spending

How to Talk Yourself Out of Spending Money

spending moneySpending money can be your best friend or your worst enemy.  Spending money is fun, especially if you buy nice things that you can cherish for years to come.  However spending money is not fun if you’re not spending it wisely, wasting it on materialistic items and getting into debt.

If you’re like a lot of people you can probably talk yourself into or out of anything.  How many times have you convinced yourself that spending $100 on a new pair of pants is necessary, even though you know you can shop at H&M and buy them for a lot less?  Probably more often than not.

The next time you want to spend money that you probably know you shouldn’t use these tips to help you walk away and keep the money where it should be…in your bank account.

Thing about what you’re giving up

If you don’t talk yourself out of spending money you don’t need to then you’re wasting money.  Most people live on a fixed income, which means you also need to live on fixed expenses.  If you make an impulse purchase you’re taking money away from something else, think about that.

What are you giving up to buy that new pair of shoes or expensive dinner?  Are you taking money out of your emergency savings fund or your vacation account?  Before being impulsive just take a step back and think about what you’re sacrificing over the long term for that one purchase.

Walk away and wait two days

If you feel the sensation of a shopping spree coming on then just walk away.  That may seem like lame advice, but just put everything down and walk away.  If you’re the type of person that is going to think about it and torture yourself over whether you should have bought it then go do something else to take your mind off spending money.

Turn on the music and dance, go see a movie, take a bath, go for a run or phone a friend.  It doesn’t matter what you do, but walk away and go do something else; preferably something that will keep you away from the shop or online store.

Wait two days and see if you still want the item.  You wouldn’t buy a car on the spot without thinking about it so don’t buy anything else without weight the options and deciding if you really need it, or just want it.

Just get over it

Emotions are such a bit part of spending money, at least they are for me.  I often celebrate good times or wallow in sorrow by spending money.  Sometimes that can be as small as buying $5 on Pillsbury cookie dough to make a bad day better or it can be shelling out $1000 for a last minute to trip to get away and celebrate a good day at work.  Either way it’s dangerous for your bank account.

In order to control your emotions you have to overcome the mental aspect of spending money.  Once you don’t think of money as a crutch (good or bad) it will become what it should be – a means to live and nothing more.

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2 Comments

    • That is so true. I find I spend a lot because I’m “in the mood”. If I walk away, I cool off and most likely forget about it. Unless it’s food, then I think about it until I drive myself crazy and finally give in.

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