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So, here we go again! I’m in the middle of renovation works, being fully aware that all penny that I can spare is well worth it and has quite an importance. But, due to the magic of bookkeeping this month’s salary wasn’t as high as I’ve expected. When I saw it I instantly knew, I won’t be able to do the purchases which I planned for my new apartment for the month. So, out of an accident, which wasn’t that much of an accident, as it was partly a necessity shopping, I somehow ended up buying a great load of quality stuff at Zara. Which basically made me spend all my spare money. So, here we go again. Going on a splurge and still have 3 weeks to go until next salary. How many of you can identify with this situation?
So, although I was planning to become a smart and bright example of a mature money saving queen and planned to release a blog on the many wonders and rewards and tricks to saving money, this episode made me change my mind and write about all my spending mistakes. Perhaps, I and some of you can all learn from these experiences. Sometimes, someday right?
There we go! Mark my words, I went through every single one of these stages, except for the last one
- I will start saving from the start of next month!
Oh, how many times did I say that, swear on that. It’s after all just one hiccup, one mistake that has led me to spend the spare money I planned to hang on to. But, I swear it won’t happen ever again. There is not a chance I may have an emergency or another spending next month! The harsh reality is, that oftentimes, you must steer clear from ads, stores, and shopping malls. And if you still decide to go, make sure you have no card with you! When you go online put stuff in the shopping bag but do not shop them yet! Some websites would keep your shopping bag for many days. This gives you the chance to think through the results or consequences. But the best way for an impulsive spender like I tend to be is to overall try to avoid it all and stick to window shopping. I will give some more ideas as soon as I will keep on sticking these rules.
- Doing a head in the sand move
Oh, another type of the impulsive spender, who decides just to ignore any responsibility. This is easy when you are young and when you have parents to ask money from. But this sort of a life philosophy can destroy you absolutely on the long haul. Unfortunately, we cannot survive without money. Bills must be paid or you end up having to pay way more next month. This is also the category where most procrastinators belong to.
- Doing a carpe diem day right after getting salary
This is how most young people deal with their finances, especially when getting their first salary. How many times I suddenly ended up being out of money, just because the salary arrived right before the weekend when we have more free time to think about what to spend our money. It’s great to award ourselves for a month of hard work and yes, we all do deserve it. But the problem is, that in reality, there is not enough money in the world when it comes to spending. So, we must all be very tactical when it comes to awarding ourselves. Let’s try to award ourselves in smaller ways and possibly wait it out until there is not too much time for the next salary to arrive.
- Getting in even more debt
Getting in debt is so very easy these days when you see advertisements all around you offering credits and loans for everything. I personally think that credit cards are the most dangerous because of their hefty extra costs and because of the ease to put you in debt for years to come. This happened with me several times and I’m very glad that I don’t have a credit card which represents an ongoing temptation to spend, spend and spend.
- Going for your savings account right away
So, you try to act like a responsible adult and create a savings account following the advice of all the blogs and vlogs, which try to teach you how to be more responsible financially. But you make a serious mistake and let your savings account be not only connected to your bank account but also for it to be visible in your online bank platform, on your phone, etc. It’s therefore very easy to withdraw money from your savings account when you are in need. And if you can see it, you will surely go ahead and withdraw money from it, when in the slightest need. This is exactly why I’m also going to disconnect my savings account from my online bank platform and try to just forget about it all the way. For big spenders like I am, there is simply no other way.
- Overspending because of sales, coupons, etc.
Sales, coupons are all temptations of the devil urging us to spend now, and think about tomorrow later, when not being handled with utmost care! It’s no wonder most of the financial responsibility blogs try to tell us to unsubscribe from all the stores which bombard us with offers. We all tend to spend more, just because we see how much we would spare. But in reality, we spend all the more, which we would save. Not to mention, how many of us tend to buy stuff which we end up not even liking, using or wearing later on.
- Overspending because of depression
We all know, that overspending, hauling things are all deeply connected to the fact that we are trying to fill an empty hole in our soul. Impulsive spending, hoarding are all habits which have connections with depression, sadness, emptiness. Try to pick up a hobby instead. Stick to window shopping. Try to attend an arts group offering therapeutic drawing or painting lessons. Or just try to do a hobby at home. Watching “How clean is your house” or “Obsessive-compulsive cleaners” are all very tempting and very inspiring series to watch. They will also make you start to clean your life.
- Overspending because of peer pressure
This is something which especially younger people tend to do. I can happily say, that I no longer follow any sort of trends. And this really makes me happy because the money run to keep up with the Kardashians is as crazy as ever. I deeply feel sorry for all who currently believe that getting the latest model of iPhone or the latest Prada bag will really bring them long-term happiness and the feeling of fulfillment. I think this is something that passes away only with age.
- Saving too much for too long
So, you have decided to start a heavy saving campaign for a month because of the need for money, emergency savings or any other sort of savings to finally be able to sort out your life. And you decide not to spend on ANYTHING unnecessary, like a face crème, a new shirt or having a coffee every now and then at a café. And then, when many-many months pass by you suddenly feel that you will explode and then you decided to throw away the whole habit and go on a shopping spree or even worse, you go in a casino and end up not only losing it all but also getting in debt. This is a natural post-effect of over saving. This is why, when you decide to save up you must do it with CARE and with amounts which you can really save. We all have to have some spare money, which we exclusively can use to reward ourselves for achieving our goals. We all have to be honest about how we are when it comes to becoming more responsible for our lives.
- Building on winning the lottery or any form of gambling
You may not believe this, but there are actually thousands of people out there, who deeply, seriously believe that one day, they will win a large amount of money. They build their whole life on this idea like we build on a religion. This is what makes gambling such a dangerous habit. Casinos are full of people who deeply believe that this is the place which holds the key to their financial freedom and richness. These are the people who tend to gamble all the money they have and lose it all. No matter what, steer clear from gambling. Even believing in winning the lottery will make you pay unnecessary amounts, weekly. This is money you throw in the bin. This is basically charity many people do to make someone, who is already dead rich, even richer. The actual owner of the game or casino! Think about this.
Now, I believe some people are simply born to be luckier than others. These are the people who win on most games or rallies or raffles. I was never one of them so I always steered clear from gambling. It’s not bad to bid occasionally for the heck of it. Or to go to a casino once or twice a year. The simple rules to follow are the hardest to keep: stop when you win and never get overboard. Gambling is the only addiction which is said to be as serious as heroin addiction also because all of us can very easily get caught up in it.
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