If you are spender...

[greekypie]

... How do you reign it in? What really works for you?

I am a spender but I want to reform ... I'm trying to be a lot more conscious of my spending and ask myself if it was really worth it, etc.

Honestly I know I spend out of boredom, I eat out everyday at work bc I hate my job... My DH has been working 13 hr days every day finishing his dissertation and I'm way lonely. I shop to lift my spirits. I know it isn't good.

Mostly I just feel guilty all the time about it, but I don't really curb the spending. I mean, we never ever carry a cc balance but I really have no business just buying "stuff" because it makes me happy. I should be saving that money!

Slap some sense into me. Please.

[mollz007]

I just ask myself "Do I really need this RIGHT NOW? And the answer is usually no. Also, sometimes I like to challange myself to see how little I can spend in a day. I've surprised myself. Its amazing how much money you can save when you step back and say "hey, do I really need to spend this money right now?"

[missajane]

I am a HUGE spender.

I make lists of things I WANT to buy and each store I want to stop at. I don't shop online. Then I schedule my shopping time and by the time I do all that I rarely buy everything I want and I do not buy anything not on the list.

With the food issue, I started tracking my food (calories, sodium and cholesterol) on MFP. It was seeing what I was consuming that stopped me from eating out all the time. Seems odd, but it worked for this former every lunch outer.

[greekypie]

Oct 16, 2012 20:56:41 GMT -5 missajane said:

I am a HUGE spender.

I make lists of things I WANT to buy and each store I want to stop at. I don't shop online. Then I schedule my shopping time and by the time I do all that I rarely buy everything I want and I do not buy anything not on the list.

With the food issue, I started tracking my food (calories, sodium and cholesterol) on MFP. It was seeing what I was consuming that stopped me from eating out all the time. Seems odd, but it worked for this former every lunch outer.

Oh man, I buy so much online... . I cannot imagine not allowing myself to shop online.

Which probably means that is where I should start. Wah.

[sarahlindsay]

When you find out, let me know - I'm totally a spender....I'm usually successful in restricting myself for a couple of weeks, but then I revert back to my habits.

[Deleted]

I check all of my accounts and my budget first thing everyday. This helps me a lot, I can see where I'm at and it's a good reminder of what I've already spent. I've also started having a 24hr rule. If there is something I want, I have to wait 24 hours before I buy it. Chances are really good I'll forget or decide I don't really need it.

[wanderlustmom]

I compare spending with watching my weight, it's all in the discipline and having kind thoughts about it. Just like I will never be one of those women who can eat healthy all the time, I am also one of those people who can't be virtuous about my spending.

So when I started WWers last January I love how they told me to have a treat a day and to still eat out and live my life and find adjustments. I lost it all in four months and now I'm maintaining and I still have a treat a day. Sure some days I have more, but for the most part, I have it down to plan.

And the same is true for spending for me, at my birthday I spent one delicious hour on Sephora having fun with $75. That takes the edge off and I feel happy. I know I won't do that again for about six months. I schedule massages, I get my nails done but I keep my spending treats in moderation just like I do my food.

And for the thoughts, while in the arduous process of losing weight, I told myself to be kind when I wasn't losing and reminded myself that if I kept the effort, the results would come. I got a crap ton of support and spent a lot of $ on personal training and WWers meetings, reminding myself it was worth it because just willing myself to lose weight, doing cardio and the free apps weren't working.

And for spending, I remind myself that perfect doesn't have to be enemy to good enough. I do my best, some days I may go into DSW and buy one more pair of shoes than planned, but I keep things reasonable and in moderation. Telling myself not to shop isn't reasonable for me, but having a raid the pantry food week is.

Good luck!

[gt7301b]

Do you have any hobbies? Some are certainly expensive, but it keeps you off the interwebs.

[greekypie]

Oct 16, 2012 21:32:26 GMT -5 gt7301b said:

Do you have any hobbies? Some are certainly expensive, but it keeps you off the interwebs.

Uh, yes I have a super expensive hobby unfortunately. Photography. I've tried turning it into a revenue stream but I'd really rather keep it a hobby.

The food analogy is great! I've never looked at it that way.

[Lucille Bluth]

What if you buy yourself a gift card each month and attach it to your planner to use as "fun money" so once it's gone you are tapped out for that month. What types of things are you buying?

Watch some hoarders episodes, that will make you want to purge instantly!

[gt7301b]

Oct 16, 2012 22:10:01 GMT -5 greekypie said:

Oct 16, 2012 21:32:26 GMT -5 gt7301b said:

Do you have any hobbies? Some are certainly expensive, but it keeps you off the interwebs.

Uh, yes I have a super expensive hobby unfortunately. Photography. I've tried turning it into a revenue stream but I'd really rather keep it a hobby.

The food analogy is great! I've never looked at it that way.

This may show my ignorance about photography as a hobby, but can you "practice" or improve your photoshop skills while DH is gone. It seems to me like a lot of the costs of you hobby are sunk and you can participate going forward without spending tons of $$.

[lys]

Go to cash only and give yourself a budget for spending. When it is gone, it is gone.
Exercise and volunteering will help with the stress, loneliness and getting away from the need to spend.

[mbcdefg]

Sometimes if I pick something up in the store, I tell myself that I'll go home and look for it online for a better price. And then oftentimes I just forget about it, or I'm too lazy to go back to the store and get it.

I also try to put things in perspective: "I don't really NEED this, and it's not right that I waste money on something unnecessary when there are people out there who can't get the things that they truly need." And when I have thoughts like that, I try to instead use some of that money on someone else, like putting a few bucks in a tip jar or buying things to donate to the animal shelter when I'm at the supermarket.

[Deleted]

I'm not sure where I fall in the spectrum. Probably more on the spender side. One thing I'm starting to work out is long-term goals and how much we need to save each month to reach them. It helps remind me why I don't want to buy X or Y. It will be interesting in the coming months for me especially because our take-home HHI is dropping by $6000/month. We've never had trouble reaching our savings goals easily, but with the change in income, we will need to be more careful about what we buy to meet them.

What are your long-term savings goals? Have you mapped out how you're going to get there. (We FINALLY met with a financial planner a few weeks ago to do this.)

Also, having a small house really helps curb the "stuff." I hate clutter so I also think about that before I buy something.

[mrst2]

I opened a checking account that only has my fun money in it. I have the money automatically put into every month and that's all I get. I haven't stuck to it 100% yet, but I'm trying really hard now.

[bunch]

For me it's eating out. I had to go to cash and dd and I are only allowed to go out to lunch once a week (my rule). Also I've been spending time decluttering my house. The thought of bringing more junk in usually stops me from buying.