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You may not have heard the term “spaving” before, but there’s a good chance you’re familiar with the concept. Spaving is the act of spending extra money in an effort to secure some type of perceived savings.
For example, adding $10 worth of extra products to your online shopping cart to avoid a $5 shipping charge is a form of spaving. Although you might feel like you came out ahead, regularly spending more money than you initially planned can cost you in the long run.
Spaving can appear in several forms. So, it’s important to recognize the signs and avoid falling for common retail tricks that could cost you money.
What is spaving?
The concept of spaving — or spending money to save money — is essentially a marketing strategy. Retailers and other businesses often use spaving techniques to entice customers to spend more money than they planned in exchange for some perceived benefit.
For example, say you’re shopping online when a pop-up notification displays on your screen: “Spend $100, Get 50% Off.” However, you were only planning to spend $25 on a small purchase.
Sure, getting half off a $100 order seems like a great deal. But consider this: To take advantage of the deal, you'll need to increase your shopping budget by at least 100% (from $25 to $50 after the discount is applied). Plus, you'll end up with extra products that you may not need or even want that much.
Unfortunately, these spaving traps often don’t work out in your favor as a consumer. Instead of focusing on finding the best price for the item you need or want to buy, you end up spending more money.
If you create a habit of falling for these marketing ploys, you’ll put more of your hard-earned money into the hands of retailers and less in your personal bank accounts, even if you do end up with a few extra products or perks along the way. Over time, this behavior could make it difficult to stick to a budget or accomplish your goals.
3 common spaving traps
As mentioned, most spaving traps are promotions from retailers or service providers that encourage you to spend more money than you intended. These promotions may also feature an element of urgency, such as an expiration date or limited-time offer that pressures you to make a quick decision so you don’t miss out on a special deal.
Another possible sign of a spaving trap is social pressure, like videos or posts from online influencers that encourage you to spend money on a great deal before it goes away.
Below are a few common examples of spaving traps you might come across.
1. Buy one, get one (BOGO)
When you shop online, go to the grocery store, or visit other retail locations, there’s a good chance you may come across BOGO offers. This type of spaving technique pushes shoppers to spend more by purchasing multiple items in order to get a free product in exchange. Yet it’s important to evaluate how much you’re spending overall in these situations and whether purchasing multiple items will benefit you in the long run.
Let’s consider a grocery sale as an example. If you visit your local supermarket to buy a pint of strawberries, you could expect to pay around $3.50 based on current average prices in the U.S. However, some stores might set a higher base price on their strawberries — $5.50 per pint, for example — but offer you a BOGO deal (perhaps due to an overstock of product).
Technically, getting two pints of strawberries for $5.50 is more affordable than buying two pints elsewhere for $3.50 each. But strawberries are perishable. If your household can’t eat two pints before the strawberries go bad, the sale doesn’t make sense. Also, the fact that you might be overspending on your food budget by $2.00 may not be the best financial choice either — unless you cut back on other expenses to offset the extra spending on strawberries. Especially with today’s elevated prices, every bit adds up.
Read more: Budgeting basics: What are monthly expenses?
2. Qualifying for free shipping
Another common way retailers tempt shoppers to spend more money is through free shipping. Many retailers offer free shipping to their customers, but you may need to spend a certain dollar amount to qualify for this perk.
It makes sense: Shipping can be expensive. So, a business needs to clear enough profit on a sale to offset the loss of this expense. Yet, as a consumer, you should always do the math to see if spending more money to qualify for free shipping makes good financial sense.
Let’s say a retailer requires you to spend $75 to qualify for free shipping. Meanwhile, the purchase you need to make is only $40 before tax, and the shipping costs $15. If you pay for shipping yourself, your total cost would be $55 before tax. To qualify for free shipping, you’ll need to spend an extra $20 in this scenario.
Twenty dollars may not be a huge amount, depending on your budget. And you might enjoy the extra items you added to your cart to qualify for free shipping. (You might even find something useful, like a gift for an upcoming birthday.) But you still want to be aware of spaving tactics and try to avoid falling for them regularly, or you could end up wasting a lot of money over time.
3. Spend more, save more
The “spend more, save more” promotion is another common spaving strategy retailers use to entice shoppers to make larger purchases. For example, a retailer might offer a limited-time deal of 25% off purchases of $75 or more, or 50% off purchases of $150 or more.
You may be able to use this type of sale to your advantage if you already need to buy products that surpass that retailer’s discount threshold. For example, if you need to buy a winter coat that costs $80, the previous promotion could save you 25% off your purchase.
But if the discount tempts you to spend more money than your budget allows, proceed with caution. Overspending because you’re trying to score a deal can be unwise.
Read more: 5 psychological money hacks to cut spending and increase savings
How to avoid the financial trap of spaving
Anyone can be tempted to spend more money than planned, but these tips may help you follow more mindful spending practices:
1. Use a budget
Setting up a budget is good for your overall financial health. A budget doesn’t mean you have to go without the things you want. Instead, a budget is a plan that helps you accomplish the financial goals that matter most to you.
When you have a budget, it makes it easier to plan for expenses and evaluate purchases before you make them. You can ask yourself if a potential purchase fits into your spending plan and aligns with your goals. If a purchase gets in the way of the financial goals you set for yourself (e.g., building an emergency fund, saving for a vacation, paying down debt, etc.), then it should be easier to stick to your budget and say “no thanks” to spaving promotions and sales when those temptations come up.
Read more: Your complete guide to budgeting for 2025
2. Make a list
Writing down a list (like when you’re grocery shopping) may help you avoid overspending on items you don’t need if you’re tempted by promotions.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with buying food items that are on sale to stretch your grocery budget, as long as you don’t go over the dollar limit you set. That said, it’s also wise to compare sale prices to the product prices at other stores to ensure you’re getting the best deals available.
3. Avoid impulsive purchases
Try setting a rule to wait at least one day before you make a nonessential purchase (or even better, 30 days). You may find that you often change your mind.
At the very least, instituting a cooling-off period before purchasing a product or service gives you time to comparison shop and make sure you’re getting the best deal available. You can also review your budget to confirm that you can afford the purchase without going into debt, taking money out of savings, or derailing other important financial goals.
Read more: How the 30-day savings rule can help you stop impulse spending and save more money
Bottom line
In limited circumstances, spaving might help you save money on a purchase that you already intended to make. If you’re stocking the pantry for your family, for example, buying an extra month’s worth of cereal for a steep discount could be a smart move.
Yet, in many cases, spaving promotions are retail techniques that simply tempt you into spending more money than you planned. So, it’s important to learn how to identify these types of financial traps and learn how to avoid the pitfalls they could pose to your budget.
Read more: How to save money in 2025: 50 tips to grow your wealth
