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Alarming statistics reveal that impulse buying can cost us on average £6,044 in our lifetime as we run up debt on purchases that we do not really need.

Spending, lying, debt denying
Armed sub-consciously with the fact that we should have held back, we try to justify our purchases to ourselves and to our partners. 70% of women are economical with the truth when it comes to explaining away frivolous purchases, whereas only 57% of men will admit to impulse buying. It's this kind of frivolous spending that causes many people to enter into debt solutions like an IVA. As partners deny the spending to each other, neither party is aware of how much each other is spending and both start unknowingly living beyond their means.

But surely, spending a little of your hard earned cash can't be affecting your lifestyle and causing debt...or can it?
Shopping can be addictive and it is so easy to hand over the plastic on a whim, but a large majority of clothes and shoes purchased can end up in the back of the wardrobe and in the front of our credit card statements.

Clothes can be an expensive commodity if we follow fashion as we can easily run up debt with just a few purchases. But the study did reveal an interesting difference between the sexes. One in ten men will deliberately buy items that are in fashion even if the garment doesn’t suit them. In comparison, women are more likely to buy an item which is too small and try to justify the sale by hoping that they will lose weight and be able to fit into it.

Recoup your loses and minimise your debt!
If it's a recent purchase and you've still got the receipt, check the exchange and refund policy of the store and see if you can swap it or get a refund. If you know they'll only offer an exchange and you're in serious debt - why not ask them to exchange it into gift vouchers and use them for upcoming presents. If it's something you've had for some time, the only way to recoup any kind of losses from this debt extravaganza is to sell your impulse purchases on eBay, car boot sale or garage sale. While you're at it, go through old clothes, shoes, books and see what else is cluttering up your house that you want to part with.

If you're in debt it could just make the small difference you need.