how to curb emotional SPENDING

Emotional spending is, as you might have guessed it, the act of buying things via the influence of your emotion or mood. In moderation, treating yourself every now and then can really be therapeutic. However, when the satisfaction comes from the act of spending itself rather than on the item you bought, there may be a problem, especially if you're spending beyond your means! So here are some steps you can look into to help curb emotional spending. 

The first key to curbing emotional spending is to understand the triggers that drive you to spend money. What moods or situations tempt you to make unplanned purchases? Triggers can be tied to happy or sad emotions. Some people are triggered when they’re having a really good day and some others when they’re having a really bad day.

If you’re having a good day maybe you spend money because you feel like it’s a celebration. Or maybe it’s the opposite and when you’re mad or depressed about something, you spend money to try to make those feelings go away. It's important to take note of these feelings and then take a step back to realise that these feelings are temporary and perhaps material purchases will not help it.

With a proper budget in place, retail therapy isn’t completely forbidden. Sit down and set a monthly budget that allocates for a certain level of emotional spending within those constraints. That way, if you do find yourself feeling like you need some retail therapy or a reward for getting a job well done, at least you will have factored that spending into your monthly budget. And if you don’t spend it, more savings for you!

Limit your exposure to advertising. The less you are aware of what's available out there, the less likely you are to develop a sudden need for that item, especially when it is on sale. Unsubscribe from the promotional emails that your favourite online or offline stores keep sending you. If online window-shopping is the problem, find other, non-shopping websites to occupy your time, or replace some of your internet time with another activity.  

In line with your attempts to get rid of online ads, you’ll also want to try and limit your exposure to the situations that tempt you to spend. If it's the mall, try to visit it less and not once every week. Avoid going to places that let you window shop for too long and if you find yourself spending more money when you’re with a particular friend or relative, try to schedule free or inexpensive activities with that person, like getting coffee, cooking dinner or going for a walk.

If online shopping is your choice of retail therapy, perhaps try limiting your visit to online shopping websites (even if it's just to take a peek). Try un-bookmarking them from your browser and keep track of how often you visit it. Once you realise how often you go to the websites, turn it down a notch. Also, don’t store your credit card details on online shopping websites. Instead, choose to enter your credit card and billing information each time you make a purchase. The extra time required to take your credit card out of your wallet and manually enter the information will add some mindfulness to the purchase process.