When your paycheck gets deposited in your account, it can be tempting to turn around and blow a ton of your money on random stuff. After all, it’s your money, why shouldn’t you get to enjoy it? However, this is a way to quickly let your spending get out from under you. If you want to save money, there are some things you should avoid.
If you’re in an emotional state, you’re certain to spend more money than you’d like. Maybe it’s been a rough week and you want to blow off some steam by buying your favorite things. After all, a little retail therapy is good for you, right? Well, not exactly. Here’s the thing: when you buy things because you’re stressed and want to blow off steam, you’re hurting yourself twice.
For one, you’re buying something, or a number of things, you wouldn’t normally. As such, you’re not saving, and you’re ending up with more random junk in your house.
For another thing, you’re also reinforcing a negative behavior. If you link a low mental state with shopping, you’re likely creating a scenario where you’re going to deal with stress (like low finances) by wanting to spend your money.
If you’re not a bank, you shouldn’t be loaning money out. Your friends and family likely mean well, and they probably don’t mean to leave you hanging on money you loan them. But, generally speaking, it’s a bad idea to loan money out to close friends or family. It can make things awkward when they can’t come up with the cash to pay you back.
Not to mention, if your friend simply can’t pay you back, or refuses too, you’re just out that money. There’s no recourse for an informal agreement being broken. Just hang on to your own money and recommend your friend seek a personal loan through a bank.
Just because an item is on sale or heavily discounted doesn’t mean that you should buy it. There’s no reason to buy something you aren’t going to use, full stop. It doesn’t matter what kind of discount the thing has. If it’s not the sort of thing you’d ever normally use, just don’t purchase it.
Remember: your money serves you better when it’s being invested, not when it’s being spent. Smart investment buys you more money with your money! Spending your money on frivolous things just buys you frivolous things.
