We would likely all agree that if there’s one thing we could use more of, it’s money. But it’s undoubtedly one of the hardest commodities to come by.
We often think that spending just a little bit here and there isn’t dangerous. One money coach thinks the exact opposite.
A money coach got out of debt and became a millionaire by eliminating impulse buys.
Nicole Victoria is a money coach who is known as the “No Budget Babe” on TikTok, where she has two million followers.
Victoria recently shared an easy strategy to implement to save money that helped her become a millionaire after being $40,000 in debt.
“New game,” she said. “Every time you go to impulse buy something, instead of buying it, I want you to leave it in the shopping cart, OK?”
“And then, add the cost of that item to a spreadsheet,” she continued. “You’re gonna do this for a month, and at the end of the month, you’re gonna add up all of the money that you would have spent buying (expletive) you don’t need.”
For some, completing this exercise in and of itself may be enough to dissuade them from spending money on impulse purchases. But Victoria took it one step further.
The money coach used a compound calculator to demonstrate how choosing not to spend can be incredibly lucrative.
“And then you’re gonna walk your little butt over to your computer, OK?” she said. “Pull up a compound interest calculator, and you’re gonna work out the opportunity cost of your bad habit.”
Doing this is much simpler than it sounds, as Victoria demonstrated in her video.
“So let’s say you’ve been spending $100 a week using a 10% rate of return, which is the average return of the total stock market over the last century,” she explained.
“After 30 years, those impulse purchases could have grown to almost $900,000, with almost $740,000 of that being free money,” Victoria said, displaying her computer screen.
She continued, “For funsies, let’s see what would happen if you did $200 a week. My friends, that just created generational wealth.” Victoria showed the number on her screen, which surpassed $1 million. “Is that TikTok shop purchase really worth it?” she asked.
According to the money coach, there is science behind this practice, which is why it worked for her.
In the caption of the video, Victoria further explained why this is such a great idea.
“Your brain releases dopamine in anticipation of a purchase, not the actual buy itself,” she said. “So simply adding something to a list or your cart can give you the same feel-good hit without spending a dime.”
“That’s where this strategy becomes life-changing: You train yourself to delay gratification and truly see the opportunity cost of your spending,” she shared.
Anna Shvets | Pexels
Although this practice may seem small, it paid off for Victoria in a big way.
“Want to know how I went from $40,000 in debt to a millionaire at 30?” she asked. “It’s not about deprivation — it’s about making smarter decisions with what you have.”
You truly can get the benefits of retail therapy without spending a dime.
It may seem hard to believe that a rush of dopamine can come before you ever even buy something, but it can.
According to the Cleveland Clinic“Anticipating a reward triggers a dopamine surge, so you don’t have to actually spend money to feel like you’ve treated yourself.”
Dr. Susan Albers, a psychologist, confirmed this to the Cleveland Clinic. “You’ve gone through an exciting mental journey already,” she said. “That’s why it’s common to fill up an online cart and abandon it before buying anything.”
Andrea Piacquadio | Pexels
Finance expert Rachel Cruze said that the average American spends $1,800 on impulse purchases each month, which can add up to $108,000 over a lifetime.
That’s an awful lot of money that could be saved if we all just added things to our carts for the dopamine hit but never actually purchased anything.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
Comments are closed.