3 Strategies To Control Emotional Spending
Holidays come and go, but the damage done to your credit can
last long after the season is over. Are you still trying to pay down high
balances on your credit cards? Are you willing to break the cycle this
year?
Right now is the right time to prevent further damage to your credit
and finances!
The holidays are right around the corner, which means-
preparing for delicious dinners, buying and giving gifts, holiday parties, and
family gatherings- BUT it can also be that time of year when we are most
vulnerable to our emotions, allowing them to take over and control our
spending. The damage done when we give
into our emotions leaves us feeling sad, frustrated, lonely, embarrassed,
anxious, disappointed and hopeless.
We are all victims of emotional spending at some point in our
lives. Yes, you know you don’t need it,
but you can’t stop yourself from buying it.
Emotions can have a strong effect on our logic and reasoning, leading us
to do things or buy things we later regret.
During the holidays it can be even harder to be strong and not let
sentimentality get the best of us.
Here are 3 strageties that can help you control Emotional
Spending.
Strategy
#1 Be Aware of Your Emotions- It’s important to be connected and aware of how you are
feeling before you decide you need to go out and buy something. Sometimes our emotions can lead us to think
we need something of material value to feel complete, but that need isn’t
really a material need, but a lack or void of something missing in our lives. During
the holiday season, it can be even harder to control emotional spending because
we want to buy presents for our loved ones.
This year try to spend %50 less than you did last year, try to think of
creative ideas to show you care. For example,
a picture frame with a memorable picture and a $25 gift card can be creative,
thoughtful and within a reasonable budget.
Strategy
#2 Be Aware of Your Weaknesses-Entering a department or electronic store can be like walking
into a battlefield of emotions. Our eyes
visualize how that outfit would make us look, or our ears imagine how that surround
sound system would sound in our living room.
Our senses can trigger all kinds of thoughts and emotions. When we are aware of our weaknesses, it gives
us a head start because we are able to prepare and develop a strategy to help
us avoid emotional spending. For
example, if you need to purchase an item from the store, and you know you might
be tempted to buy things you don’t need, then your first strategy should be to
not use a shopping cart. Often times, we
can end up filling up the cart with things we think we need. If your original plan was to shop for a few
things, then take a shopping basket, that way you can avoid excessive shopping.
Strategy
#3 Shop Around, Invest Time and Be Patient- You work hard for your money, so why not work hard to
save it! Many times we immediately go to
the first store we think of to get something we need, only to later find it for
less or on sale at another store. You
can end up paying full price or more because it’s convenient and quick. If you need something, instead of going
straight to the mall and overpaying, shop around and compare prices and
brands. For example, we found a laptop at Best Buy for
$1,299, plus $350 if you get the warranty.
After some research, we found the same laptop at Costco for $999, plus $99
for the warranty, that’s more than a $500 difference. It takes time to earn a paycheck, so why not
take the time to shop around and do some research before spending it. It will take some time, self-control and self-discipline,
but if you are patient and shop around, you will find something worth your time
and money. Remember, impulse shopping
gets you what you need right away, but at a price. Give value to your hard earned money and
start implementing strategies that can help
you save hundreds, if not thousands over a lifetime.
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