While procrastinating, reading Buzzfeed lists and burrowing deep into YouTube wormholes, we came across some great graphs from Voucher Codes (scroll to the bottom of the page to check them out!).
They detail 10 all too familiar shopping annoyances and sum up just about every retail experience we’ve ever endured. We laughed, but then the soul searching followed. Shopping is meant to be fun, right? We’ve compiled these 5 IDEAL tips on how to avoid the hurdles next time you go on a spending splurge.
BUDGET (AND STICK TO IT!)
We know it’s boring and we know it’s difficult, but the splurge on pay-day is the curse of every keen shopper out there. By loading all the fun up onto one crazy day of spending, you’re causing yourself unnecessary woe for the rest of the month. What if you come across that dress you’ve been searching for since 2010, in your size and colour, a few days before payday? If you set a weekly budget for hobbyist shopping, you might just have enough to buy it.
DOWNLOAD AN INTERNET BANKING APP
The fear of rejection from the chip and pin machine haunts the aisles of big retailers and boutique stores alike. It’s a moment of heart-thumping nervousness as the machine processes your number, redirecting blame to the bank already on your lips. However, banking apps on your phone can be personalised to warn you when your overdraft limit is approaching, meaning you’ll never have to be red-faced at the till again.
BRING HELPERS
If you’ve rather over-extended yourself, your hands are full and the bag handle between your teeth is getting more stretched with every step, why not enlist the help of friends and family. Offer to look after your niece for the day, and take her shopping, in turn recruiting two more hands whilst treating her to some new clothes and a fun day out. Suggest a first tinder date is to be conducted in Westfield – you can tell a lot about a potential new partner by their patience in H&M. Go the old people’s home and offer to take your great aunt Mavis out for the day – her wheelchair has loads of room for bags underneath. However you want to do it, you’ll both appreciate the company and conversation just as much as the help with the heavy lifting.
REMEMBER YOUR PIN NUMBER WITH A LITTLE DITTY
If memorising numbers isn’t your thing, and you’re often found crippled with stage fright when the card machine spotlight is on you, try converting your pin into a little rhyme. Bare with us on this one. 4063……you’re so sexy. You get the idea. Alternatively, make the numbers meaningful to your life, and easier to remember in the process. 8709….the year of your birth plus the year you went to Brazil, for example. Works every time.
TURN THESE GRAPHS INTO A GAME
If all else fails, print out the list below, and take it with you on every trip to the shops. Reward yourself an extra £1 to your shopping budget every time you tick off one of this inevitable occurrences. In no time, you’re coffers will be lined handsomely and you’ll be actively seeking your ex in the local Sainsburys or deliberately forgetting your bag for life. It makes perfect sense to us, anyway!
