Quest Greek Islands

Taking Control of Your Spending

Do you often find that you can never control your spending? It doesn't matter how much you try to budget and be careful, you end up finding yourself in a position where the temptation to spend your cash is just too tempting! Some of you will understand exactly how this feels, where as others will not have a clue what I mean by this. Having an addiction or a tendency to through away your money on useless products and purchases

is a very difficult habit to break. There are however, things that you may be able to do to help break this costly habit. Unfortunately, being a 'shopaholic' or 'spendaholic' is not something that gets better as you get older, in fact it can only get worse. This is due to the fact that as we grow up, we are introduced to credit cards, loans and have the opportunity to buy more expensive items. Learning to control your spending habits is simple, as long as you change your way of thinking.

Is it really a bargain?

One of the many cons that we fall for that cause us to buy unnecessary products is multipacks and promotional offers. It is worth remembering that promotional offers such as "Buy One Get One Free" or "2 for 1" and other multiple buys are made to look as if they are a deal that you just can't resist. The people that design these logos, posters and offers are not idiots; they have most likely studied for years at university and are trained at knowing how to fool people in to buying their products. It is true to say that some promotional offers can save you money, but are you really saving money if it not a product that you need or would ever use?! Furthermore, many promotional offers such as multipacks are actually more expensive than if you were to buy the same quantity of items separately. Calculate the costs carefully before purchasing the product to work out whether it is cheaper to buy the multipack or separate items.

Look, Stop, Think and Walk away!

How many times have you walked in to a shop and found something that you have seen, checked and purchased within the time period of perhaps 2 minutes?! Now to fast forward a few months later, are you still using this product or is it collecting dust? It is safe to say that maybe everyone has bought something impulsively and later found that it is no use to them and although this may make you feel better, it doesn't give you back that lost and wasted cash! There are a number of reasons for why you may impulsively buy something on the spot.
These are:
Seeing something unusual or something that is difficult to find
Limited edition stock
Sale items
And more...

Whether you have been on holiday and know that you will never be able to buy the item again once you leave the country, or because the item has 50% of its original price, remember that if you don't need it - don't buy it! The best way to dealing with this is to look at the item, and before rushing off to buy it - stop! Stop and think and consider where, when, why and how it would be useful to you. If you can't give a rational answer of all of these questions just walk away at that moment. If however, you really do feel it would be useful to you, either stroll around the shop or leave the shop and after 20 minutes if you still need to buy the product, then you may go and buy it.

Money Matters

You may feel that life is unfair because so many people have the advantage that their hobbies are free or inexpensive, where as the one thing that you get a thrill from is spending money. Yes, indeed it is unfair but remembering the phrase "what they don't know, doesn't hurt them," this is true and anyone that has never had a problem with compulsive spending is better off not knowing. The best cure is to try and stop yourself from slipping off the tracks and a way that will save you money, is to find a suitable hobby where you will be neither tempted to spend or shop and where you will be able to take your mind off everything. There are many inexpensive hobbies that you can begin without having to spend lots of money on equipment and special clothing. Whilst you are deeply involved with your pastimes you will be able to forget all about your spending needs, habits and stresses and watch your purse or wallet gain a considerable amount of weight!