shoppers admit to making impulse purchases in-store, while 80% say they do so online, often influenced by what they see on platforms like Instagram or TikTok.
Whether it’s limited stock for a new pair of shoes or an exclusive in-store discount, there are many ways to overspend while shopping. To help break this cycle, we’ve put together practical steps to help you avoid impulse buying and emotional spending. It’s time to take back control of your money.
What is Considered Overspending?
First, let’s define the problem. Overspending is when you consistently spend more than you can afford or planned, and make exceptions against your personal financial goals. This could mean ignoring what you’ve outlined in your budget, personal income and available credit. If you're spending more than your income, you're likely overspending.
So how do we avoid overspending? By taking actions like monitoring your finances, identifying triggers and holding yourself accountable.
Common Signs of Overspending:
- Carrying over a monthly credit card balance you can't pay off
- Using your savings funds to pay for regular expenses
- Justifying purchases outside your budget "just this once"
Why Do People Overspend?
There are plenty of explanations for why overspending can happen. Things like unknown subscriptions, retail therapy, impulse buying and even peer pressure are just a few reasons that cause impulse buying and loose budget constraints.
Let’s dive into some of the most common causes of overspending.
Hidden Cost of Subscription Services
Have you ever signed up for a free trial and found out that you were being charged for a full subscription a couple of months later? This is called subscription creep. With subscription services being so common these days, it’s easy to stumble on this common pitfall.
What To Do: Always check that you are not paying for subscriptions you don’t need. If you do sign up for a free trial, make a note in your calendar or set an alarm to cancel it before the trial ends.
How One-Click Shopping Makes Overspending Easy
Both online and in-person stores are designed to convince you to buy. When you’re in a physical store, you at least have some time to think about your purchase and possibly put it back on the shelf. When you’re shopping online, a purchase can be instantly made with a single click or tap.
With one-click shopping, resistance in the buying process is taken away. You no longer need to enter your card number because it’s already saved along with your billing and shipping information.
What To Do: Be mindful when shopping online, because with a click of a button you could be pushing your budget to the limit.
How Targeted Ads Encourage Impulse Buying
If you’ve ever clicked on an ad or shown interest in a brand by going through their website, chances are you’ve probably received follow-up advertisements from the same company.
Many companies analyze and track users that click through their website, leave items in their carts, click on their ads and much more. This helps them show you similar ads later to encourage future buys.
What To Do: While these ads aren’t harmful in any way, they often encourage impulse buying. Remember, seeing these targeted ads doesn’t mean you should make a purchase. Think it through before buying!
How Social Media Influences Overspending
Social media is all around us. While it’s a great way to communicate with friends, share life events or watch funny videos, it’s also a great place to promote products to users!
Chances are you’ve seen influencers promoting products or services within their videos or on their page. While some of these may seem genuine, they are often sponsored.
What To Do: Social platforms are a unique hub for ads and product placement. It can be very easy to get sucked into buying something you don’t need, especially when it’s promoted with a discounted price tag from an influencer that you like. Like anything else, think before you buy. Don’t let your admiration for an influencer influence your buying decisions.
Recognizing Your Spending Triggers
Emotional Spending
When emotions run high, rational thinking can go out the window. Whether you’re celebrating a win, feeling bored or stressed about a project, it could lead to emotional spending. This type of spending can be a negative consequence of these events.
Don’t let your emotions get the better of you. Always avoid overindulging when you celebrate or splurging to make yourself happier in times of stress.
Environmental Triggers
Some stores have a habit of bringing out your wallet. Maybe it’s something about the décor, the smell or the friendly employees. Either way, you always end up spending more than you intended to when you’re there.
This is an environmental spending trigger. For some reason, something about a place or even the moment in time can trigger these spending frenzies.
Tip: So how do you prevent spending too much at those stores? Avoid it as best as you can, create a short shopping list, try shifting your focus elsewhere or have a small budget for that specific store.
Social Pressure and the Fear of Missing Out
We’ve already mentioned the idea of FOMO. No one wants to feel left out or left behind. When we see trends or new luxury items that friends have, it’s natural to want the same things and feel involved.
Tip: While it may be difficult at times, avoid comparing yourself to others and what they have. Don’t let social pressure and the fear of missing out influence your spending habits.
Check out our article on budgeting and the unique trend, Loud Budgeting. It goes over how to stand up for your personal financial situation in social scenarios!
Money Savings (Sales and Discounts)
Can a sale or discount lose you money? Maybe not on the initial purchase but chasing sale after sale may not be the best move for your wallet. Just because something is cheaper than it was yesterday doesn’t mean you have to buy it.
Tip: While discounted prices help you save, it may be smarter to avoid buying entirely. Save your money for something that you actually need rather than something you want.
Habitual
Buying habits aren’t necessarily a trigger but having a habit or pattern that you haven’t given a lot of intentional thought to, could be harmful. You may have a habit of eating out every Friday or getting a new smartphone every year.
Tip: Most of the time these purchases are unnecessary. Take a look at your common spending habits and think about the “why” behind them.
6 Quick Actionable Tips to Reduce Overspending
- Use the 24-Hour Rule: Before you make any non-essential purchases wait 24 hours. This gives you time to think it over and decide if you actually need it.
- Try a No-Spend Challenge: Designate certain weeks or even a month where you’re only spending money on essentials and avoiding swiping your card on unnecessary expenses. This can help you save money and create better spending habits. There are even some people that are trying a “No-Buying Year.” Check out their stories and how they have found success!
- Unsubscribe From Promotional Email Lists: Eliminate the temptation of acting on sales and limited time offers from emails. Most emails are geared toward exclusive offers or encouraging you to “buy now.” Comb through your emails and unsubscribe from ones that are unnecessary and pushy.
- Identify and Avoid Spending Triggers: As we mentioned, spending triggers can cause a lot of trouble with your expenses. So, bring your spending habits to the forefront. Identifying your triggers will enable you to be more mindful of how to avoid them.
- Share Accountability With a Partner: Use someone you trust to hold you accountable to your spending. Whether it’s a friend, partner or online community, checking in regularly with them can help you stay on track.
- Monitor Spending With Digital Tools: Take advantage of the tools available to you! You could try out a budgeting app to help you create better spending habits or try using Landmark’s Track Spending in Digital Banking to see where your money is going instead of wondering where it went!
Take Charge of Your Financial Future
Don’t let overspending define your financial story. By recognizing personal spending triggers, setting goals for yourself and shifting your mindset to make smart buying decisions, you can take back control of your spending habits. Even a few minor changes can provide some peace of mind.
If you’re looking for a starting point to reach your long-term financial goals, try out one of our online calculators. Or you could take one of the free online courses in our learning center. You can even tailor the lesson to meet your personal financial needs.