tricks to beat compulsive spending
Find a Conversation
tricks to beat compulsive spending
| Wed, 04-05-2006 - 1:27pm |
Anyone have any tips on ways they stop themselves from spending. I watched Oprah's debt diet and the expert told the one lady to go for a walk whenever she felt like spending money rather going to the mall. I think I tend to spend money when I'm bored and instead of finding something else to do I go shopping wether it is food shopping or diaper shopping whatever...



Well, it's not exactly deliberate but because DH travels so much my shopping trips involve bringing the kids along. Shopping is not a pleasant experience with DS in tow.
Other more deliberate things-Have I gone to the gym today? Is my house clean? Have I worked in the garden? I've found that the more frugal things I do take more time thus less time for shopping (handwashing dishes, hanging clothes on the line, making baked goods).
I also found when gas prices jumped that calculating the cost of gas to drive somewhere to shop helped keep me in check as well.
Taleyna
Last Summer, I started writing in a journal. It has saved me from spending many times, just to get my feelings out on paper (anger, joy, frustration, embarrassment, etc) rather than using a shopping trip to make myself feel better or reward myself in some way. I've found that I'm a much more calm person, and my blood pressure even went down a few points!, just by venting most of my worries and frustrations in my journal. If my husband does something inconsiderate (like forgetting my birthday and then asking me to buy something for his Mom's birthday a week later), and I can't talk to him at that exact moment due to work schedules, etc, I'll jot it all down in my journal. Once it's on paper, it's out of my mind until I'm calm enough to deal with it properly. If someone cuts me off in traffic and almost causes an accident, I can hold the anger in and go shopping (which was usually my cure-all :-D), or I can just jot it down in my journal (ie. "On the way home, some guy cut me off and nearly caused an accident! Why was he in such a rush that he couldn't wait for me to get past before changing lanes?!?"). It's been a wonderful stress-reliever for me, and this reduction in stress has helped my bank balance tremendously. :-D
Pat :-D
I make list, and I pre-plan. For me Walmart is my biggest problem (we don't have a target here, thank goodness!) I also find it difficult to avoid entirely because they have much better deal on cleaning products, and such. For me I have a printed Walmart list that includes all te things I need to get, and I have sections I can write in what else I need i.e. Birthday gift for 3 year old boy, new swimsuit for 7 year old, I find that this helps me from picking up things on impulse.
Impulse shopping is my downfall, so I try and plan all my purchases, even if it is just buy boots, I will set a limit and have to find boot I like in my budget.