D3Sign/Getty Images: Illustrations by Issiah Davis/Bankrate
I have voluntarily purchased makeup or desk chairs (guilty!) while scrolling through social media.
But while you dream of how good your skin, outfit, or Instagram is with its new product, your wallet is screaming for help.
“Purchase of fun and recreational items can trigger a brain reward center,” said Grant Gallagher, director of Financial Wellbeing and Brand Communications at Affinity Federal Credit Union. “Many impulse buyers assume they don’t consider the future impact of these purchases or get caught up in the moment of purchase and understand it later.”
The emotional aspects of your brain can be overcome very easily of rational things.
– Grant Gallagher
Director of Financial Wellbeing and Brand Communications at Affinity Federal Credit Union
Learn how credit cards and impulse purchases are closely related and how not to fall victim to this common trap.
How credit cards lead to impulse purchases
Like most types of unhealthy spending, impulse purchases usually have a deeper motivation. As a certified credit counselor, I have learned that most spenders fit one of seven types.
- Frantic Shoppers: obsessed with getting the lowest price
- Passive spenders: Convinced ads and salespeople to buy things they didn’t need.
- urterior motive consumer: Escape certain emotions, stress, or fateful spending
- Respectful spenders: Catch up with Jones
- Special interest expenditures: Funding expensive hobbies and addictions
- Hot potato spender: They’ll put off on big purchases and buy quickly until they can no longer bear the pressure.
- Impulsive spender: Don’t plan before they shop, often end up in something they don’t need
The categories mentioned above may overlap, especially when it comes to impulse purchases. Items are on sale or tasted samples in the store, so you may purchase them spontaneously. Or maybe your friends are ordering another round of mimosas, so they spend more brunch than they plan.
Daily examples of impulse purchases using credit cards can include:
- Skincare products promoted by social media influencers
- Foods not on your shopping list
- Limited edition sneakers or items just released
- All comprehensive resort stays seen on Groupon
- Takeout despite dinner ingredients in the fridge
- Wallet or coat you saw while you were supposed to be just a window shopping
- Buy now electronic devices, pay later plans
Credit card impulse purchases are dangerous.
The risk of impulse buying is that it throws your budget out of bang. Let’s say you allocate $500 for your monthly groceries. But every time we go to a grocery store we throw last minute snacks into a cart that wasn’t on the list.
Now your grocery bill will be up to $700 and that extra $200 has to come from somewhere. It may be reduced to your savings or debt repayments. Or, if you put all your bills on your credit card, you will be getting a balance and earning interest.
Still, 16% said in Bankrate’s 2025 Money and Mental Health Survey they purchased unplanned non-essential items only last month. Additionally, 48% of social media users said they impulsively purchased products they saw on social media in a 2023 social media survey by Bankrate.
Credit cards have high interest rates and are gaining the urge to buy expensive habits. However, almost half of Americans have credit card debt each month, according to Bankrate’s credit card debt report. If you keep the balance and even add it with more impulsive purchases, those interest charges can lead to swirling debts that are out of control.
“As impulse purchases become a trend in your daily life, more debt accumulates,” Gallagher says. This “higher credit card bills will force you to open new credit cards and extend credit limits and buy more.”
Social media is not just for sharing your life snippets and catching up with your friends’ vacation, birthday or baby. It has also become an advertising machine.
Sprout Social reports that about half of consumers (48%) interact with social media brands more frequently than they did six months ago. And brands spend an average of $46.47 to contact you. I’m a social media user.
More persuasive are social media influencers, or the people we follow for our lifestyle, expertise, or other content. These influencers are often paid by the brand to promote their products. Almost half of consumers (49%) make influencer-promoting purchases at least once a month. The market is expected to be worth $32.55 billion in 2025.
Using all these products at your fingertips makes it easy to enter or auto-fill your credit card number and get the package in your front door a few days later. In fact, Bankrate discovered that social media impulse shoppers spent an average of $754 a year.
However, among those who made impulsive purchases on social media, about two in three (68%) regretted at least one purchase.
5 ways to stop impulse purchases with a credit card
If you want to stop buying on a whim, this is your signature. Below are five steps to avoid impulse purchases with a credit card.
- Set a budget and stick to it. A monthly budget is a must. It doesn’t have to be a complicated spreadsheet. There is an app for that, but at least you should be able to track where your income is heading and achieve your financial goals. Budgets can help you notice when impulse purchases are overexpending in a particular budget category.
- Wait 24 hours. The 24-hour rule suggests that you wait a whole day after seeing something you need before purchasing. Meanwhile, consider whether you really need it and compare alternative options and prices. You can also look at your budget to see if this purchase fits your monthly expenses. After 24 hours, you may not need the item or you may need it.
- Please do not shop over the phone. If you want to know Tiktok Shop (LTK) or Amazon during your daily scrolling, please delete those apps. Do not store your credit card information for Autofill. You can even unlock influencers that make you feel like you don’t want to buy things you don’t need.
- Try the “No-Buy” challenge. Some people are taking part in the new non-shopping trend. This is when you do not make discretionary purchases for a certain period of time. To start small, you can try not to buy a week or new clothes for a month. Over time, you may find yourself saving money and adopting new habits. As one Redditor recently said in the /Nobuy thread, * “We’re avoiding frivolous purchases and tracking our spending. So far, so far, we’ve saved $3,000 without buying junk and stuck to low purchasing rules!”
- Take a personal finance course or work with a credit counselor. It’s easier to stay at the pinnacle of your finances with expert guidance. There are many free or low cost personal finance courses online. You can also seek help from non-profit credit counseling. This helps people get out of debt and follow their spending plans. In the meantime, find free credit card bank rate advice from a certified credit counselor like me and some of my colleagues.
Conclusion
Before going to check out impulse buys, Gallagher tells him to ask himself these questions.
- “Why do I want this?
- How many times do you use this product or service?
- Can I pay this off on my credit card bill at the end of this month?
- Do you regret buying this? ”
By resisting overconsumption and sticking to your budget along with the other tips above, you can stop impulse purchases with a credit card. And that sense of control is something that money can’t buy.
*The quotes and quotes contained on this page have been verified by our editorial team and are accurate as of the date of posting. Outlinked Content may contain opinions or opinions that do not reflect the views or opinions of the Bank.
