Financial Friday: Lead Us Not Into Temptation…

… and deliver us from excessive shopping. That could be a prayer for those looking to reduce the superfluous in our lives and from our homes. Reducing what we purchase has a two-fold purpose: we are consuming less resources and when we do purchase, it is hopefully with more intention with a distinct purpose.

I love window shopping whether its for myself, my home, my family, gifts for others. You name the occasion and my enjoyment of shopping was up for the challenge of finding unique things to suit. My Achilles heel? Craft stores like Michael’s or Hobby Lobby and bookstores, both chains and independent retailers. Between those two venues, I could max out a few credit cards easily. At one point in my life, I was heavily into scrapbooking and creating greeting cards, documenting my photos on large 12″x12″ pieces of paper and making one-of-a-kind cards to send to friends and relatives all festooned with ribbons, stickers, embellishments, stamps, and 3D accents. I had a Cricut at one point and never really mastered the thing but gave it a good try, including spending a few hundred on cartridges. This particular Cricut not only cut but COLORED as well. What can I say? I was an enthusiastic shopper with a credit card and no idea of how I could tell myself “no” when everything else told me to “treat yourself!”

All things artsy and craftsy call my name to the point I honestly was all gung ho about applying to Hallmark out of high school and see if I could create greeting cards with them. Ah, youth! My hand-stamped cards might have been my version of emulating that Hallmark career I dreamed of.

My other passion is books. I love the smell of new tomes and that distinct aroma of older ones that hint at an intriguing provenance, the feel of a good binding, the solid weight beneath my hands promising me hours of untold pleasure where a world of fantasy can exist with storybook endings or we discover a more humane side of mankind where evil was vanquished from the planet and lost loved ones could return to us once more. There is certainly something to be said for books.

I also enjoy electronic books but it doesn’t have quite the same appeal. One positive is that I can read in bed and not wake the husband. One negative… I can read longer than my tablet’s battery can hold a charge. Paper books would not fail me like that and leave me at a cliffhanger.

I know that is a lot of text to indicate how much I love my books and my craft supplies but I wanted to illustrate that those are things I love to collect and use or display or just hang onto because they make me smile. I was spending a LOT of money because I just couldn’t say “no” to one more set of sparkling stickers loaded with glitter. J swears I must have been a raccoon in a former life, the way I get focused on something shiny. However, my continual purchasing of all things shiny wasn’t a good thing. I kept buying and buying things I didn’t truly need.

So when we realized that our financial situation was not a good one, it meant seeing where the leaks in our spending were and fixing them. Part of that meant a period of self-denial. By that, I mean I had to deny my urge to buy things because they spoke to my craftsy spirit or because “it’s on sale! and a great deal!” Honestly, if you don’t need it, it’s not a good deal because you’re spending money on something that isn’t necessary.

When J and I decided to curtail the trips to the metroplex to cut back on that expenditure of day trips on the weekend, that helped nip a lot of my impulse buying in the bud because I no longer had access to my favorite stores. However, the Internet keeps us connected and when you’re trying not to shop, it is still there tempting you. In addition to ceasing my physical trips to shop, I did a lot of “unsubscribing” from stores so I would not see the sales or online coupons offering me percentages or a small amount like $10 off my purchase of $50 or more. If I didn’t see reminders in my inbox, I was less inclined to visit their store and want to purchase yet another sweater or book or tchotchke. Something else I did as an avid Amazon shopper? Deleted my saved credit card information. a) It might get hacked by storing it and b) it’s just too easy to add to cart or one button checkout.

Things you can do to reduce temptation:
1. Unsubscribe from email solicitations.
2. Unfollow or mute retailers on your social media.
3. Remove your saved credit card information from shopping sites.
4. Flyer comes in the mail? Straight into the paper recycling bin! Don’t even check it for coupons! You aren’t going to be purchasing anything right now.
5. Do not visit the stores that cause you to impulse buy.
6. Set a goal that you want to reach or achieve when you start seeing your finances improve. Perhaps it’s to treat yourself to a new handbag or after paying off a certain amount of your debt, you could use those monthly payments to splurge on a little pampering. It could be something small or not-so-small but predetermine what you think you could afford and stick with your limit.
7. Have someone hold you accountable, even if it’s a quick text to remind you that you do not need another 200 page assorted pack of craft paper when you tell them you’re going to be driving near a favorite craft store.
8. Someone invites you to go wander a mall or just to go “window shop”? Suggest a local park instead! Get some fresh air and sunshine while keeping your hard earned money in your wallet.

So all these habits and choices I was changing to reduce the temptation of purchasing stuff we didn’t need because…

Why? Why did I feel the need to purchase and spend money when I knew we didn’t have the extra money to blow on random stuff? That’s a question we should each ask ourselves at some point. Why do we buy XYZ? There are countless articles out there that explore consumer behavior and marketing trends, trying to discover what makes us reach for our wallets. For me, the smell of a new book or perhaps the feel of a new outfit were such positives as was finding another package in the mail waiting for me. Honestly, it’s like Christmas for adults with online shopping being delivered in a box you get to open and discover if the image you saw on a screen matches the reality. BUT I would then suffer buyer’s remorse because in my heart deep down I knew I should not have wasted that money. My husband and I both experienced buyer’s remorse for various purchases throughout the years and I suppose we will continue to do so when we make a purchase that isn’t well thought out.

So to recap, after confronting the problem, writing down and seeing the bills and debts, we “froze our assets” and stopped adding to our credit card debt, we purged the stuff we didn’t actually need, and now, we reduce the temptation that might make us lose focus on the goal. What is the goal? To go green with your finances and improve your fiscal health. To stop that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach when you check the mailbox or see yet another bill on your email. One step at a time, you can do this! You can improve your fiscal health and reach your goals!