Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Guest Post: 5 Ways to Resist Shopping Temptations

My first guest post! So exciting. Hope you guys like it. Let me know if you'd like to see more. Enjoy!

5 Ways to Resist Shopping Temptations


It is no secret that we are currently in a bit of an economic recession. This means that people are trying to save money in any way they can. An obvious first step to saving money would be to spend less money. For some of us who really enjoy shopping, however, this can be a very difficult lifestyle change. If you are making the decision to change your shopping habits and reduce them, then read further in this article. We will discuss 5 ways to resist shopping temptations.

1. Don't go shopping!

Sometimes resisting shopping temptation is as simple as not putting yourself in a position in which you can shop. Don't let yourself go to the mall, because what business do you have at the mall if it is not to shop? This will take away some of the desire to buy things that do not align with your money saving goals.

2. Make a budget.

Making a budget allows you to know how much money you have and how much of it you are allowed to spend on certain allocated items. For example, the first step to creating a budget is figuring out how much money you make monthly. Next you will need to map out all necessary expenses. These are things like food, transportation, and bills. You may also factor in, if you choose, an entertainment portion of your budget to spend on what you like. Make sure to account for putting some money into savings every month. Whatever is left over, or is in your entertainment budget is probably okay to go shopping with.

3. Only allow yourself to spend cash.

If you are going to allow yourself to do a little shopping, that is probably fine. It is important to make sure, however, that you stay within your spending limits. An easy way to do that is to only allow yourself to spend cash. Using credit cards and debit cards can make you lose track of the amount of money you're spending. Try using the envelope system. Write the category of spending on an envelope and fill it with the amount you are allowed to spend. For example, one envelope will have "Food" written on it. If you are allowed to spend $200 on food per month then you will put $200 of cash in your envelope each month. The same goes for a "Shopping" envelope. This will keep you from overspending.

4. Do away with online shopping.

Much like credit cards and debit cards, online shopping makes it easy for us to lose track of how much we are spending. Try to steer clear of doing this whenever possible. If you can not, take the amount you spend on online shopping out of your "Shopping" envelope and put it into savings.

5. Ask yourself, "Do I really need this?"

Most likely the things that we enjoy shopping for are things we have a surplus of and do not need. For example, many women enjoy shopping for shoes. It is likely that you do not need another pair of shoes and that you just want them. Try to limit yourself to making purchases that you need, even if you can afford them.



Author Pam Johnson is all about saving money anyway she can. She tried to subdue her shopping habits while also saving money on her schooling. She is a contributing writer for most affordable colleges for online masters degrees

2 comments:

  1. I thought so. I was kinda skeptical when I was approached about the idea, but when I read the article, I had no problem adding it to my blog. Glad you liked it.

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