It might seem hard but you can easily fight the urge to spend with these tips!
The enemy of financial freedom is the desire to spend money on unnecessary extras. Having a needs and wants list is essential to the spending fast and debt-free living. Sometimes it's hard to stay on track with our saving and spending, so we struggle not to splurge. The temptation in many cases becomes to great and we cave under the pressure with disastrous results. The good news is that fighting the urge to splurge isn't hard and it can be even more rewarding to resist spending.
Here are five easy ways that you can resist a splurge:
- Present yourself with alternatives
- Remind yourself of your financial goals
- Remove temptation
- Obsess over your bank account
- Schedule all of your spending
Keep reading for the details…
Present Yourself with Alternatives
The simplest way to resist the urge to splurge is also the easiest on you. Whenever you face the irresistible desire to charge your card, pause for a moment. Consider how that temporary fix will make you feel, and for how long. Think about whatever it is you are about to splurge on and whether there is an alternative that won't cost you anything. You don't have to have an equally desirable option, but a simple, practical solution should be enough to clear your judgment. Didn't you recently score an excellent deal on pasta during your last grocery run? Why would you go to Olive Garden and ruin your lead?
Remind Yourself of Your Financial Goals
Besides reminding yourself of practical alternatives to the things you want to splurge on another straightforward way to snap yourself out of that desire to run your credit balance higher is to be clear on what your goals are. The better your picture of financial health is, the less likely you are to spend on nonessentials and drive yourself further into debt. Get a clear idea of where you want to be and where you are. Understand your challenges and how you plan to get to that point. A concrete sense of where you want to end up is an excellent deterrent against the temptation to stray from the right path.
Remove Access to Temptation
This is easy to do in a split second of courageous action, but might be harder on you in the long run. Regardless, sometimes a little tough love is what we need. If removing your ability to spend from the equation is what it takes, you may need to embrace that bold decision to cut up your credit card or even delete accounts that get you into spending trouble. Keep yourself from going to places that you know are going to be a problem and make sure that if you do need to spend, you don't have the means to splurge. That might mean only carrying cash or shopping in less convenient places to keep from overextending your budget. The important thing is to know your triggers and safeguard against them.
Obsess Over your Bank Account
Focus is a very critical factor in getting out of debt and staying out of debt. Whenever you have the temptation to splurge, your attention gets diverted away from what you truly want. It's a trick, designed to trip you up. Don't fall for it. One good thing about technology is that it's never been easier to access your bank account balances. By staying aware of what you have in the bank at all times, your consciousness will help defend you against temptation and even turn you off to splurging completely. Like focusing on your goals, the more aware you are of your bank account balance, the less likely you will be to commit to a splurge that depletes it.
Schedule All of Your Spending
Finally, keeping a tight grip on what you spend is a straightforward and effective means to avoid splurging. When you use shopping lists and commit to a budget, you leave no room for splurges. Keep that resolve and make no exceptions. When temptation hits you hard, schedule a payment for the splurge. Don't give in right away, make a note of it, and walk away. The temptation will likely fade away as soon as you have left the situation. Sit on the decision for 30 days. The next time you come up against the splurge, you will have scheduled for it, but you will most likely have moved beyond that point.
Tell us your splurge-fighting tips in the comments and, if you enjoyed this post we'd be so thankful if you shared it with your friends!