How to stop impulse buying at the 'world?

[flyingenie]

My name is flyingenie, and I am an impulse vacation buyer!

On vacation, I am WAY more lenient with my money because I know if I don't buy it now, I won't be able to get it back at home.

Once I get to wdw, I'm afraid I'll be going crazy, wanting everything and wasting money that I should be spending on my education!

Any tips on stopping the urges?

 

[CadiesMom]

Our next trip is coming up quickly and I am not sure if this will help with the impulse buying or not, lots of laughs, but what I have done is purchase several things for my dd in advance. I hit some good sales at our local Disney store and am hoping that having some new Disney items already will help curb the "givemes"! Have a wonderful time on your trip!

 

[flyingenie]

thanks for the tip Have a great vacation to you too!

 

[hockey mom]

Go with it. I scrimped on souvineers our first few trips and now I buy all the things I want(well not all). I was sick of coming home and saying "I should have bought..." I love my Disney purchases.

 

[WaltD4Me]

I say "Go For It!".........sort of.

I know how you feel...I'm terrible on vacation too. I think if I don't get it I'll be sorry and it isn't like I can just buy one when I get home -- well most stuff anyway.

What I do is, I try to "walk around" a bit before buying. If I see something at World of Disney my first day there, I remember it, but don't buy it right away... KNOWING I will be back to that store and can buy it later if I still really want it.

As for maybe something at Animal Kingdom where I know I might not be going back to that trip, I try to walk around the area, maybe do a couple rides or see a show, give myself time to think about it, even if it's just for 10, 15 or 20 minutes. Sometimes after I've had time to think about it, even for a few minutes I change my mind...or see something else! LOL! If I REALLY think I'm going to regret not getting it, then I go for it. This doesn't always work, but it helps some. I'm BIG on vacation souvinears though and always wind up bringing back a ton of stuff, but "walking around" a bit has kept me from paying an "overweight" charge on my suitcases so far!

Lisa

 

[robinb]

My sister budgeted by having an envelope for each day of vacation with that day's spending money in it. Any money not spent that day would be added to the next day's spending money. I *think* she also included meals in the envelope and estimated how much each meal would cost ahead of time.

Good luck!

 

[Disneyland_emily]

One thing I do is think before I go what I want. Whether it be a new hat, christmas ornament, shirt etc and I add up all those "mandatory" souvinears. Then I always add a little (between 10-20 a day) for impulse buys. Its alot easier knowing that I will *get* things and so I'll mainly look for those things on my list but knowing I have a little something for whatever looks fun makes it alot easier.

-em

 

[ellyn2000]

We go to the outlets soon after arriving in Orlando. Then I encourage my family to wait until the last day or two of our trip to purchase anything they've seen along the way. We'll even make a note of an item and where it is. Then we have time to go get it if we just have to have it before we go home. However, we often find we don't really just have to have it so we end up buying less than if we bought on first sight. It's really helped teach my children to budget their vacation dollars.

 

[crcormier]

How about keeping a little notepad with you to keep track of how much you're budgeting to spend and what you've spent so far? It's a lot easier to keep from spending when you see the numbers on paper...

I don't have too much of a problem with this, I'm one of those hem and hawers that, even if I want something very much, will go back and forth for 20 minutes talking myself into and out of it... And usually out of it wins.

 

[DizMom11]

Did you know that anything that is for sale at wdw is available by mail. You just have to call WDW and give a description of the item you want( ex: pressed penny book), and they will send it to you for the same price that it is sold at the park for. That way you don't have to worry about impulse buying so much!

