Impulse buying vs planned buying.

The difference is not whether you like the item. It is whether the decision existed before the item appeared. Ask three questions: was it already on your list, does it have a real place in this week's plan, and does it replace or solve something specific?

If the answer is no to two or more, call it an impulse purchase for now. That is not a verdict. It is a reason to put time between the want and the checkout.

The three-question test

1. 01
   Was it already on the list?

   Not a list you invented while looking at the product. A list, note, or plan that existed before the shop introduced the item.

2. 02
   Does it have a place in the week?

   Can you name when you will use it, where it will live, or what planned expense it belongs to? “It might come in handy” is a fog machine.

3. 03
   What does it replace or solve?

   Name the worn-out thing, missing function, or specific job. If it replaces nothing and solves nothing, the job may be novelty — which is fine to name, but worth waiting on.

How the answers change the decision

A planned purchase can still be postponed. An impulse purchase can still become a good purchase later. The test is a sorting tool, not a ban.

Try a cooling-off period when the answer is unclear. Put the item somewhere out of view, write the three answers down, and return once the urgency has lost its costume. The cooling-off period explains the longer version.

Where Miss Spent comes in

Send the item to Miss Spent from the share sheet instead of leaving it in the checkout. She keeps it on ice, brings it back later, and adds the passed purchase to the running Stash. Read what to do before you buy or see how she works.