Treating yourself when you have accomplished something important is fine. But have you spent on something to make you feel better when you are feeling down? Or do you feel guilty after buying something that you know you wouldn’t use?
If you have that recurring guilt every time you buy something, then you might be experiencing emotional spending. It happens when you spend on things to lift your mood even if you don’t need them.
If emotional spending has become a habit of yours, it may be detrimental to your finances. But do not worry because you can counter them.
Here are ten (10) best ways to win over your emotional spending.
Understand What Triggers You
The first thing to do is to identify your spending triggers. Next, track your mood and emotions to identify your triggers. Some of the common emotions that can trigger spending are jealousy, guilt, fear, sadness, and achievement.
Once you know your triggers, it will be easier for you to avoid them. Do some diversional activities that will help you forget about your triggers. For example, instead of focusing on items you want to buy, try to focus on something else.
Engage in Healthy Activities
Every time you feel that you are so close to spending, try to think of other healthy activities. Whenever you feel sad, lonely, or stressed, meet a friend. You can talk with them, but do not go to the mall.
You can also try to focus on your hobbies or try a new sport or recreation that won’t require you to spend your money. Always put in your mind that acquiring happiness from temporary things will only give you temporary satisfaction. Put in mind that by doing healthy activities, you can also develop a healthy mindset.
Take Hold of Your Impulse
Impulse buying may happen at a spur of a moment. This could occur if you let your emotions take control over you. The perfect sign to know that you are about to commit impulse buying is when you suddenly get the urge to buy something not included in your shopping list.
To avoid spending on impulse buys, learn to wait at least 24 hours or one week before you make a decision. You might be surprised that you don’t need the thing anymore.
Be a Responsible Spender
No one is going to be responsible for your finances but you. So, to win over your emotional spending, you have to be a responsible spender. Write down your financial priorities and goals.
Put them somewhere noticeable. This will help you be reminded of your goals whenever you are tempted to spend on unnecessary things. If you have debts to pay, prioritize them. It is best to pay off your multiple debts first so you can eventually save more freely. As long as you have multiple credit card debts to pay, your stress will always be there to trigger you to spend.
In case you want to consolidate your debts, you can get little loans such as short term loans NZ. This way, you just have to pay one loan. No need to get confused with various payment dates.
Record Your Daily Activities in a Mood Journal
To help you get a hold of your emotions, you can create a journal. Write all the emotions that you cannot express overtly. You can also document events that lead to your emotional spendings.
Keeping a mood journal will give you awareness about your problem. So that when you encounter events that led to impulsive spending, you would know how to deal with them. Aside from awareness, journaling can also help improve your mental well-being.
Get Rid of Shopping Apps and Newsletters
The next thing to do is to get away from temptations. But, unfortunately, there are several enticing ads online nowadays, and the only thing you can do to avoid seeing them is to unsubscribe to them.
Delete all your shopping apps and unsubscribe to email newsletters. Once you have uninstalled shopping apps on your devices, you might be too lazy to reinstall them.
Avoid Spending to Keep Up with the Trend
Social media is one of the main reasons that trigger emotional spending. Therefore, several influencers would tempt you to spend on something that will keep you up with the trend.
The problem with this is those trendy items on the internet change easily. And if you are already used to following what’s on the trend, you will be trapped in a spending dilemma.
If you are planning or writing your shopping list, minimize your social media usage as much as possible. This will help you set foot on your safe financial ceiling.
Go Grocery Shopping in a Full Stomach
Grocery shopping can be one of the most exhausting chores, depending on what you put on your shopping list. You can get hungry and crave food while you are shopping.
There are several food stalls and restaurants that will lure you into grabbing a snack. And when you are hungry, you tend to buy more than what you planned and it could ruin your budget plan.
So to prevent you from spending a lot on snacks, make sure that your stomach is full before going to the grocery.
Track Your Finances by Making a Personal Balance Sheet
The next thing to do is create your personal balance sheet that will help you track your finances. Once you are done with your balance sheet, you can proceed to allocate a budget plan. No matter what, try to stick to your budget plan.
To help you be motivated by following your budget plan, set your financial goals. Then, put them somewhere you can see them easily. So that every time you feel like your emotional spending is taking you over, look at your goals.
Focus on your goals and let them be your motivation!
Keep a Self-Reward Fund
Purchasing nice things to reward yourself when something good happens isn’t so bad. But make sure that it is something that you can afford. If there are special events that you need to celebrate, make sure that you will not go beyond your financial limitations.
If you have created a plan to build your celebration fund, stick with it. This will help you not ruin your financial goals.
Getting complete control of your financial well-being is everyone’s ultimate goal. However, that goal can be a little challenging to accomplish, given that you are also experiencing emotional spending.
You can try to control your emotions so that they will not take control of you. Also, put in mind that happiness from temporary things brings temporary satisfaction. To better guide, follow the ten best ways to overcome emotional spending, you may be able to handle financial difficulties.
