Do you make money and spend it quickly? Take this very short quiz here to see if you are an impulse spender. Please answer these questions truthfully:
1.) Do you live from paycheck to paycheck?
2.) Are you surprised each month when your credit card bill arrives at how much more you charged than you thought you had?
3.) Is your closet jammed with clothes you do not wear or wear infrequently?
4.) Is you home or apartment cluttered, with items you rarely use?
5.) Do you have jewelry or other body ornaments that are collecting dust?
If the answer to ANY of these questions was "yes", I suggest you wait a full minute, at the minimum, and think about what you might buy, before making any purchases. If the answer to ALL of these questions was "yes", the stores love you and turn on the sale lights when they see you coming. Wait 5 minutes, at the minimum, and think about what you might buy, before making any purchases.
Always put away a portion of your check into savings. Budgeting and setting money goals will help tremendously. Set a limit and budget on how much you will spend monthly on necessities, such as food, transportation and shelter and luxuries, such as another pair of black dress shoes.
Impulse spending will not only put a strain on your finances but your relationships, as well. To overcome the problem, the first thing to do is learn to separate your needs from your wants. One "want", we splurged on for the children was a popular Nintendo game set. However, this was only after monthly needs and savings had been satisfied.
Advertisers blitz us hawking their products at us 24/7. Again, one trick is to give yourself a cooling-off period before you buy anything that you have not planned for.
Becoming an all cash buyer could help you tremendously. We tend to spend less when we are spending cash. Become methodical with your spending. Account for every dollar. Once you have cultured better habits for your spending, you can go back to using credit cards, if you want to. It takes at lease 30 days to change a habit.
Take it from one who know firsthand, impulsive spending is not good. It can easily destroy your finances, if you allow it to. It can be a terrible addiction, like sugar or food, and just like a food or sugar addiction, it can be cured, with some amount of smart work. Please do not take your impulsive spending lightly. Put together a plan, TODAY, to stop it. Both your wallet and your relationships will thank you for it.
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