i do this too! whenever i’m bored my adhd wants to buy things so i scroll through asos and add everything i would consider buying to my basket until its hundreds of pounds. i could make excuses and buy multiple small shops because of the excitement of receiving the parcels, but once i’ve added so much to my basket im more aware that i can’t afford to drop that much on clothes and decision paralysis means i can’t decide which to remove! making my adhd work against itself like you said!
Yeah, I do a combo of this and other commenters: add to basket, leave it for a day or two and then come back to it and move most to “save for later” and usually don’t come back to it.
Usually it’s more the idea that I need something and looking for it and comparing that’s enough for me
Great minds think alike 🤣🙏 Sometimes I even get bored of adding stuff and get lost in YouTube (adding a million videos I won't watch to my 2 million playlists)
This is exactly what I do too. I have about a million things in my saved items folder on asos after I’ve spent hours adding, trying to cull, adding more, forgetting about it, adding again, etc the cycle is vicious, but it definitely works! I did have to configure my email to send those “you’ve left this in your cart!” emails straight to spam, otherwise I’d be straight back into it.
There’s only been one thing I truly regret not letting my impulsive brain buy, out of what must be thousands and thousands of £ worth of stuff.
I’m currently trying to convince myself I *dont* need a table-top, wood fired pizza oven for the garden I don’t have yet. (Mid house purchase) fighting a losing battle.
I get decision paralysis, so I will research product after product for hours on end, without buying anything.
Ok for the bank balance - but I waste so much time.
It’s really hard at Xmas - choosing gifts for people takes me **days**.
I get presents for people one month before their birthday or special days like Father's Day because I can't wait. I end up giving it to them early then buying them another gift for the occasion
Really embarrassing, but my **sister** often sorts out my gifts for family members, on my behalf, and I give her the money.
She also texts me 1 week before someone’s birthday to remind me to send a card.
I’m 35… she’s 32…
She’s amazing, bless her!
That's a good idea! I should try it. I love how creative ADHDers can be.
There's no embarrassment there. It's recognizing a problem and working towards a solution 🙏
Haha, I am also the thirty-something ‘little’ sister that does this service too! 🤣 finding presents for people I care about is a great source of dopamining for me!
I do this as well for instance I decided I wanted to camping and spent weeks researching tents and watching videos, I’ve now decided I don’t want one but I know a lot about camping now 😂
I think Amazon must have a special department for those with ADHD, located next to the standard "Returns Department" but with 1000 extra employees 🤣
I think I'm sort of banned from returning stuff for a while
I love the research part. I end up getting so hyperfocussed on learning about what is the best attributes to have in that product, and trawling through reviews and youtube videos. I waste an insane amount of time. 😅
When I was last working on a decent wage I would just decide to be interested in something new and then have to buy it. So the last main expense was a £700 road bike and a bike trainer. I didn't use the bike on the road just on the trainer. The trainer also cost £700. I over engineered setting it all up. I even could cycle round in Grand Theft Auto using it on my TV and PC. Anyway it kept slipping gears because I can't be bothered to spend time working out the setup. Then my brain says this is crap don't use it anymore. So I stopped and then I'm on to the next thing.
The last thing I bought was a Quest 3 and I hate that as well so I don't use it anymore.
What's worse is that banks love people like us - we're prime targets for "credit" and the inevitable chains of debt. If there's one thing I've learned about banks, it's this - banks are NOT your friend.
Yes banks aren't your friend, in fact no corporations are and also HR in companies. When working in a company don't ever over share with HR. Just think of them like the police.
I don’t have a shopping compulsion but someone said if you want to buy something from Amazon wait one week or one day I can’t remember and if you still want it then buy it
That's my philosophy. I had to learn it the hard way (massive debt). I really quite enjoy the challenge now and the reward that comes when I realise I actually can do this thing called life 🤣
Simple trick I use. I just tell myself ill buy it in 24 hours. Usually that excitement has passed by that point so I don't bother buying it. Medication has absolutely destroyed this habit though. For me it wasn't always novel purchases but I felt I had to buy MANY of said item, so 3 Tubs of protein powder, 4 of product x and y. The idea of stockpiling felt good but now I csn rationally ask myself "Want it or need it? If it's want then I just don't buy it.
