Do you have a shopping and spending problem?

1. You are constantly trying to justify what you have spent on the most recent spending sprees with new excuses..

2. You hide things such as bank statements, credit card statements, purchase receipts.

3. You have clothes in our cupboard that still have prices tags on them. Some are even in the shopping bag they came in.

4. You are always redecorating your house in order to justify shopping sprees and spending money.

5. You were always an honest person, until someone started to get curious about you spending money, and you had to lie.

6. You remove price tags and say you got the item on sale.

7. You see things when you are shopping, then decide you desperately need it? There was no plan to spend money on something you actually need.

8. You juggle your families finances to hide the fact that you have spent so much money shopping.

9. You buy things for other people and then convince them that they need it.

10. You are the happiest when you are shopping and spending money.

Here’s some ideas to help you stop spending money.

1. Stop the secrets. Tell people you have a problem and they will help you.

2. Find out why you feel the need to go spending money even though you cannot afford it.

3. Get your spouse or a friend to do your shopping for you. Don’t go to the shops until you can control yourself.

4. Cut up your credit cards. Do not carry cash in your pockets.

5. Write a list of all your purchases so you can see clearly what you have spent.

6. Stop and think about it. Do you want to end up in debt up to your ears, risking everything you have.

7. Get some self control. Do not let yourself get into financial trouble.

Having $100 in your pocket always will make you feel better than just having spent it on something you really didn’t want? Curve your shopping habits and stop spending money. If you can’t possibly stop spending money and going shopping then you should probably seek professional help.

Have you ever stopped and thought about all of these needless possessions and conjured up a genuine reason why you have them? My theory is if you associate the word need with an item, it justifies the copious amount of money you just spent on it. I am constantly reminded about my spending’s and possessions as my mother was born in 1934 when these items were not available. She always says “We never had that when I was young. And we survived.” It would be great to be able to go in the back yard and gather your vegies, kill Betsy the chook, and cook dinner. Not me though. The very thought of killing something to eat makes me cringe with horror. I couldn’t eat that, but will happily buy one from the local butcher. And I do not want to know the details of how he got it to look that way. 

Mums generation learnt to be careful with money, whereas my generation throws it away. Some of my nephews and nieces are travelling down the fast lane quicker than I ever did. They are in the under 30 bracket, but have the Flat screen LCD TV, the flash car, and the fancy mobile phone. Sometimes I wonder if they are keeping up with the Joneses or is it just in their blood. They have been bought up with having everything and now its turned into a necessity. Can they even live without a gadget in their pocket or at least in close range. What happened to working your way up to all of this. 

Keeping up with the Joneses isn’t always as easy as it used to be. Everyone already has everything. Now its just a matter of how big or fast yours goes. My simple word of advice, and I am sure my mother would agree, is to hold onto your pennies because you may need them for that rainy day. Forget about the Joneses, and trying to keep up with them, because they are probably in debt up to their ears…

Think about things before you buy them. Ask yourself a few questions first. Why am I buying this product? Do I need it and why? Can I make do without it? Learn to distinguish between your needs and wants and do not buy something because your neighbour, Mr Jones has it. Even though you may be jealous about the new 30ft swimming pool or the mini home cinema, remember that these posessions will not bring you happiness. 

Comic By Gary Varvel
From the Cartoonist Group.

1. Write down your expenses, day by day - If you could actually see what you are spending everyday then it might shock you into not wasting so much money. If all the expenses are written on a board on the wall it is even worse. This is a real eye opener that everyone needs to do.
2. Never go shopping on an empty stomach - If you go shopping  with starving stomach then you will end up collecting extra junk foods that you may not have bought if you were not hungry. Everything looks good when you are hungry. We all know what it feels like. Even if you are thirsty you start buying lots of drinks. Fill yourself up before you go shopping and you will save loads of money.
3. Make a list of errands before you leave the house – This is good because you will go by a planned path and save your petrol and travel expenses. If you have not decided where to go then you will end up going in circles and wasting your time and money. If you stick to a plan it will also stop you from making unshedualed visits where you could spend more money.
4. Limit the number of cleaning products you use – Many people use different types of cleaning products for different appliances and devices which is not a good idea but only waste of money. It is better to use natural cleaning products and save your money. Cleaning products are a rip off. We do not need them at all. Try vinegar and bi card soda for cleaning the toilet and bathroom, water, eucalyptus oil and dish washing liquid for spray and wipe, and more…
5. Look out for a free car wash – There are several service stations that provide free wash for cars if you spend a specified amount on petrol. This sounds a bit scabby but I pay for water where I live. Washing the car can take a lot of water and if its for free then why not use it. Just make sure the price of the petrol isn’t jacked up to compensate the free service.

