Is Emotional Spending Stealing Your Dreams?

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Our emotions are one of the most powerful parts of our life. If we are experiencing an emotion that is uncomfortable, we are going to do what it takes to rid ourselves of that feeling. Not all of the things we do to calm our emotions are positive or healthy. We know we should not be handling our feelings that way, but if it makes use feel better, no matter how temporarily, we will do it. Spending money because it makes you feel good can steal your financial future.

Spending money is one thing that makes people feel good and temporarily forget about the problems at hand. Retail therapy–It seems harmless enough. It’s legal, it’s not physically bad for your health and it is not bad f or the environment, but what is it doing to your long term financial outlook or even your short term goals for that matter.

Shopping because you are bored or because it makes you feel better (self-esteem) will not take away the problem and in most cases it will leave you with debt that will take you much longer to repay than the purchases lasted. Society leads us to believe that he who has the most possessions wins. Not true. There is nothing wrong with possessions if you need them and you can afford them, but buying to keep up with the Joneses is not the answer either.

While most of us are not compulsive shoppers, how many of us give into that impulsive little voice that tells us we would feel much better if we just had that new purse or that cute little outfit we saw in the window the other day. The consequences of listening to that little voice can be far reaching when it concerns your finances.

Emotional spending will affect your finances over time. It may not be disastrous at first, but it will add up. The sad thing is that those feelings of instant gratification that we receive when we make that purchase are only temporary and the reason that we used to justify that purchase, still exists. The best thing you can do for yourself is to find a way to deal with your emotions that is not harmful to your health or cost you money.

There is no easy answer to emotional spending. Before you spend, try to delay it for awhile. This will give you some time to think about the decision you are about to make. Following this practice will sometimes prevent me from spending at all. If you can deal with the emotion instead of spending you will have gained a small victory. You will not gain control of your financial decisions over night, but if you handle them one decision at a time, you will make small steps towards achieving your goal. Debtors Anonymous can also be a good resource for helping people to understand why they spend money and to help them change those habits.