The 48-Hour Rule
Park every want for two days; most of the urge evaporates before Saturday.
- Difficulty
- Starter
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 90%
The 48-Hour Rule is a simple impulse-control mechanism: when you see something you're sure you want, don't buy it. Instead, log it in a document (or leave it in your cart) and revisit the list on a set day each week. Larsgaard guarantees most of those items will have lost their pull once the in-the-moment impulse fades. Putting purchases on a delay cycle prevents the impulse buys that quietly mess up budgets. Host Hala Taha confirmed she does exactly this with her shopping cart and often finds the items 'so ugly' days later.
Origin
The hosts teach this as a practical spending hack on How To Money, grounded in the observation that impulse desire feels intensely rewarding in the moment but rarely survives a short delay.
Core principles
- 01Impulse desire is time-bound and fades quickly.
- 02A delay cycle separates real wants from momentary ones.
- 03Writing the want down externalizes the urge.
- 04A weekly review batches the decisions.
How to run it
- 1
Capture the want
When you feel a strong urge to buy, write the item into a dedicated doc or leave it sitting in your online cart instead of checking out.
- 2
Wait at least 48 hours
Impose a minimum two-day delay so the impulse has time to cool off.
- 3
Review on a set day
Pick a recurring time — e.g. Saturday morning — to go back through the list and buy only what still genuinely appeals.
Pro tip Batching the review makes it a habit rather than a per-item negotiation.
In the wild
Taha, who shops frequently for conferences and photo shoots, started leaving clothes in her cart and returning two or three days later.
→ She repeatedly found items she now thought were 'so ugly,' realizing she'd been mindlessly adding them, and avoided the spend.
Common mistakes
Buying at peak impulse
Purchasing the moment you feel the urge locks in a decision driven by a feeling that would have passed within days.
Is it for you?
Best for
Anyone prone to in-the-moment online shopping.
Not ideal for
Genuine time-sensitive necessities.
From the transcript
“Institute like a 48 hour rule right so you see something you want... put it in there and then say I'm gonna go back every…”
“I'll come back two days 3 days later and I'm like what was I thinking like this is so ugly”
From the episode
Joel Larsgaard & Matt Altmix: Our Top Personal Finance Hacks for Millennials
Joel Larsgaard & Matt Altmix