I personally like writing down the expenses on a board on the wall for the whole family to see. My children will not ask for money if they see that I have already spent huge amounts of money that day. It works a treat! This method is also good for seeing those hidden expenses that you forget about and just pay. You will be able to see where to cut down and stop wasting money.

1. Primary needs first than the secondary needs

Begin with simple elements like opt for public transport for traveling instead of private vehicles to save money and petrol. All those who have lesser incomes must count on their really basic needs and avoid other expenses. See where you can cut down and do it.

2. Take merit of existing opportunities

Evaluate your hobbies and interests and look for the ways through which you can utilize your interests and skills into  making money projects. Think outside the box and try to earn extra money somehow. Maybe you could mow someone else’s lawn or even clean the neighbours house. There are always jobs around that we all have the skills to do. There is no excuse.

3. Clean up your debt

It is recommended to clean up your debts as soon as possible in the present financial crisis. Develop the priority scale, and one by one clear your debts. This is not the time to sign up for big loans or expensive credit cards either. And if you have extra money keep it safe for those little emergencies.

4. Apply the right strategy of saving 

At first set up a nice goal for saving money. This way you will feel motivated in establishing the financial plans and goals. The priority is for saving money then you can spend the rest of the money for your necessities. Discipline yourself in order to invest and save your funds. You can also consult a financial advisor.

Following are 10 ads which are encouraging you to get into debt – hopefully you can see through them, and are able to use your credit card wisely. Have a laugh, but don’t be fooled:

1 Mastercard Priceless – Elephant

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFNXwor69-U

The Mastercard ‘Priceless’ ads are quite well known in popular culture and they work well for credit card issuers as they are focussed on what you can do with the card, rather than what you will need to do to pay off the card. The Priceless elephant ad not only shows you how you can use your Mastercard, but also tugs on all the emotions associated with cute (and clever) animals, and feeling sick and wanting someone to take care of you. This ad is a clever and subtle mixture of humour and real emotions which you’ll be falling for before you know it.

2 Mastercard Priceless – The Simpsons

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ccv4dZHRDE

It is nothing new for credit card issuers to use celebrities in their advertising so it is no surprise to see one of the world’s most famous men in a Mastercard ad. Again humour plays a big part in the ad – as it does in the Simpsons TV series – but the ad is of course coupled with a moral too (again, much like the TV series). After using his Mastercard to run errands quickly and easily, Homer is now free to spend time with his family – but must be forcefully prodded by the ‘voice over guy’. So, in keeping with the TV series rule that the end of the show must finish in the same place it starts, Homer must be convinced to leave Moe’s, and still carelessly brushes aside the old man outside of the pub on his way home, without really learning his lesson.

3 American Express – Robert De Niro

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrzeP4TvzXc&feature=player_embedded

The American Express ‘My Life. My Card.’ campaign was a very successful one for the company because American Express is a lot about selling the prestige of the card, and the exclusivity of the brand and what better way to do that than to use a celebrity customer. In this ad however, we also see De Niro take us through his life, ‘my oldest friend…my first love…’ and he doesn’t show us his expensive cars or opulent hotel rooms, we instead see his roots and his everyday life. Therefore we can both relate, and aspire to the lifestyle, and to the card which facilitates this lifestyle for De Niro.

4 Visa – Mr Brosnan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJfVBYPxIWo&feature=player_embedded

In this commercial Visa are pointing out that they know we know they use celebrities in their ads to catch our attention – just as Pierce Brosnan has caught the attention of the taxi driver. However, they play down his importance, as Brosnan plays himself, and when he’s not playing James Bond, he faces disasters just like the rest of us – but with his Visa card, he can handle anything.

5 American Express – Making it Big

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOo0U-Zi0eQ&feature=player_embedded
This American Express ad doesn’t feature a super star or a high flyer – it’s about a girl and her band, working hard to make it big. The ad shows the band struggling but succeeding because they have the help of an American Express card, and as they succeed they are part of the prestigious life the card advertises – Nicole is able to fly her friends out to see her play, all because of her credit card.