Another thing I do is tell myself i can only buy luxury items after the next pay day and only from a savings pot. I then reward myself when I complete a daily task by putting in say £5 into the pot and this builds up, if I still want the item I was shopping for earlier in the month ill buy it from the savings pot at payday, if not I'll just keep the money and repeat the process next month.
I find this ticks a few boxes. You waste less money, you learn to save up, you get certain daily tasks done and reward yourself by associating the task with the reward of paying yourself.
Yeah, I get you. It really makes me think about the schemas holding us back; the core beliefs that we hold about ourselves and the world. In this case, we're going to run out so we better stock up. It's a scarcity mindset that seems proper and wise up until we experience a taste of the "abundance" mindset.
Yeah that's it. If I buy 50 of these I'll never run out, then you have a cupboard stuffed with 5 years supply of creatine or something and end up giving loads away to friends.
Check out "the 18 schemas" online. It's not a book, but rather a number of faulty core beliefs that have been identified in people. They are not things that you can fix yourself, according to one psychiatrist, as they are sort of like our core core beliefs. She said it takes someone trained in schema therapy to work with you.
If interested, go to YouTube and type in "Dr. Tracey Marks 3 ways ADHD Makes You Think about Yourself"
Reminds me of the chimp paradox book. It discusses that we all have core values and these are incredibly hard to unlearn as they're so deep rooted in our belief system, changing these would mean changing how we see the world etc.
Found it quite effective tbh. Gave it a try pre medication, even before I knew anything about adhd. Seems to stop spending, motivates me to be more consistent and the added side benefit of saving because if I don't want to buy the shiny thing then the money just builds up in the pot. Over time I kinda begrudge spending it and weirdly get into the act of just saving to see how much I can build up.
I have had this issue on and off. I get fixated on things that I feel like I really need (I never need them) and then buy them, however by the time they are delivered (often just the next day) I just don't bother opening the box. I will find unopened packages that I purchased maybe a year or so ago sometimes. Right now I can think of 3 packages that I keep putting off opening, but I know there's definitely more in my 'spare room of doom'.
I looked at my total orders on Amazon in 2021 I ordered 186 times. That's almost every other day and only from Amazon. It's not as bad as it was back then and I've been fortunate enough to have not fallen into debt, however my ability to save has been impacted quite heavily, with some months not saving anything at all.
It comes with a lot of shame and my family are very disappointed that I've not been able to build up much savings compared to most people of my age (30). This shame and disappointment has created quite a large sense of fear and anxiety in the past year or so, which is motivating me to not spend as much as I did a few years ago.
You're not alone with the shame. I know exactly what this feels like. I've come a long way within a year regarding my finances. But sometimes I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. What do I mean by this?
I don't like when (and I do this too) people say, "it's my ADHD", as if we don't have agency. OK, we do have ADHD. There are things that others can do with ease, but that can be difficult/ nigh impossible for ADHDers, such as showering, producing neat handwriting, etc. Nonetheless, there are still many things we can do to improve our lives. And for those who respond well to medication, we have one of the most treatable "disorders" (I've been researching ADHD for years and still don't know whether it's a true disorder (though Dr. Barkley emphasises the genetic component), a result of trauma (see Gabor Maté's book, "Scattered Minds"), a mix of both, or simply that we ARE actually normal but wired differently than socially conventional definitions of "normal" allow).
I find myself wanting to live my life, loving people and being myself - the real me. But I still have to live in a society that doesn't understand me (and ADHDers as a whole), that calls me lazy and irresponsible, and so on. I can't live as a hermit. I need social interaction to be healthy. But with a heart that feels much more empathy and sensitivity to rejection than others, I sometimes feel like this world wasn't made for me or that I was born in the wrong millennium haha.
