I Make Impulse Buys Every Time I Shop at Trader Joe's. Here's Why I'm Okay With That

It's a habit I'm not about to break.

Have you ever gone to the store with a list of products to buy, only to wind up with extra items in your shopping cart by the time you're done? If you have a tendency to make impulse purchases, you're not alone.

A 2021 SWNS survey found that the average American makes 12 impulse purchases a year. Since I typically shop at Trader Joe's once a month, I can say with certainty that I, too, make at least 12 impulse purchases a year -- especially because I commonly buy at least one unplanned item, if not more, every time I visit that store.

Now generally, I try to avoid impulsive purchases to some degree -- especially ones that don't end up giving me a lot of value. But if there's one type of impulse buy I'm really okay with, it's new food products at Trader Joe's.

I plan for those impulse buys

To say that I constantly make impulsive purchases at Trader Joe's is a bit misleading. It's true that I'll often come home from Trader Joe's with products that weren't originally on my shopping list. But those purchases aren't so impulsive in the sense that I expect to make them.

See, one thing about Trader Joe's is that it's constantly evolving its product line. When I head out to the store, I know full well that I'm going to buy at least one item, if not more, that's recently hit the shelves. I just may not know what that item is until I get to the store. 

But I specifically carve out room in my grocery budget to allow for those impulse buys at Trader Joe's. And as such, I don't bust my budget and end up with a credit card tab I'm uncomfortable with.

I can let myself make impulse purchases without worry

For some people, giving in to impulse purchases means not meeting their savings goals. But that's not really a concern of mine for one big reason -- I make a point to automate my savings.

At the start of the month, a certain sum of money will leave my checking account and land in my savings account before I have a chance to spend it. And that automatic transfer is equal to the amount I want to save that month. So even if I spend the rest of my paycheck and don't save beyond the amount that comes over at the start of the month, I've still met my goal and am still in decent shape.

That's why I really don't sweat any of the impulse purchases I make. They don't cause me to land in debt and they don't impede my savings goals.

And I'm especially okay with my Trader Joe's impulse purchases. Those almost always end up proving to offer good value because I'm someone who enjoys tasty food. 

Plus, let's say I buy a couple of new snack items at Trader Joe's that I wasn't planning to. Well, in that case, I'll just buy two fewer snacks at another store. So all told, my Trader Joe's habit isn't really so harmful to my wallet. Whether it's good for my waistline is obviously another story.