Spending Triggers

Do you use money at a stress reliever?
Do you cave to the pressure or obligations put on you by family or friends with vacations or gifts?
Do you, your spouse or children throw a fit sometimes because you want it now?
Do certain times of year cause you to spend more?

All of these situations can be triggers for spending money you either don't have or haven't planned for.  These are all really difficult things to overcome.  We all fall prey to them at times so balance is key.  If we allow ourselves to justify them, then little by little we can find ourselves far away from where we thought we would be. So here are some things I want you to put in place to prevent giving in to these triggers.

1~ If you use credit cards, STOP IT! Lock them up, delete them from your online shopping sites or cut them up if you have to. All too often they become a crutch to fall back on when you're really stressed and in the heat of the moment need to go shopping. Find a new way of coping with your stress, exercise, talk to a friend, read a book.  Trying to heal matters of the heart with money never works and just causes more pain in the long run.

2~ Stop abusing your debit card. If you don't use credit cards you might abuse your debit card by telling yourself that you'll just transfer money from savings to cover it.  This will constantly cause you to lose the traction you're trying to gain.  Cash, on the other hand, causes you to pause before buying something and once it's gone, it's gone.  You just have to be careful not to go by the ATM for more or you'll be right back where you started.

3~ Talk with your family or friends. Share your goals with them. Tell them you can't do certain things as often with them anymore because you are choosing to use the money to accomplish your goals.  This isn't very pleasant at times but by and large most people understand.

4~ Be realistic in your budgeting for vacations, activities and other discretionary spending.  Let's face it, Summer is a very demanding time of year for our budgets.  Next to Christmas it probably does the most damage.  A counselor friend of mine recommended having an emergency fund for your vacation to catch any unplanned things like car repairs, higher gas prices than anticipated and splurges on food and gifts.  Bottom line- things always end up costing more than you think, so plan for it.

Making these changes requires you to get back in the driver's seat with your money again.  No more autopilot, ostrich head in the sand, or plug your ears and sing mentality.  If you want change to happen then you can't keep doing the same old things.  Above all, be honest with yourself!  This is probably the most important because if you truly are, then everything else will fall into place.