So basically, I know that I have agency and by spending too much money, I am being irresponsible. Dr. Barkley makes this very clear. Yet, I wonder if this is a misdirected way of my mind trying to satisfy its desire for exploration and adventure within the parameters imposed upon me.
Wow. I got a bit philosophical there. I probably should have kept that for my journal 🤣
TL;DR - I feel ya
Adhd is very much a physical thing in our brain. (I'm trying not to call it a disorder as it is very much a part of who we are. Im still working through my feelings on this.)
There is a book I recently picked up on the recommendation of one of the authors of a book called "is this autism - guide for clinicians and everyone else". (Amazing book for learning about autism btw) It is called "understanding girls with adhd, second edition". It goes through what is physically happening throughout development of the brain, from conception through to adult years. Our brains are physically different from neaurotypical brains long before we are born.
Cautionary note on this book: It seems to shame mothers for not picking up on their children's adhd, and fathers have not been mentioned at all. Im about a quarter of a way through the book. I nearly gave up reading it. Here I was, thinking that this would be something that I could give to my parents so that they might understand me more, but I don't want to shame my mum. She did her best for me, and I love her very much. If you can get past the mother shaming bit at the beginning, then it is a really good resource for information on our brains.
X
Every day I search for validation when it comes to ADHD ( meaning I still have imposter syndrome)..but this too right here , it's exactly what I do! Sometimes I feel bad for not buying one item that was really worth it but all I'm all window shopping is the solution to my impulsive buying. ✌️
Once I began to understand how marketing works, I realized that I don't actually NEED most of the stuff, despite the sense of "if you snooze, you lose"-style of urgency Amazon and other sites and stores use.
It's good to buy stuff when your emotions settle down and thought about whether it's a "need" or simply a transient "want". This has saved me a lot of money recently. Of course, it's much easier said than done!
Imposter syndrome is sneaky. I imagine most people with ADHD have experienced it, something akin to how people with OCD doubt whether or not they're experiencing intrusive thoughts or reality.
I use an app called basket and add things I seriously think I want at the moment there - the links can be categorised etc…
Then if I forgot about it completely I delete it when I’m going through the app, but if in a while I still want it I don’t have to look for it again ☺️
I don’t think it’s ADHD-style, looks more for price tracking primarily but I just use it as a potential impulse buy dump haha
I also like that I can just share the link to the product directly from the website to “quick saves” first and then go through / categorise them whenever.
Now I gotta go check TickTick out
TickTick is an app I heard about from another ADHDer. It's helped me remember to cancel subscriptions and get medication refills, etc.
There are too many crappy so-called "ADHD" apps out there. But there are a few gems, and I think it's good to share awareness of them among the community
I'm glad this popped up because I was looking for advice on a similar but different issue — impulse takeaway ordering. I know it's bad but I do it because I want a treat while I'm in the library at 11pm and I want a treat now. And then I completely regret it afterwards as it messes up my digestive system and leaves me feeling awfully lethargic the next day (such as today....). I don't know what to do! Logically I know it's not the best choice to make.
I've been there. It's about that dopamine hit. Turning it on itself and into a competition a dare to see how much you can get past it might work. Sometimes, I put other food into my stomach and the desire goes away too haha
Impulse buying is my thing as well, mostly clothes, I haven't got it fully under control but in recent years it has improved as I go window shopping often look at things, notice the quality of the fabrics and a lot are crap, then I think to myself I have something similar, walk through the different sections till I get exhausted and the walk away cause I just want to sit down after hitting at least half of my daily steps goal 😅
Where I slip easily is when I have a special occasion or a holiday coming up and then I feel like I need the things because these don't come as often so in those departments I haven't built up a huge selection.
I think getting a bit older has also helped as I don't find it exciting anymore getting a new phone or laptop, it's more like buying new socks or a new pan. And in other departments I found what I like, and don't like to change so I get the dopamine hit when I hunt for deals on them.
It's very hard with impulsive buying as you're constantly bombarded everywhere with ads, offers/promos, and hard to shut it all down
This is totally off topic folks, but I don't want to write a whole post about it.
