What motivates you when it comes to your finances? Are you a big spender? Or do you consider yourself a saver? Do you enjoy budgeting? Or do you hate it? Or do you even bother to budget? It is important to ask yourself these questions and to truly understand the feelings that you have towards money. These feelings will affect the decisions you make and the financial success you do or do not have. It is important to find a good balance between saving and spending.
I have known several compulsive shoppers and spenders throughout my life. I understand the satisfaction that you can achieve when you score an item for more than seventy five percent off. I have also seen people shop for the simple high of spending money. It does not seem to matter what they get as long as they are getting something. Other people spend money to find approval from others. This can be with name brands or gifts for others. When you spend money, you should examine how the spending makes you feel. If you feel that you may go shopping to fill a void, you may want to limit your spending and address the root of the problem.
There are a lot of different reasons people save money. One is that they want to retire comfortably. People like to look ahead to the future and know that things are taken care of. They realize the satisfaction of working towards their goals. Other people save money out of free. They are afraid of what may happen, and they do not want to be poor or go without. People who are saving out of free tend to be tighter with their money. This can have a negative impact on their comfort level in life.
There are people that are born budgeters. They enjoy sitting down, plugging in the numbers and staying on budget. There is a real sense of satisfaction to know that you stayed in budget for the month. Then there are the people who start out with the right intentions, but may end up overspending or do not really have a grasp on how much things cost. And then there are the people who don’t even bother trying. A budget is too much work, or they may be scared to look at their true financial picture.
The way you act and feel about money can go back to your childhood. It can also be affected by new responsibilities or by mistakes that you have made in the past. If you are avoiding managing your money you may want to take a look at how you feel about money and figure out why you feel this way. That is the first step down the path to financial change.
Related Articles:
What Motivates You to Manage Your Money?
Finding Balance with Money Management
Financial Pitfalls: “I’ve Got to Have It NOW!” Syndrome