Short answer: The first essential is having a budget. Details and context

• A budget is the foundational step that helps you understand your income and expenses, set spending priorities, and create a plan for purchases rather than reacting to every impulse. This enables you to make deliberate choices about what you buy and avoid overspending.

• With a budget in place, you gain better awareness of your financial limits, which supports slower thinking during purchases and reduces the likelihood of impulse buys. This is commonly taught as the first step in developing power over purchase.

• Related concepts often linked to this topic include recognizing buying decisions, delaying gratification, and aligning purchases with personal goals, all of which reinforce the same foundational starting point: establish and follow a budget.

If you’d like, I can tailor a simple starter budget template (monthly income, fixed expenses, variable expenses, and a small buffer for savings) to help you begin building power over purchase right away.