Saving money and spending wisely has never been my strong suit. When I got paid, I had absolutely no control over my spending. I bought everything that came to my mind, I didn’t compare prices, I didn’t think about bills, I thought that saving is for people who are afraid of tomorrow. All my bad money habits meant that I never had enough to last. I spent more than I earned. I can’t count how many times I borrowed money from my family. Only after a few years and a few books read did I realize how many inappropriate mechanisms that were developed in me made me an ideal consumer. Spending and not thinking. Below, I have collected all of them. Do any of them suit you too?
You don’t control your spending
You think that money is not important in life, so it’s a shame to bother with it. You spend, you earn, you spend, you earn, and you have absolutely no control over it. Furthermore, you don’t know how much you spend on food, how much on bills, and how much on entertainment.
You’re throwing money up in addictions
The sad truth is that all addictions are costly, both for our wallet and for our health. When I was a teenager and all my peers tried cigarettes, I had the thought that I’d rather buy myself some nice clothes than spend my pocket money on something that would raise my “social status” among my friends.
You’re a Queen of promotions
Promotions and temporary discounts are a well-thought-out element of marketing, the purpose of which is to make you spend and not think about whether you need it. None of us like the smell of opportunity passing by our nose. By a strange coincidence, promotions always appeared when I thought I didn’t need anything anymore, showing me that I still don’t have something, but I must have it.
You want to have everything here and now
This is a reason that harmonizes perfectly with shopping under the influence of emotions. If you like something, you buy it immediately, if you want something, you go straight for it. You can put off many things for later, but not shopping and expenses. Every attempt to put off a purchase makes you feel bad about denying yourself some pleasure.
You party like there’s no tomorrow
Parties, travels, restaurants. Everything is for people only when it is dosed in the right amounts. Regular parties, trips or going out to restaurants are quite expensive entertainment. If you have money problems, why not exchange it for a meeting with friends at home instead of another party in the city? And instead of going out to dinner at a restaurant, cook something together at home?
You’re not looking for lower prices
And I don’t mean buying cheaper, usually lower quality equivalents of the product you want to buy. I’m more concerned with checking the prices of a specific product in many places, even before reaching for your wallet and making a purchase decision. It’s worth looking for lower prices.
Cheaper is not better
Observing the habits of people close to me for a long time, I notice one very illusory belief that when buying a more expensive product, you pay only for the brand. The truth is that in most cases, the higher price goes hand in hand with the quality of the product. And the quality is responsible for the comfort and duration of use. Several times, trying to save on a specific product, I chose its cheaper substitute, which broke down right after the warranty expired.
Saving money is for the weak
The last of the reasons that effectively dissuaded me from saving money was the thought that I do not need savings. I’ll always manage somehow. Today, being a few years wiser, I will admit that I simply did not have a good reason to save. Yes, when I planned a larger expense, I was able to put aside a specific sum, and it came to me with great ease. However, it was very difficult for me to save for the very idea. I was not aware enough that savings can earn themselves over time, that they will give me a sense of security in difficult times.
Looking at my younger self today, the only thing I regret is these unnecessary and completely unnecessary expenses that instead of crediting other people’s account could land on mine. Expenses that over time turned out not to be as necessary as I thought at the very beginning. The above reasons are one of the many reasons why I often complained about the lack of money. Maybe one of them is also yours?
