#moneymanagement #financialhabits #personalfinance
Hey there! 👋 Are you guilty of having a terrible spending habit that constantly leaves you stressing over your finances? You’re not alone! Many people struggle with controlling their spending and end up in a cycle of stress and regret. But fear not! We’ve got some practical solutions to help you break free from this destructive cycle and take control of your finances.
Identifying Your Terrible Spending Habit
First things first, let’s identify the terrible spending habit that’s been wreaking havoc on your financial well-being. Do you find yourself splurging on unnecessary items when you’re feeling stressed or bored? Or maybe you have a weakness for online shopping and end up purchasing things you don’t really need. Once you’ve pinpointed your problem area, you can start working towards changing your habits.
Practical Solutions to Overcome Your Spending Habit
1. Create a Budget 📊: Start by setting a realistic budget that outlines your monthly income and expenses. This will help you track where your money is going and identify areas where you can cut back.
2. Use Cash Envelopes 💸: Allocate a specific amount of cash for different categories like groceries, entertainment, and shopping. This way, you’ll be forced to stick to your budget and avoid overspending.
3. Practice Delayed Gratification ⏳: Before making a purchase, give yourself some time to think it over. Ask yourself if the item is a want or a need, and if it aligns with your financial goals.
4. Unsubscribe from Temptations 📧: Unsubscribe from mailing lists and newsletters from your favorite stores to avoid the temptation of making impulse purchases.
5. Find Alternatives to Spending 💡: Instead of turning to shopping as a way to cope with stress or boredom, try engaging in activities like meditation, exercise, or spending time with loved ones.
Remember, breaking a bad spending habit takes time and effort, but the rewards of financial stability and peace of mind are well worth it. Start implementing these practical solutions today and take the first step towards a healthier relationship with your finances. You’ve got this! 💪
Takeout. Love to eat but not to cook.
Contributing to rent and basic groceries
Drugs and food. An endless cycle.
Vacations. Between a Caribbean vacation and Disney vacation every year the shit adds up. But damnit you can’t replicate the face the kids make when they see their favorite princess.
Perfumes
My horse
Warhammer 40k. I have enough models to field 6 different armies, but keep getting more.
I lost 75 pounds over the last year and a half so I’m still buying new clothes. But constantly.
I spend about 500$ a month on weed and alcohol.. Another 200$+ on doordash.
Can relate to the eating out – tech for me also, if I see something I really want, i can barely get it out of my mind
Food for stray cats and dogs
Buying items I don’t need just because they’re on sale or seem like a good deal at the moment.
Kids.
Did you know that they, eat, like, every single day? I mean every day. I was like, it’s leap year, surely I can skip February 29th. Nope. They ate even during made up days.
Not exaggerating here.
clothes
Starbucks
Too much fast food for sure. And buying bulk candy online and not finishing it before it gets stale. Also I’m into Warhammer 40k which is basically the same as dumping your money in a bottomless pit.
don’t ever tell me you even remotely like something because I will buy it for you. it doesn’t matter if I can’t afford it
LongHorn Steakhouse.
I probably couldn’t even afford to live in a trailer yet I’d be spending money at LongHorn like I was living extremely comfortably lol.
Watches, fine bourbon, precious metals, guns, shoes🤷🏻♂️
My fiancé’s Amazon account
I buy hundreds of games on steam I know I will never play. I think I have 1300 unplayed games on my steam account now.
It was alcohol but we recently quit.
Books! I should really be using a library or my kindle more, but there’s just something about going to a bookstore, buying a new book and adding it to your shelf
Finding a really great deal on something and buying it, but then forgetting to use it
I literally cannot step foot into a Lush. I’ve accepted that i have no self control in that place and i just don’t want to see the look of disappointment on my boyfriend’s face when i come with $200 worth of soap
$9 Starbucks frappucinos lol
Drugs and clothes
Every time I have “extra money” I splurge on something. Not big, just a small something.
But my “extra money” is money that is not needed immediately for a pending bill. I should take that money and put it in savings. Or pay more on my credit card. Instead I spend it on frivolous shit and when I need money for something unexpected, I don’t have it.
Used to be Starbucks, but once it surpassed $5 for a cup I quit. Haven’t bought a coffee from Starbucks in over 10-12 months. 96% of the time I make coffee at the house, other 4% gas station coffee for $2. I’ve pretty much quit all my spending habits.
Don’t like to spend big money, but spending little money frequently tends to seem like not too big a deal. E.g. “$90?! That’s way too much.” Me, 3 times over the next three days, “$30? Eh, I can swing that.” 🤦🏼♂️
cigarettes $15 a pack
Plants
I spend too much on moisturizers and other things to try to fix my loose skin from the weight I lost years ago even though I know none of it works.
I’ve joked we are in the Golden Age of drinks. So so many different kinds of drinks from botanicals, caffeinated, stress relieving, low sugar, carbonated, non carbonated, electrolyte enhanced, alcoholic, low alcohol, fermented, etc. etc.
I’m a sucker for buying new and delicious sounding drinks that aren’t as unhealthy for you as conventional sodas and juices …
Electronics. Every time I think I’m done for a while I find something else I want.
eating out for me
UberEats lol
Lego
Traveling. It’s such an expensive hobby.
Boredom scrolling through Amazon and buying random shit. Some of it is stuff that we need, but some of it is recommended stuff based on other stuff I’ve bought.
After deleting the Amazon app my spending has gone way down.
Amazon anything
Diamond paintings… I have an unfinished one and six others I haven’t even started but whenever I see one I like at the store I go for it 😭 I banned myself from online stores already….
Finding an expensive hobby, and buying all the accessories related to said hobby. It never ends
Alcohol
SHOES‼️