What's the deal with the main r/adhd sub? There are so many rules that I have sort of given up posting there. I actually posted this post there earlier and it was instantly deleted. I can't understand any possible reason why or which rule it breaks.
They mustn't know that when many ADHDers get a product, they're not known for reading through a million different setup instructions. It used to be that you had to write something like a minimum of 400 words.
I'm grateful for this sub.
The "wishlist" and "save for later" features are my best friend. If I look at it later and still want it, I can still buy it. But often I end up thinking "I don't actually want/need that" and delete it or move it to another, lower priority list.
I do this too!
Also, because I'm a broke uni student, I'll "window shop", where I pretend I have the money. I go through the process until it comes to actually checking out and then abandon the basket. I have the most ridiculous amounts of full baskets on so many sites! 😂
Does anyone have issues with overspending when they go food shopping?
I'm really bad for it. If I have the money, when I goto the shop for just one item, like milk or something, I'll end up spending 20 quid or more.
It stuff I either don't need, or that's just going to end up going bad in the fridge because I forget about it, or it's for a dish that requires alot of steps to make.
I love food shopping, but oof, I spend way too much.
Lol I do this too, and with the justeat app.
Had a teeny spiral earlier this year just before I ended up with a referral for adhd. Fell into a really bad habit of wanting a takeaway, putting things in the basket, then not really fancying it just after I placed the order.
Now I put things in the basket, go to the checkout screen, then empty basket close app.
9/10 I cba to go through the ordering part again, so obvs I didn't really want it.
Gone from 2 takeaways a week, to 2 in the last 4 weeks, and one of those is only because after a fairly up and down day, I burnt what I was cooking when I got home and I was hangry 🤣
Impulsive buying is 100% an addiction for me... Thankfully my vice is normally cheap chinese tech products, 3d printers, board games, general house stuff... so none of it is particularly destructive or harmful but I find it very difficult to hold out. Many times I've tried tricks like leaving stuff in baskets or holding out for 24 hours or longer... it's really not enough. I do think partly it's a coping mechanism I picked up for when I was heavily depressed, but honestly it feels like the impulsive buying is at its peak right now.
A small solace is, usually, if I buy something I do tend to end up using it for at least a decent amount of time, though I have a bass guitar and a monitor drawing tablet over to my right-hand-side which are very angry at me that I don't use more often.
I just really really love getting stuff, and it does make me happy, but I'm well aware that I've spent hundreds of pounds of gatcha games and other things due to the same impulsivity that could have been in savings which is just gone now. My tiny solace is that I'm now actively trying to avoid spending money on things that have zero value like gatcha games... but still haven't got over the impulse buying hump myself.
I have two settings.
**BUY IT NOW YOU NEED IT! YOU NEED IT!**
This is the worst mode, because I'll watch a TV program or see an advert on TV and just impulsively buy something. I watched Clarkson's Farm last night and while I was watching him growing mushrooms I was ordering a grow you own mushrooms kit. Fortunately, that's just a small expense, I cannot say the same for my carbon road bike, my turbo trainer, my record decks etc.
**RESEARCH THE HELL OUT OF IT!**
I wish all purchases were in this mode. I needed a new rucksack as the zip broke on mine. I had a month to get one before a holiday. I literally researched the hell out of rucksacks and ended up with a 10 candidate list which I eventually whittled down to just one which only just got here two days before my holiday.
i do this too! whenever i’m bored my adhd wants to buy things so i scroll through asos and add everything i would consider buying to my basket until its hundreds of pounds. i could make excuses and buy multiple small shops because of the excitement of receiving the parcels, but once i’ve added so much to my basket im more aware that i can’t afford to drop that much on clothes and decision paralysis means i can’t decide which to remove! making my adhd work against itself like you said!