 

[frannn]

First, I make sure I have shopped some DS sales before hand, so I have specific Disney outfits planned for the character meals, etc.(and don't feel the need to buy a Mickey shirt for CM, CRT, etc). Then, I make sure I pack anything I can think of that we might need (tylenol, band aids, shampoo, etc) so I don't need to waste a lot of $ on non-Disney stuff (and to justify more souvinear shopping!). Since we try to go to WDW annually, I try to keep in mind what I know I'd like to buy (additions to our monoral set, new WDW dvds, cds, etc). Then I check ebay for new stuff (yes, ebay). Once we are at WDW, I try to go to DTD early in the trip. just to look around. I also look around the stores at the theme parks. If I see something I love, I ask if it is available at DTD. Then I leave the store and enjoy my day. I keep a mental list of all the "must haves" I see. If I forget something, I figure it wasn't a "must have". We then go to the outlets to see what they have. Sometimes I find stuff I like there, so I can skip most of the full priced stuff at WDW. I buy everything at once and have it shipped. Towards the end of the trip, we go back to DTD and buy everything we want there at one time, shipping it home, and taking advantage of the 10% of from the AP. Sounds like a lot of work, but I do it automatically, so it really isn't that hard.

 

[nowellsl]

We usually buy one large souvenier apiece.. we look for the first few days we're there, then go to World of Disney to buy (10% passholders discount). We usually buy something at Rainforest Cafe (15% passhholder discount). We've been so many times in the last few years that we're not that tempted but this trip coming up I know I want to buy a 2005 calendar to hang in my office!

 

[flyingenie]

thanks all for your suggestions! very helpful and I will keep them in mind for sure!

Cadiesmom, ellyn2000- I am definitely going to hit the outlets my first day!

Disneyland_emily- yup, I'm already looking at the types of things I want to get... but it's sort of detrimental too because now I know (and am obsessed with) probably more stuff than I would be if I just went there cold... maybe over the course of the month I'll tire of it all and talk myself out of it

hockey mom- yes- that is usually my mantra on vacations! I'm not fully sure if I like it though, in the long run, I've never really regretted not buying anything... but then again... maybe I had already bought everything that I wanted!

Waltd4me- at home, I'm so that type of shopper... one who stays in the store for 2 hours deliberating whether or not to buy it... usually talks myself out of it, sometimes talks myself into it and end up liking it (or returning it... haha). at wdw I'm worried that I won't have time to return or since I'm going at peak time, it will be gone, etc.

robinb- hmm that is a really good suggestion! I'll think about that... (and I guess if I run out of money on the first day's envelope I technically can borrow money from others until I get home that night and take some from my second envelope, etc.)

crcormier- good idea- I should try that out

Dizmom11- yep, have heard of that, but I don't really want to pay shipping and customs fees if I don't have to

frannn- what type of things do you search for on ebay? keywords, etc?

nowellsl- how nice it must be to have an AP!

 

[Princesa]

We did a lot of these suggestions ourselves! For us, I really like the envelope system. We allotted a certain amount each day--and then there's no "guilty" feeling for spending money. When the money was out, no more spending until tomorrow! Usually we had some left over, which was then added to the next day's envelope. By the last day, we had a very fun trip to the outlets too! hee hee hee!!!!

We also had planned what must-haves were "needed" before we left....Christmas ornament, Mickey earrings, etc. We didn't want to end up with too much that we hadn't planned on purchasing, so we did a lot of looking and then planning to come back and purchase later. We had great luck at the outlets too!

We're heading back down to spend Christmas this year (WOOOHOOO!!!!!! ) and I'm already getting those envelopes ready.

This also works for the little guys --My DS5 and DD3 already know if the envelope is empty....wait and ask tomorrow. (A very good stalling technique as they ususally forget by then....and if they haven't, then you know it's something they really will appreciate and usually don't mind getting it.) We also did the prepurchasing treats ahead of time at TDS sales, etc. They really enjoyed having a special suprise each morning and that cut down on the "wants" as they were already carring or wearing a new treat for that day.

 

[crisi]

Avoid the stores.

1. You are living fine without it now.
2. If you never see it you won't regret not having it.
3. There is so much to do that you can avoid the stores and still have a great trip

If you can't avoid the stores:

1. Keep a list of what you saw that you like, where you saw it, and how much it costs.
2. Either pick it up on your last day or, better:
3. Call WDW after you get home and have it shipped to you. Shipping will cost a little more, but you'll probably make up the savings in "home frugality mode."

Save the outlet for the last day instead of the first - you have your list, if its not at the outlet, you can call WDW and have it sent.