Last week I made a splurge. Not just a buy one thing online kinda splurge but a major one where almost everyday something was being shipped at our house. What had I done? In my mind, I wanted to work towards this minimalism but the opposite had happened. I had slowly begun collecting random objects. And to what end?
My fiancé scoffed when I said I wanted to get into minimalism. He looked over at the multiple backpacks I had bought this past year, the random patterned shirts that lined the closet, and now that spin bike that became a clothes liner to dry my yoga clothes.
“Ok” I settled, “but I mean look at the million unmatched socks you have around here!” I looked at his black sock on his left foot and a grey sock on his right foot. Then I looked down at my socks, wondering the same. I let out an exasperated sigh and he cackled, “that was a quick up and down emotion you just went through.”
To top off the roller coaster of emotions, this past week was Amazon’s big sale day. Splashed across everywhere on the web, I saw their advertisements. FOMO- I would make sure to check it out.
Turns out, Target beat ‘em and beat me financially. They had a one day sale going on and on top of it, my fiancé and his friends found out how to stack 15% coupons on top of each other. As he tried to obtain on an electronic item, I began to look at the household items, thinking about the future. Oh well we definitely would need this for our next house as I read the reviews on gold bar handles for a kitchen that would be 15% off. Or how this next lip balm would alleviate the driest of chap lips. Or how this natural travel deodorant had calming eucalyptus effects. With those stackable coupons, it would be almost half off!
“Damn it!” He muttered under the breath. “It sold out.” He said quietly which indicated if I were to translate it to my anger it would look like a pissed off, cursing, yelling at the wind look. “Do you want anything at Target?” My eyes widened of the thoughts of putting things in the online shopping cart and laughing with those coupons. I checked the app and started putting things in the cart, not noticing how many things I put in there. Before I knew it, $1000 had appeared on the total. Then, with the magic of his fingers, my fiancé locked and loaded coupons that stacked one after the other, with no issues. The total came out to $370 from $1000, free shipping, just a little tax, but the Target debit card took care of that, and everything shipped by next week.
The following day, just like a bad hangover, I regretted the purchases. What the hell was I going to do with all this stuff? Maybe the chase of buying things and the thrill made shopping like some kind of weird drug. I was left with damages, financially, and now emotionally.
Reflection is powerful and it is ultimately the reason I have the top lists to help calm your shopping addiction. Couple with a little research, here’s what I found and I hope it benefits you as well.
So wait what is financial self care? "Financial self-care is a practice that needs to be crafted around principles of balance, sustainability and empowerment," says Jennifer Navarro-Marroquin, a licensed financial professional and founder of Claiming Prosperity, a financial education and counseling organization in San Francisco.” -US News
When we think of self care finance, it really isn’t going to get an expensive facial or massage. It is more long term, like when an emergency arises or planning for a great trip that requires lots of saving. Self care finance means you have happiness in the future because you are financially prepared for it. Think of it as buying a house, as you gain more and more equity, as you save money, when you’re finally prepared to sell the house or in this case buy something that was worth the weight, you are more likely to savor that happiness, and remember the experience as something positive, and well worth it.
Here are a few tips to help you reach self care finance:
1) It’s never too late to start self care finance. Think of it as a Britney Spears album. “Opps I did it again” but it’s ok! You’re “stronger.” You have learned that was way too much spending. You can take the choice to return them if you want. Or you can start today saying “let’s save.” Practical tip #1 Get those Target, Slickdeals, and Amazon apps out of site (sight) and out of mind. Delete them or if that isn’t possible, hide them in a folder labeled something else on your phone. Unsubscribe from those deals and/or mark them as spam.
2) Use Mint.com or some kind of budgeting tracking program. I had a friend use excel and had some way of tracking her expenses as she maneuvered through the sheet. For me, mint.com helps me see exactly what I’m spending, how much I’m spending, and utilizes target goals. For example, I only want to spend less than $60 on restaurants monthly. Why is this important?” Since budgeting allows you to create a spending plan for your money, it ensures that you will always have enough money for the things you need and the things that are important to you. Following a budget or spending plan will also keep you out of debt or help you work your way out of debt if you are currently in debt.” From mymoneycoach.com.
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3) Cut ties with those subscriptions. If you have Birchbox, that gym pass you hardly go to, it’s time to cut them. If you utilize any subscription services that you hardly use, save your money, they’re only leeching you slowly. Practical tip #2 look through your checking account and start noticing your monthly charges. Often times, we don’t pay attention to what’s being charged on our account as we look at what we have in our account summary.
4) Utilize that savings account. Have one goal that you want to save up for and start using that savings account. Do monthly automatic transfers to your savings whenever you get paid. When you pay yourself first with your paycheck, then everything else gets the rest. That way, you have something to show for. If you can save at least $200 monthly, you will already have that international airline ticket ready or that upgraded suite easily. Or that laptop you had been eyeing or needing for school.
5) Go through your expenses and figure out what is the biggest expense you don’t need. Do you drink coffee every morning at your favorite coffee shop or because that barista and you have developed that relationship? That can add up to about $1000 a year of money that could be healthily saved in your account! It seemed like I went after department stores on days I was bored and didn’t have much to do. Which leads me to:
6) Notice the feelings when you start wanting to spend money. Are you bored, lonely, hungry, sad? Just like with feelings around eating, spending can be the same way. I had found that when life wasn’t as exciting, I tended to look for objects to make me happy, although research has found that buying thing doesn’t pay off as buying something for an experience like a concert, baseball game, or comedy show. People are happier when they buy something and experience something that will make them remember the positive feelings around it. Try to buy for a family, friend hangout or trying a new restaurant versus an object that just only adds to your house belongings.
7) In debt with those credit cards? Pay the credit card with the highest APR first, instead of dividing it among the cards. You are actually loosing a lot more money with those high interest rates with the card with highest APR. Try to pay at least 50% more than the minimum monthly. Debt not only cause the most obvious stress but it ruins your self care. Practical Tip #3: If you need help with this, utilize a budget immediately or Business Insider recommends the following budget apps.
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