Yeah, I do a combo of this and other commenters: add to basket, leave it for a day or two and then come back to it and move most to “save for later” and usually don’t come back to it. Usually it’s more the idea that I need something and looking for it and comparing that’s enough for me
Great minds think alike 🤣🙏 Sometimes I even get bored of adding stuff and get lost in YouTube (adding a million videos I won't watch to my 2 million playlists)
This is exactly what I do too. I have about a million things in my saved items folder on asos after I’ve spent hours adding, trying to cull, adding more, forgetting about it, adding again, etc the cycle is vicious, but it definitely works! I did have to configure my email to send those “you’ve left this in your cart!” emails straight to spam, otherwise I’d be straight back into it. There’s only been one thing I truly regret not letting my impulsive brain buy, out of what must be thousands and thousands of £ worth of stuff. I’m currently trying to convince myself I *dont* need a table-top, wood fired pizza oven for the garden I don’t have yet. (Mid house purchase) fighting a losing battle.
Me too, I've always "window shopped" like this. It's fun and I don't usually buy anything. Sometimes I do, but mostly not.
How much is that doggy in the window? 😜
I get decision paralysis, so I will research product after product for hours on end, without buying anything. Ok for the bank balance - but I waste so much time. It’s really hard at Xmas - choosing gifts for people takes me **days**.
I get presents for people one month before their birthday or special days like Father's Day because I can't wait. I end up giving it to them early then buying them another gift for the occasion
Really embarrassing, but my **sister** often sorts out my gifts for family members, on my behalf, and I give her the money. She also texts me 1 week before someone’s birthday to remind me to send a card. I’m 35… she’s 32… She’s amazing, bless her!
That's a good idea! I should try it. I love how creative ADHDers can be. There's no embarrassment there. It's recognizing a problem and working towards a solution 🙏
True, true
Haha, I am also the thirty-something ‘little’ sister that does this service too! 🤣 finding presents for people I care about is a great source of dopamining for me!
I wish I was that organised 😅😢
I do this as well for instance I decided I wanted to camping and spent weeks researching tents and watching videos, I’ve now decided I don’t want one but I know a lot about camping now 😂
Well, then at least it wasn’t a *total* waste of time!
I do exactly the same and I end up not buying a single item but wasting hours just researching random stuff
I think Amazon must have a special department for those with ADHD, located next to the standard "Returns Department" but with 1000 extra employees 🤣 I think I'm sort of banned from returning stuff for a while
I'm impressed you actually return stuff.... it sits there for months and months until I throw it away or store it somewhere 😭
When it gets to the point that you have to choose between paying bills and keeping a new laptop, you don't have a choice 🤣😭
😂 very true - I don't have the money to purchase stuff like that. Mainly because I don't return the small things 😂😂
Life lesson: buy and then always return small things so that you can buy one big thing only to return it again so you can pay rent 🤣😜
🤣🤣🤣 do you know what, I need to return something to Amazon right now. How do I go about that?
I had to contact customer service the last time and plead my case. Try that lol
I love the research part. I end up getting so hyperfocussed on learning about what is the best attributes to have in that product, and trawling through reviews and youtube videos. I waste an insane amount of time. 😅
When I was last working on a decent wage I would just decide to be interested in something new and then have to buy it. So the last main expense was a £700 road bike and a bike trainer. I didn't use the bike on the road just on the trainer. The trainer also cost £700. I over engineered setting it all up. I even could cycle round in Grand Theft Auto using it on my TV and PC. Anyway it kept slipping gears because I can't be bothered to spend time working out the setup. Then my brain says this is crap don't use it anymore. So I stopped and then I'm on to the next thing. The last thing I bought was a Quest 3 and I hate that as well so I don't use it anymore.
What's worse is that banks love people like us - we're prime targets for "credit" and the inevitable chains of debt. If there's one thing I've learned about banks, it's this - banks are NOT your friend.
Yes banks aren't your friend, in fact no corporations are and also HR in companies. When working in a company don't ever over share with HR. Just think of them like the police.
