Impulsive shopping can blow your budget out of the water. According to MSN Money (2017), 41% of Americans use a budget (spending plan) to track their expenditures. However, 84% of Americans ditch their plan and choose impulsive spending; spending money that they have not budgeted for. In the long-run impulsive spending ruins your long-term saving opportunities. More than 54% of Americans makes sizeable purchases outside of their spending plan. If you have wondered what happened to your money after payday and you haven’t reached the end of the month yet; review your checking or savings registers. Don’t have one? If you do not have a tracking system for your finances, I suggest that you find one that works for you. Having a viable plan, will save you money, time and position you for a more financially disciplined and prosperous way of living. A couple of examples of systems that you may want to consider (I do not endorse any company or system) are: Written spending plan or an automated system.
Most consumers are familiar with creating a spending plan the traditional way, a written plan (one of my favorites). There are templates available to choose from on Word or Excel spreadsheets that calculate for you. Mint is a system that helps you to manage your finances in one place. This system allows you to track your spending, find savings within your budget, alerts you when your bills are coming due and so much more. All of this is great, but being disciplined to execute and follow the system is a must.
Avoid spending on a whim and become more deliberate with how you spend your dollar. You would be surprised at how much money slips through your spending plan. What are your thoughts on this subject?
Your comments are encouraged.
Chris,
This post is a great reminder that self control is a must in every aspect of our lives but especially our finances.Thank you!
Shanae,
Thank you for your comment. I agree that self control is a major discipline that we must develop especially in our finances. To do otherwise, causes many other areas of our lives to become dysfunctional (money fights, divorces, repossessions, foreclosures etc.). Self control plays a huge part on our journey to financial wellness/freedom.
Chris,
Once again, you are reminding me of how important it is to review my spending patterns to see if they are taking me closer or further from my goals.
Impulsive spending is a hard habit to break, but necessary to achieve our goals.
Thank you for all your reminders, ideas and encouragement.
Kelly
Kelly,
Thank you for your comment and transparency. We all have them daily and sometimes fall short. However, I think remembering the wisdom that you have shared, that acting impulsively takes us further from our goals. I am excited that you are taking this financial wellness marathon by storm.