Aside from cutting back on my expenses to save more money, I took on the challenge of a shopping fast because I wanted to say no to mindless spending. I can be the worst impulsive shopper if I want to, you know. But I realized it would just lead me to nowhere in my journey to financial freedom, so I decided to stop.
We all have an imaginary (sometimes physical) list of things we want to acquire or have. It could be a designer bag, a set of expensive jewelry, a piece of modern furniture, a hi-tech gadget, or a trendy home appliance. Mindless spending, or in this case, shopping, happens when we suddenly come face to face with a particular item in our so-called “list.” Normally, such item is hard to come by that when we chance upon it, the tendency is we buy it right away without second thoughts for fear that such an opportunity won’t present itself again. It’s like a moment of destiny when the universe conspires to make things happen for us. I’m telling you, I’ve experienced it a lot of times and the impulsive shopper in me always won.
It doesn’t do so much harm when we have spare cash for it. But if we don’t have the money and will just rely on our trusty credit card for it, that’s when we start to get into a financial mess. I dunno with you but personally, I don’t want to be into one so I’m taking actions while it isn’t too late yet. That’s why I think saying no to mindless spending is a good step to take for me right now.
Care to share your thoughts on this? I’d love to hear it!
Nice post, Edel! Like you, I avoid using credit cards – takot ako sa hidden interests nila. Thankfully, very disciplined ako pagdating dito and I only charge to my credit card what I can pay. I also make it a point to pay in advance, and not wait for the bill to arrive.
I only keep 1 credit card with me, which is BPI. The less credit cards there are for me, the less temptation for un-budgeted shopping.
Thank you, Leah! I like that practice when it comes to credit card use, I try to do the same, too. Ako rin, isang credit card na lang, Citibank naman. My husband has just one, too, same with yours, BPI. We decided it’s better na magkaibang bank para pag nagkaproblem yung isa, may alternative pa. 🙂