Are you a potential or existing shopaholic? Would you like to curb this and invest your money on more profitable things? If yes, you would find the tricks discussed here useful.
According to the Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery, compulsive shopping and spending are described as a pattern of chronic, repetitive purchasing that becomes difficult to stop and ultimately results in harmful consequences. It is defined as an impulse control disorder and has features like other addictive disorders without involving the use of an intoxicating drug.
Here are a few tricks to help you curb this problem:
Flee from temptation
Is Yaba market the bone of contention? Or some online store? Wherever it is you are buying these stuffs from, quit it. Stop going to that mall, delete the app from your phone (don’t worry, they will still have customers). Avoid places where you can’t resist the urge to purchase something.
Wait…then wait some more
If the urge to purchase an item stays on you strongly, Wait! Hold on for about a month. If after this period you still need the item, go ahead and buy it. If, on the other hand, you realize it wasn’t important after all, you’d have saved your money.
Leave your cards at home
Another way to curb your spending addiction is to leave your debit/credit cards at home and only go out with the cash you need. Have a little extra on you for unforeseen expenses that may come up, but nothing more. This might prove difficult at first, but always remind yourself why you are doing it. Your goal is to break the bad spending habit. Once broken, you can go out with ten (10) cards, if it pleases you.
Monitor your spending
Keep a record of all your expenditures. You might not realize you spend so much on an item until you keep track of it. So, draft out your income and expenditure, allocate a reasonable amount within your budget for purchases and stick to it.
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Replace bad habits with better ones
When you want to spend your money on the wrong thing, think of your larger goals. Will your spending hinder you from raising the money to start your own business? Is it keeping you neck-deep in debts? Give yourself a concrete reason to spend wisely. Start saving for a better cause.
Seek for help
Breaking a habit is easier for some than others. If you find yourself still spiraling in the spending web, then get professional help. Seek out financial gurus that will teach you a step by step method on how to spend your money. You can also alert prudent family and friends about your problem and let them help. The final goal is to help you save your finances for better and more productive use.
Do you think you are a shopaholic? Talk to us.
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