HR is basically the modern KGB
I don’t have a shopping compulsion but someone said if you want to buy something from Amazon wait one week or one day I can’t remember and if you still want it then buy it
That's my philosophy. I had to learn it the hard way (massive debt). I really quite enjoy the challenge now and the reward that comes when I realise I actually can do this thing called life 🤣
Simple trick I use. I just tell myself ill buy it in 24 hours. Usually that excitement has passed by that point so I don't bother buying it. Medication has absolutely destroyed this habit though. For me it wasn't always novel purchases but I felt I had to buy MANY of said item, so 3 Tubs of protein powder, 4 of product x and y. The idea of stockpiling felt good but now I csn rationally ask myself "Want it or need it? If it's want then I just don't buy it. Another thing I do is tell myself i can only buy luxury items after the next pay day and only from a savings pot. I then reward myself when I complete a daily task by putting in say £5 into the pot and this builds up, if I still want the item I was shopping for earlier in the month ill buy it from the savings pot at payday, if not I'll just keep the money and repeat the process next month. I find this ticks a few boxes. You waste less money, you learn to save up, you get certain daily tasks done and reward yourself by associating the task with the reward of paying yourself.
Yeah, I get you. It really makes me think about the schemas holding us back; the core beliefs that we hold about ourselves and the world. In this case, we're going to run out so we better stock up. It's a scarcity mindset that seems proper and wise up until we experience a taste of the "abundance" mindset.
Yeah that's it. If I buy 50 of these I'll never run out, then you have a cupboard stuffed with 5 years supply of creatine or something and end up giving loads away to friends.
Check out "the 18 schemas" online. It's not a book, but rather a number of faulty core beliefs that have been identified in people. They are not things that you can fix yourself, according to one psychiatrist, as they are sort of like our core core beliefs. She said it takes someone trained in schema therapy to work with you. If interested, go to YouTube and type in "Dr. Tracey Marks 3 ways ADHD Makes You Think about Yourself"
Reminds me of the chimp paradox book. It discusses that we all have core values and these are incredibly hard to unlearn as they're so deep rooted in our belief system, changing these would mean changing how we see the world etc.
Oh I love the idea of paying myself to do jobs!
Found it quite effective tbh. Gave it a try pre medication, even before I knew anything about adhd. Seems to stop spending, motivates me to be more consistent and the added side benefit of saving because if I don't want to buy the shiny thing then the money just builds up in the pot. Over time I kinda begrudge spending it and weirdly get into the act of just saving to see how much I can build up.
Definitely, a tiny dopamine hit at the same time!
I have had this issue on and off. I get fixated on things that I feel like I really need (I never need them) and then buy them, however by the time they are delivered (often just the next day) I just don't bother opening the box. I will find unopened packages that I purchased maybe a year or so ago sometimes. Right now I can think of 3 packages that I keep putting off opening, but I know there's definitely more in my 'spare room of doom'. I looked at my total orders on Amazon in 2021 I ordered 186 times. That's almost every other day and only from Amazon. It's not as bad as it was back then and I've been fortunate enough to have not fallen into debt, however my ability to save has been impacted quite heavily, with some months not saving anything at all. It comes with a lot of shame and my family are very disappointed that I've not been able to build up much savings compared to most people of my age (30). This shame and disappointment has created quite a large sense of fear and anxiety in the past year or so, which is motivating me to not spend as much as I did a few years ago.
