It’s that time of the year again! The season of giving is fast approaching, most especially during this time when shopping is now easier than ever. However, one major drawback of this convenience is that it’s becoming harder for us to take steps on how to avoid shopping too much.
Spending within one’s budget is challenging to many people. What should we do to avoid overspending? Of course, we’d want to stick to our budget without restricting ourselves that much. That said, here are some ways for you to resist excessive shopping now that the holidays are coming.
1. Check what you already have.
The first thing you should do is to look at what you already own. It might be a big help to do some decluttering and organizing of your belongings. This way, you’re hitting two birds with one stone. You’ll be able to see what things you need and identify what you should shop for. Likewise, you can donate, throw away, or hand down your clothes, jeans, shoes, and other stuff that you don’t use or need anymore.
In the same way, doing these steps might be helpful for you when you’re planning out your gifts for your friends, colleagues, and family. For example, you might have some extra gift wrappers and gift bags in your house that you can use instead of buying new ones. What a way to avoid overspending and buying unnecessary things, right?
2. Gauge your weaknesses.
How much do you tend to spend? Which stores do you spend the most money at? Knowing the answers to do these can help curb your spending. If you prefer having a visual reference of your expenses, you can use technology to track your money. Mobile applications or even your Notes app can be useful for this.
Also, you can consider being a more conscious shopper by studying your buying behavior. What or who influences you to buy something? Is it an advertisement you saw on social media? Is it an email you received from a business you subscribe to? When you’re trying not to spend, you might want to avoid these things.
3. Try to make it less easy to shop.
As much as you can, stick to a budget and carry just enough cash that you need. This way, you’re limiting yourself to spending on what you really need and resist shopping for unnecessary things.
Further, you can avoid using your credit card by locking it up somewhere at home or giving it to a family member for safekeeping in the meantime.
4. Set some rules.
Another step you can take on how to avoid shopping excessively is to lay down strict rules to reinforce self-discipline. It’s also a wise move for you to accept your weaknesses and be willing to do something about them.
What you can do is to set your savings goals, why you want to save, and when you want to achieve your goals. Set and stick to a weekly or monthly budget so that you can monitor your expenses.
5. Learn to reward yourself for being disciplined!
Apart from motivating yourself to stick to your budget and avoid overspending, rewarding yourself lets you build a long-term habit of saving money.
At the end of the day, don’t forget to be kind to yourself throughout the process. Strike a balance between maintaining your self-discipline to avoid excessive shopping for the holidays and rewarding yourself once in a while. Besides, your hard-earned money should be enjoyed, too!
For more tips on how you should start your journey toward financial wellness, check out our blogs where we talk about the ways to start investing and how personal financial planning can boost your career plans. On top of these guides, you may browse through more of Bossjobs’ personal growth blog archives!
