Video: Overcoming Overspending
In this short video, Beyond Finance’s Certified Financial Therapist, Nathan Astle, explains:
- Why we may feel the urge to spend more than we should
- Tips to get your spending in control, while still keeping the fun!
Transcript:
Most of us have spent money on something that we really didn’t need — or maybe that we didn’t even want that much, in retrospect.
This can happen for a number of reasons:
- We’re sad
- We’re happy
- We want to show love through a gift
- Or maybe it just feels really good to buy the thing
Identifying the REASON we made the purchase is the first step in overcoming this behavior. Name the emotion you were feeling – sad, excited, tired, or overwhelmed … these feelings or desires can be dealt with in healthier ways.
Maybe you need a cry, or a hug, or a self-care break, or just a chat with someone. Maybe instead of gift-giving, you can show love through words.
Here are some additional tricks you can use to curb this kind of over-spending:
- 1. Make a shopping list and stick to it
- 2. Bring an accountability buddy when you go shopping
- 3.Give yourself a day or 2 before pulling the trigger on a non-necessary purchase
- 4. Limit social media intake to avoid targeted ads
- 5. And then finally, budget yourself some fun spending money each month!
Being TOO restrictive can sometimes backfire, and you shouldn’t deprive yourself of occasional shopping every so often if it makes you happy!
And super important: don’t punish yourself for past mistakes. This can actually make you continue the behavior because you’re now trying to cope with another emotion – shame!
Everyone’s on their own journey. Your journey of healthier money habits could just be starting today.