6 Visa – Jaws

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BhLAWP7jGA&feature=player_embedded

For this ad to make sense, you have to know that the man in the ad is the actor who plays Jaws in the James Bond movies and as Jaws, he has a full mouth of metal entwined teeth. Regardless the ad still plays to humour and tells us we shouldn’t judge people by their appearances – ‘Jaws’ is polite and smiles despite his overbearing appearance, and the Visa Mini card can make large purchases despite its size.

7 Korean Big Debt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2tVORc7n-M&feature=player_embedded

You don’t need to be able to understand the words in this ad to know that the credit card provider is trying to tell you that with a bigger credit card limit, you’ll be the bigger man (or woman). The ad plays to natural insecurities about success in business, being able to buy nice clothes and eat in nice restaurants, not to mention the schadenfreude-like desire to enjoy the discomfort of others, in this case, those who are ‘beneath’ you.

8 Citibank – Rewards

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W36rqvcUD6E&feature=player_embedded

This Citibank simply makes you smile and when you’re smiling and laughing at the teens making up for not having a games console, you’re not thinking about how much they would have had to spend to earn the points for that reward.

9 Citibank – Security

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGPBRXKuoMc&feature=player_embedded

Credit card fraud and identity theft is not a funny issue, but it is one which most people dismiss with ‘that will never happen to me’. This ad is clever and funny, but it also gets your attention and shows you how easy it is to have your credit card details used fraudulently, and how important it is to have a credit card with fraud protection. Citibank are making you focus on the security features of the card, making you think you really can’t do without it – ‘Help getting your life back – that’s using your card wisely.’ You don’t want to use your credit card irresponsibly now do you?

10 Citibank – Big Boy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE4AgLGLUaM&feature=player_embedded

This ad is for a Citibank Simplicity credit card, but the voice activation scenario could be applied to any number of banking, financial, phone or services business as voice activation systems are used more and more, and they seem to be getting harder to use. Therefore, Citibank are doing what ads do best – relating to your life, to a situation which bothers you and you wish you could change, and offering you a solution.

Fred writes for Credit Card Finder, where is he offers advice on the best credit cards

In 2009 I paid off about 15,000.00 worth of debt, not including the home mortgage so I am very pleased with myself. What I did is I kept chipping away at it all every week…Even if I could only pay a small amount, I would still do it. Trust me, it really does all add up in the end. I was shocked when I added up the amount I had managed to pay in one year. By the way one of these was a credit card that was costing me at least $75 on month in interest alone. So now I have less bills to pay now too….

My problem was that I had too many things to pay off which created too many bills for me to pay every month. This year I have eliminated at least 3 monthly bills that were strangling me. And the thing is…now that I have achieved this, I want more… I do not want to give anyone my money by paying late fees, unecessary bank fees, and interest fees…Why should they have my money.

So my 2010 new years resolution is to cut down on spending money a bit more and save more money in order to pay more bills…
I am actually good at not spending money but its my family that wear me down.

The hardest part for me is that I have two children that expect everything. In this day and age they have not done without anything and unfortunately they are not grateful for this either. So along with the wanting, spending, expecting, their attitude is terrible.

Maybe my new years resolution isn’t about saving money, but more about knocking that terrible attitude out of my children.

I am sure there are plenty of people out there with the same problem. How can I get them to appreciate what they have around them and stop spending money on things they don’t need.

You know I was always bad at collecting stuff, and I guess I still am!!  I have all my kids school books – from PREP!!! but they are put away in archive boxes!!  I used to buy stuff for my kids that they really didn’t want but I told myself that they would want it – I would’ve when I was a kid.  Colouring-in books, paint-with-water books, small nic-nak plush toys from Disney movies – you know all `stuff’ that isn’t necessary and that the kids play with on the day and then never play with them again!!

I saw a program once that said that just before Christmas this lady got her kids to empty out their rooms and toy boxes to dontate to charity and to make room for the new toys they would be getting.  I tried this and it did give the kids more room but it didn’t help me with buying those little things that weren’t necessary (even if they were on special!!).

My friend finally got me set up to sell things on ebay and although I didn’t make a fortune (I think you get more bargains on ebay then actually making big money – but every little bit helps right?!)  I found that by putting all those barbies, jigsaws, books and what not together to photo, descripe and sell actually helped me to stop buying unnecessary goods from the shop.

