Ten reasons why people overspend
There can be many reasons for people overspending. The following are some of the most common ones. Do you recognize any of them?
1. What others think about you
Many people feel that if they can’t live to a definite standard others might not value them as much. The truth is that most people think like you and feel the same way as well.
2. You don’t dare to confess that you can’t afford this lifestyle
You can’t imagine how many people have had money problems because they’ve been going out for lunch with their friends, going shopping with their friends etc., all without being able to afford it and, even worse, not having the courage to tell their friends that they can’t afford this lifestyle. If your friend stops keeping in touch with you just because you can’t afford to go down town to shop or to eat, is he/she really your friend?
3. You are expecting money in your account
This phrase can often be heard in various conversations between people. And they are seldom lying about this. The trouble is, they’ve usually already spent the money that they are waiting for.
4. You find it easier to pay with credit cards than in cash
Just admit it, paying with a plastic card isn’t the same as paying with money. That’s why people spend too much when they use their credit card. It’s much harder for people to spend when they pay with ‘real’ money.
5. Impulse buying
When you see something in a store that you want NOW and you can borrow the money for it or pay with a credit card, you get the sensation of having achieved something: You get want you want when you want it, and you can think about how to pay for it later.
6. To have the ‘correct’ lifestyle
When people have lived up to a certain standard in life it can be hard to change if financial situations demand it. You feel like you have to keep up the same rhythm in spending, even though you are getting indebted and might even become bankrupt.
7. You were a poor child
Freud would love this point! Many people who’ve grown up poor feel like they have to spend their money as soon as they get their hands on it. Maybe it’s due to the frightful thought that somebody will come and take the money from them if they don’t spend it immediately. These people must realize that as soon as they receiv the money that they have earned, it’s theirs and nobody can change that.
8. You feel like you are all-powerful
People feel high and mighty when they spend money. Whether it’s showing off your money at the counter or paying for your products with a platinum credit card, both will make them feel better about themselves and adrenaline rushes through the body.
9. You need to prove your virtue
Spending $90 on a haircut, $350 on a suit, $120 on a pair of shoes or going for a facial once a week is something that people usually can’t afford to spend their money on, even though many feel that they become more important to others and better if they buy expensive things.
10. You can’t say NO
This reason is one of the most common ones. When your child asks you for the newest toy or your partner asks permission to buy the latest mobile phone, it can be hard to say no. When you say no, you feel like your letting your family down; that you can’t fulfil their needs. People that can’t say no, even though they can’t afford the things they’re asked for, often have money problems and even become bankrupt, because they’re ready to do most things just to fulfil the desires of themselves and others.
|
 |
| Why Over Spend? |
|
|
SPENDING ADDICTION: The Plastic Disease
"What do you mean, the plastic disease?"
Your spending addiction is tied directly to those credit cards. You've got a pocket full of them. They're your ticket to ride, your passport to feeling important. You know that you can get anything you want, whenever you want it. Instant gratification! You don't have to wait, buy it now, right now! It will make you happy! It's like having a pacifier for grown-ups.
Every spending addict has been there, maxed out at least one of them, probably all of them. Just when that happens some bank sends you another card with an even higher credit line. Do you know what the interest is on those cards? Probably not, not if you fit the description of a spending addict, a compulsive spender, a binge buyer.
You think you'll be okay as long as you can make the minimum payments every month. You're careful never to think about the total amount that you owe. You read somewhere that in the USA the total credit card debt, right now, is six hundred billion dollars. WOW! At least you don't owe that much, maybe you're not so bad after all.
This spending addiction is the I'VE GOT TO HAVE IT disease. You probably don't even remember what you've spent the money on over this past year. A closet full of shoes? Maybe it's golf clubs, or paintings, or cars, or whatever. You do know that somehow it's never enough.
You're trying to fill the hole that's inside of you. When you are buying, charging, ordering, you do feel better for a few minutes, just like when you have sex. But, it doesn't seem to last. So why do you do it? Because it gives you a brief feeling of power and control. You feel like you are in charge, like you are somebody. It helps you get rid of those feelings that you're not quite good enough. Not feeling bad is what this spending addiction is all about.
And, it doesn't even matter how powerful you or your family may be, or how much money you do or don't have. It's the inside of you that feels so empty and insignificant. You just want to make that feeling go away.
Maybe you call yourself a collector ......
You can't stay away from the yard sales or flea markets. You're spending more time with eBay than you do with your family. You've bought stuff from those TV shopping networks, some of it you don't even want. But the thrill that you get when you pick up the phone and call that 800 number is worth it. Right? Those folks at the shopping programs make you feel like one of the family. Special! It's so nice to feel like you belong. You've probably always felt disconnected. An outsider. A nobody. But not when you're shopping, not when you're spending, because when you're buying you feel that rush that makes you know you really are special.
Already stopped spending?
By now you may have given up the credit cards at least once. You've promised yourself that you'll never use them again. You may even suspect that you suffer from spending addiction. You worked really hard to pay those cards off so that you'd be free of that burdensome debt. You even promised your spouse that this was it – no more - never again. Then, when you were almost there, you convinced yourself that you deserve just a little treat, after all, you worked so hard to be good, so why not?
You're drunk, intoxicated on your own brain chemicals.
That rush that you feel when you think about spending more than you have on things that you don't need, is exactly the emotional place you've been looking for. You want to feel GOOD. And, you know that for sure the spending will do it for you. Even though the feeling doesn't last long, it's worth it. You even know the best way to treat the "hangover" that comes afterwards. You can just do it again, and again, and again.
You begin comparing yourself to the people you know. The folks who buy more than you do, the guy at work who can't pass up a bargain in real estate. He's making a lot of money. He's spending a whole lot more than you do, and no one is complaining about him!
You see, you're drunk and you're rationalizing about your own situation. That's what you have to do to get your own way; compare yourself with others and lie to yourself about what's really happening in your own life.
Resource:
|
|
 |
| The Plastic Disease |
|
|
|