There was a candy store on my way home, and my weakness was an overly sweet local jelly called jujube. I used to buy them every chance I got if I had pocket money.
My grandfather would encourage me not to ‘waste my money’ on such ‘garbage’. All the things he said were true: it was bad for my teeth, it was probably full of chemicals. He made very good arguments. But I didn’t stop.
We all have weaknesses that we spend our money on. We have a rough day, we think we owe ourselves the luxury of a nice dinner, or a vacation after a rough year, or a new flat screen TV, or that cute outfit in the window. The temptations are many. It’s hard to walk down a brightly lit, cheerful shopping street and not buy something. But there are some saving tricks you can use to overcome the temptation.
Some of these tricks really work. Take it from a former jujube lover: Eventually, as I got older, I tried to beat my candy addiction by taking a different route home. I still feel nostalgic for them, but they no longer dominate me.
Here are four great hacks that are easy to adopt and turn into clothing.
1) Make a list. Every time you go out, make a list.
This is easy to do and has an effect, simply because when something is not on the list you have to think about buying it, and that moment is the death of impulse buying. Keep the list handy and refer to it, so when something isn’t on it, it’s much easier to ignore.
two) Don’t go shopping hungry.
This is important: studies show that hungry shoppers buy more, sometimes up to 40% more, compared to people who shop on a full stomach. When you’re hungry, you get carried away much quicker not only by the smell of caramel popcorn on the other end of the store, but also by those cute glasses of wine you’re sure you desperately need.
3) If you are married, make a plan at the beginning of each month.
Planning your monthly expenses is also quite helpful for single people, but it’s an especially powerful exercise if you’re married. No matter what happens, no two people are completely alike in their financial behavior. Sit down together at the beginning of each month and plan monthly expenses: the essentials, the fun stuff, the kids’ expenses, etc. Once this is done, take the leftover cash and immediately transfer it to your “long-term savings” account. This removes the temptation to touch it at all.
Doing this regularly at the beginning of each month reduces the tension couples often have around money. And well done, it unites them more.
4) What are the savings for?
Debt can often arise without warning, due to a medical emergency or loss of a job, etc. Be clear with yourself, and if you have a partner, agree on what part of the savings constitutes an ’emergency fund’ and cannot be used for expenses, etc. Remember, bad things happen to everyone. It’s how we handle them that makes financial tragedies and horrible events short-term, not life-changing.