When seeing a Christmas teddy in Target for only $2.01 since it was now June I didn’t feel tempted to `get it for the kids!!’.  They really wouldn’t want it, I would just be upset that they didn’t think it was as great as I did and inthe end I would have to donate it or try and sell it!  Not to mention that $2.01 could stay in my pocket and buy me a lettuce that would be used!!

So use something like ebay to de-clutter your house, collect it all together and what ever you don’t sell donate.  The experience will give you more room in your house and hopefully, like me, it will help with reducing future spending!!

Good luck!!

Home Mortgage:
Of course this is the big killer. Considering most home loans run for around 20 years, this adds up to a huge amount of interest. If you can pay your home mortgage off quickly, you can save thousands.
Shopping:
Avoid shopping at all costs. Even grocery shopping can be detrimental to any budget. Stick to your list of what you need. Do not go shopping for fun!!! You will often buy items you do not need.
Telephone bills:
Now that everyone has a mobile phone, it is almost impossible to avoid extra phone bills. They are convenient and always have specials deals, but could you do without it? How about just receiving calls and not making them?
Pay TV:
Get rid of it! There is enough to do and see in the world, why spend your time watching TV.
Eating out:
You can feed a family of four for around $200 a week, however one meal at McDonald’s for the family can cost over $30. So 3 meals a day for a week is $530. If you like the cafes and restaurants you can double or triple that cost.
Lottery tickets:
I have heard of people spending $20 a week for twenty years on the same numbers hoping they would come up. Some people are lucky and some are not. If only those people had invested that money and compounded the interest. They would nearly be millionaires.
Movie Tickets:
I cannot get over the price of a movie ticket. I like to wait until the movie comes out on DVD and hire it out. Then everyone can watch it for a mere $6.
Car washes:
Why can’t people wash their own cars? You can turn it into a bit of fun with the family..
Bank Fees:
The banks have really got the fees covered. Interest on borrowed money, transaction fees, monthly account keeping fees, and the list goes on. Find out what fees you pay and then figure out how to reduce them.. Its as simple as that!
Utilities:
We can all save money on our utilities, especially the electricity bill. Turn off un-used electrical items and lights.

Mitz Pantic writes articles for various sites including Fill Your Money Box, Free Computer Help, Tips4pc, Brisbane Computers and more.

The biggest and most advertised temptations are the special occasions that were originally invented to entice people to buy items. Christmas, Easter, Fathers Day, Mothers day, and Valentines Day are just a few I can recall. I am not saying that they are not celebrating worthy causes, however are they necessary. Most people feel obligated to buy Christmas presents for more than just their family. And now days the gifts people give are not small either.

On Sale or a gimmick?

Sometimes, if you research your product, an item that says it is on special, isn’t actually a bargain at all. There is a huge sign saying that it has been reduced by 50%..People instantly ask themselves in their mind…”hmmm do I need one of those, because it is so cheap now, and won’t be the same price tomorrow.” Have you ever said that to yourself?

The supermarket isle.

Supermarket isles are stuffed with special price tags which over egaderate how much you actually save. There are also items placed around and at the checkouts to satisfy your last minute impulse buying. Sometimes you can’t help but spend more money by purchasing a little magazine or maybe some breath mints. And those of us with children, it can become a nightmare to get your child to pass these items without wanting something.

How big are the shopping carts and trolly’s?

Big shopping carts are now in all the big department stores that sell everything from electrical to clothing and underwear. They are definitely there to entice you to spend more money, as some people do almost feel guilty for not filling it up with items. What are they implying?

Cash is available 24-7

Gone are the days, when you used to have to wait for the bank to open to get your money. Automatic Teller Machines scattered on the streets, in the shops and even the pubs, make it very easy to grab that extra bit of cash when needed. How easy is it to buy what ever you want and pay with a credit card or debit card. Who needs to have cash in their pocket when almost everyone has a card of some sort.

No wonder people spend more money than they have. I hope these simple facts will help you realise that you may not need what you are buying. Open your eyes to these misconceptions and you will save money easily.

Why is everyone keeping up with the Jones’s.

15 Quick Tips On How To Save Money

Mitz Pantic writes articles for various sites including Fill Your Money Box, Free Computer Help, Tips4pc, and more.