'can't help it' spends

A question about : 'can't help it' spends

Wasn't sure where the best place to post this would be.

I always have great intensions not to spend at the start of the day but always end up frittering my money away on stuff I regret spending it on! Just wondered what other people just can't help spending on? For example, diet coke, I buy some for the house or juice when i'm out. Take-aways when I could have eaten at work instead. Magazines. A bottle of wine. Lottery tickets. I know where i'm wasting money, promise myself i'll stop, then carry on. Drives me crazy. Anyone else the same?

Best answers:

• I'm a nightmare for candles, scented oils, oil burners, air fresheners. I cannot walk past the aisle in any supermarket without buying something! Home type stores that sell all the diffusers, scented pot pourri etc are also a big danger flag for me!
• Unfortunately I have expensive taste in candles buying the white company and molton brown ones...they smell so good! Must try harder
• I'm a MASSIVE fan of cider
• Candles are my weakness too!
• Are these items a problem to you or can you afford them? I would say try to get in the habit of getting them at the best price you can - i.e if you like diet coke get a bottle or a multi-pack so you can have one, same goes for cider.
  re the candles as lovely as they are surely you only need so many for each room and then after that when they run out or are on a "they're giving them away" offer???
  If you can't afford it try to retrain yourself, don't take your purse to work. If you aint got it you can't spend it!
• I agree with determined new mrs- dont take your purse/wallet out with you.
  I think not wasting money becomes almost like a habit. This time last year i could have easily spent Ј20 a day on rubbish that i didnt need, like sweets, lottery, wine, notebooks (my weakness)...but now i probably spend less than that a month on those things
• Clothes are a massive problem for me, so I withdraw the cash I know I can spend and leave my card at home. If I dont have the cash I cant buy it x
• Chocolate
• Yep I often have the best intentions but spend on things I don't really need... clothes largely! I do a lot of online 'window shopping' - looking at things, filling my basket and then not ordering them hehe. It's nice to look at things I would buy if I have spare cash, but I mostly don't actually order anything.
  Half the battle is taking responsibility for your spending though - you CAN help it! You are in control when your hand reaches into your purse and you hand money over It often just takes finding the right thing to say to yourself when you are tempted, whether it's thinking of what else you could afford with that money, why you don't actually need it, to think about it for a day and if you still want it buy it later etc. etc.
• I normally go to work with just Ј1 in my pocket, so I can buy my daily paper.
  I take all my own food/drink to work so I dont get ripped off.
• I'm a magazine buyer. Can't resist the glossy pages. I know that it's usually all adverts but it doesn't stop me.
  I possibly spend Ј20 a month on magazines. I can afford it, but when you think that's Ј240 a year it seems a bit excessive.
• Energy drinks get me, quite often on offer but still expensive if you drink two a day Ј2:20 for two for example, I have been trying for years to quit them. Just found 3x Black sun energy drink for Ј1 at farm foods so that's a bit more manageable.
• This thread shows how many people spend, and how much money is chucked away, on ...... junk!
• Been a bit of a disaster since one of those Express supermarkets opened up outside my office - so tempting just to nip in for a little treat to cheer me up.
  But I think I've cracked the impulse internet shopping thing. If I absolutely have to buy something I go to Oxfam Online - at least if I don't really need it its cheap and its bringing benefit to someone.