Things are a lot of times not as hard as they often appear. Budgeting is really simple. You spend less than the amount you make. So why is this a difficult thing to do?
Materialism. Some think of it as the way of current society. Regardless of if you look on it just as a part of life, or something more deeply a part of our psyche, if you see that you can’t exit the mall without a new gadget or toy, you might be prone to this common ailment. And this ailment amounts of debt, and also the need to improve credit score because of past due payments.
Materialism is the constant want for more. More appliances, more clothes, more books, more everything… just more! While it’s good to dwell in a land where we can indulge our many desires, the war to simplify our lives, get rid of clutter, do a personal budget spreadsheet plan and save money a lot of times competes with the pull of materialism within. That causes financial hardships and undue stress for the ones who haven’t yet deciphered how to subdue their materialistic tendencies.
It’s a common notion that consumerism comes just from a desire to have more stuff. That’s may not be the case. Sometimes, materialism may stem from a feeling of greed or desire to own just because that ability exists. For others, however, there could be underlying issues that foster the materialistic feelings.
A study done in recent years and published on ScienceBlog.com showed that the reason pre-teens and teens, especially, experienced such a strong sense of materialism was tied directly to their lack of self-esteem. When the same young people were affirmed and developed a more confident level of self-esteem, their materialistic tendencies went down dramatically.
Now, how do we learn to make it work with less and resist the continual urges to have more? Sometimes, by just doing that – resisting. Resisting impulse purchasing, refraining from overspending, purchasing only what we need; these disciplines will assist us in fighting consumerism where it smacks the heaviest, which is right in our pocketbooks.
Shopping with a list will a lot of times slow down consumeristic, impulse buying. Knowing what you need and planning to purchase only these items will go far in helping you fight this war. This works for small as well as big purchases. Put each and every desired purchase down on paper and devise a plan to purchase it. If you are browsing and spot an item you want that is not on your list, don’t buy it. Now, if you decide it’s something you really would like to have, write it down on another list and devise your plan to buy it. This takes away impulse buying and spending over your budget.
A different option is to shop with cash rather than a check or debit card. Remember the days when your parents or grandparents went to the shop or store and purchased only what they had the money to pay for? If you find yourself quickly overspending, give cash-only buying a try. It may help you cut down on your impulse buying since you only possess a limited amount of cash in your pocketbook.
Showing your children to use the same patterns, both by your words and example, will serve them well. As they get older and develop, they will become less prone to buy in order to get a feeling of happiness. And, in the process they will be realizing that money is a tool that you rule over. That type of clear thinking will help them steer away from the trap of consumerism and its strong hold on today’s society.
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