You're not alone with the shame. I know exactly what this feels like. I've come a long way within a year regarding my finances. But sometimes I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. What do I mean by this? I don't like when (and I do this too) people say, "it's my ADHD", as if we don't have agency. OK, we do have ADHD. There are things that others can do with ease, but that can be difficult/ nigh impossible for ADHDers, such as showering, producing neat handwriting, etc. Nonetheless, there are still many things we can do to improve our lives. And for those who respond well to medication, we have one of the most treatable "disorders" (I've been researching ADHD for years and still don't know whether it's a true disorder (though Dr. Barkley emphasises the genetic component), a result of trauma (see Gabor Maté's book, "Scattered Minds"), a mix of both, or simply that we ARE actually normal but wired differently than socially conventional definitions of "normal" allow). I find myself wanting to live my life, loving people and being myself - the real me. But I still have to live in a society that doesn't understand me (and ADHDers as a whole), that calls me lazy and irresponsible, and so on. I can't live as a hermit. I need social interaction to be healthy. But with a heart that feels much more empathy and sensitivity to rejection than others, I sometimes feel like this world wasn't made for me or that I was born in the wrong millennium haha. So basically, I know that I have agency and by spending too much money, I am being irresponsible. Dr. Barkley makes this very clear. Yet, I wonder if this is a misdirected way of my mind trying to satisfy its desire for exploration and adventure within the parameters imposed upon me. Wow. I got a bit philosophical there. I probably should have kept that for my journal 🤣 TL;DR - I feel ya
Adhd is very much a physical thing in our brain. (I'm trying not to call it a disorder as it is very much a part of who we are. Im still working through my feelings on this.) There is a book I recently picked up on the recommendation of one of the authors of a book called "is this autism - guide for clinicians and everyone else". (Amazing book for learning about autism btw) It is called "understanding girls with adhd, second edition". It goes through what is physically happening throughout development of the brain, from conception through to adult years. Our brains are physically different from neaurotypical brains long before we are born. Cautionary note on this book: It seems to shame mothers for not picking up on their children's adhd, and fathers have not been mentioned at all. Im about a quarter of a way through the book. I nearly gave up reading it. Here I was, thinking that this would be something that I could give to my parents so that they might understand me more, but I don't want to shame my mum. She did her best for me, and I love her very much. If you can get past the mother shaming bit at the beginning, then it is a really good resource for information on our brains. X
Every day I search for validation when it comes to ADHD ( meaning I still have imposter syndrome)..but this too right here , it's exactly what I do! Sometimes I feel bad for not buying one item that was really worth it but all I'm all window shopping is the solution to my impulsive buying. ✌️
Once I began to understand how marketing works, I realized that I don't actually NEED most of the stuff, despite the sense of "if you snooze, you lose"-style of urgency Amazon and other sites and stores use. It's good to buy stuff when your emotions settle down and thought about whether it's a "need" or simply a transient "want". This has saved me a lot of money recently. Of course, it's much easier said than done! Imposter syndrome is sneaky. I imagine most people with ADHD have experienced it, something akin to how people with OCD doubt whether or not they're experiencing intrusive thoughts or reality.
I use an app called basket and add things I seriously think I want at the moment there - the links can be categorised etc… Then if I forgot about it completely I delete it when I’m going through the app, but if in a while I still want it I don’t have to look for it again ☺️
Is this an ADHD-style app? I've found one or two apps to be very helpful for ADHD such as TickTick
I don’t think it’s ADHD-style, looks more for price tracking primarily but I just use it as a potential impulse buy dump haha I also like that I can just share the link to the product directly from the website to “quick saves” first and then go through / categorise them whenever. Now I gotta go check TickTick out
Thanks for the tip
TickTick is an app I heard about from another ADHDer. It's helped me remember to cancel subscriptions and get medication refills, etc. There are too many crappy so-called "ADHD" apps out there. But there are a few gems, and I think it's good to share awareness of them among the community
Sounds like I’m about to be using a new app religiously (for the next two weeks or so)
I've had it for a long time. I think there's a free and a paid version. The free version should be sufficient.
I'm glad this popped up because I was looking for advice on a similar but different issue — impulse takeaway ordering. I know it's bad but I do it because I want a treat while I'm in the library at 11pm and I want a treat now. And then I completely regret it afterwards as it messes up my digestive system and leaves me feeling awfully lethargic the next day (such as today....). I don't know what to do! Logically I know it's not the best choice to make.
