Can you really change your spending habits and save money in just seconds?
Yes, you can!
Is it your goal to finally get financially organized in 2016? Do you want to spend less of your money on things that don’t matter so you have more to spend on the things that do? Maybe you made a financial new years resolution and don't know how to start? Then this is the first step you need to take!
It is estimated that American companies will spend about $77 billion (yes, BILLION!) on marketing in 2016 alone. What are they doing with these billions you ask? They are strategically capitalizing on your “fear of missing out”, by banking (pun intended!) on the fact that either a good deal, repeated exposure, or an emotional connection will be enough to entice you into buying their product when you hadn’t planned on doing so prior to seeing their ad.
Granted there is no way to eliminate all advertising from your life, I mean c’mon the Superbowl is around the corner and we all know Budweiser has a special way of making us cry with those damn horse and puppy commercials, but what you can do is limit your temptation to buy things that you haven’t specifically budgeted for in your monthly spending plan.
My guess is that like me you are getting daily emails from the likes of Target, Nordstrom, Groupon, Living Social, Macys, Staples, Home Depot and every other retailer you have ever purchased something from in the last 10 years! If you want to take control of your spending in 2016, the first step is simply to take the few seconds to actually open those promo/sale emails, scroll to the bottom and click “unsubscribe.”
Right now you are probably saying “but I don’t even read them, I just delete them, so what’s the point?” Remember that repeated exposure thing I was talking about earlier? Eventually there will be an email that has just the right subject line to pique your interest or comes at just the right time (like when you are having a bad day and feel like rewarding yourself with something pretty) for you to actually look at it. That’s all it takes for temptation to grab hold and quietly drag you away from your goals. If you were cutting down on your sugar consumption you sure as heck wouldn’t want daily emails from Dunkin Donuts or Sprinkles, nor would you be browsing pretty pictures of cakes and desserts online. So if you want to cut back on unnecessary spending the first step is to cut back on unnecessary advertisements. If you continually find yourself justifying the “window shopping” then it may be time to look a little deeper at your spending patterns to identify the self-sabotaging behaviors that are keeping you stuck in your current financial situation.
Let me tell you, as good as I am with my money, I used to be a sucker for a good Groupon (why not try a new activity, right?) until I tallied up the amount of money I had spent on these “good deals” that I have never used. There was the $99 for 20 exercise classes, the $19 for a rock climbing lesson, the $39 for an annual subscription to the botanic gardens, the $25 for a paint nite event, the $25 for a Match.com 3 month membership (and had I actually redeemed it, it would have come complete with a continued monthly membership fee). These few things alone total $207. Let me tell you, these weren’t even things I was looking to buy. I didn’t wake up that day and think "Gee I need to buy an exercise package". No, I saw the ad and thought, "hmm, I should be working out, it seems like a good deal, sure I’ll bite". In hindsight, there are way better things I could have done with that $207. Things that would have made a difference like putting that towards my RothIRA, or putting it towards the principal on my mortgage, or even simply donating it to a good cause. The same goes for you. I’m sure you can think of better ways to use your money rather than wasting it on “good deals” that simply catch your eye at the right time! Maybe use it to pay down those pesky credit cards faster, or save it to use towards something that will actually be of benefit to your life.
The same goes for weekly circulars and coupon deals! Do you think retailers would be sending these out if they didn’t drive their sales up? However good the deal is, it’s not really a bargain unless you actually need the product. So save yourself the inbox clutter and the temptation, and simply unsubscribe, it only takes a few seconds of your day. Trust me, down the road when you are in the market to buy something specific, the good deals and the sales will still be out there, all you have to do is look for them and chances are you will save even more by searching and comparing prices rather than simply letting the deal come to you.
As always, if you need a helping hand to figure out what the next step is to keep you moving towards your financial goals, if you want advice when making a big financial decision, if you need clarity about what it is you truly need to live your life on your terms, or to make sure your money is working hard for you, make an appointment today and I will help you sort it all out.