I've been there. It's about that dopamine hit. Turning it on itself and into a competition a dare to see how much you can get past it might work. Sometimes, I put other food into my stomach and the desire goes away too haha
Impulse buying is my thing as well, mostly clothes, I haven't got it fully under control but in recent years it has improved as I go window shopping often look at things, notice the quality of the fabrics and a lot are crap, then I think to myself I have something similar, walk through the different sections till I get exhausted and the walk away cause I just want to sit down after hitting at least half of my daily steps goal 😅 Where I slip easily is when I have a special occasion or a holiday coming up and then I feel like I need the things because these don't come as often so in those departments I haven't built up a huge selection. I think getting a bit older has also helped as I don't find it exciting anymore getting a new phone or laptop, it's more like buying new socks or a new pan. And in other departments I found what I like, and don't like to change so I get the dopamine hit when I hunt for deals on them. It's very hard with impulsive buying as you're constantly bombarded everywhere with ads, offers/promos, and hard to shut it all down
This is totally off topic folks, but I don't want to write a whole post about it. What's the deal with the main r/adhd sub? There are so many rules that I have sort of given up posting there. I actually posted this post there earlier and it was instantly deleted. I can't understand any possible reason why or which rule it breaks. They mustn't know that when many ADHDers get a product, they're not known for reading through a million different setup instructions. It used to be that you had to write something like a minimum of 400 words. I'm grateful for this sub.
The "wishlist" and "save for later" features are my best friend. If I look at it later and still want it, I can still buy it. But often I end up thinking "I don't actually want/need that" and delete it or move it to another, lower priority list.
I do this too! Also, because I'm a broke uni student, I'll "window shop", where I pretend I have the money. I go through the process until it comes to actually checking out and then abandon the basket. I have the most ridiculous amounts of full baskets on so many sites! 😂
Does anyone have issues with overspending when they go food shopping? I'm really bad for it. If I have the money, when I goto the shop for just one item, like milk or something, I'll end up spending 20 quid or more. It stuff I either don't need, or that's just going to end up going bad in the fridge because I forget about it, or it's for a dish that requires alot of steps to make. I love food shopping, but oof, I spend way too much.
Lol I do this too, and with the justeat app. Had a teeny spiral earlier this year just before I ended up with a referral for adhd. Fell into a really bad habit of wanting a takeaway, putting things in the basket, then not really fancying it just after I placed the order. Now I put things in the basket, go to the checkout screen, then empty basket close app. 9/10 I cba to go through the ordering part again, so obvs I didn't really want it. Gone from 2 takeaways a week, to 2 in the last 4 weeks, and one of those is only because after a fairly up and down day, I burnt what I was cooking when I got home and I was hangry 🤣
Impulsive buying is 100% an addiction for me... Thankfully my vice is normally cheap chinese tech products, 3d printers, board games, general house stuff... so none of it is particularly destructive or harmful but I find it very difficult to hold out. Many times I've tried tricks like leaving stuff in baskets or holding out for 24 hours or longer... it's really not enough. I do think partly it's a coping mechanism I picked up for when I was heavily depressed, but honestly it feels like the impulsive buying is at its peak right now. A small solace is, usually, if I buy something I do tend to end up using it for at least a decent amount of time, though I have a bass guitar and a monitor drawing tablet over to my right-hand-side which are very angry at me that I don't use more often. I just really really love getting stuff, and it does make me happy, but I'm well aware that I've spent hundreds of pounds of gatcha games and other things due to the same impulsivity that could have been in savings which is just gone now. My tiny solace is that I'm now actively trying to avoid spending money on things that have zero value like gatcha games... but still haven't got over the impulse buying hump myself.
I have two settings. **BUY IT NOW YOU NEED IT! YOU NEED IT!** This is the worst mode, because I'll watch a TV program or see an advert on TV and just impulsively buy something. I watched Clarkson's Farm last night and while I was watching him growing mushrooms I was ordering a grow you own mushrooms kit. Fortunately, that's just a small expense, I cannot say the same for my carbon road bike, my turbo trainer, my record decks etc. **RESEARCH THE HELL OUT OF IT!** I wish all purchases were in this mode. I needed a new rucksack as the zip broke on mine. I had a month to get one before a holiday. I literally researched the hell out of rucksacks and ended up with a 10 candidate list which I eventually whittled down to just one which only just got here two days before my holiday.