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Why people overspend and how to stop it
One of the easiest mistakes to make with money is overspending. It happens to all of us occasionally. Yet if overspending becomes a habit, that’s when you know you have a real problem on your hands. What can help is a two-pronged effort: Understanding why you overspend and then making practical changes to stop the behavior.
Why People Overspend
Money is (mostly) a physical thing. But there is emotion and psychology behind it as well. When you overspend habitually, the first thing to do is try and understand why that is. Here are some of the more common overspending mindsets:
Lifestyle creep. This is when you spend more as you make more, eventually going over the top to overspending.
Keeping up with the Jones’. This is the impulse to have what friends, loved ones, and others have, despite perhaps not having the funds to do so.
Failing to plan. This is simple: You don’t have a plan for your money, making it easy to lose track.
Reacting to outside forces. This is when you overspend because of marketing and advertising.
How to Stop Overspending
The best way to stop overspending in practical terms is to make small changes that add up over time:
Start making a list when you go shopping.
Regularly update and adjust your budget to reflect your current financial situation. Consider allocating a portion of your payroll into your savings account and the rest into a checking account, ensuring consistent growth. Learn how you can set up a new Direct Deposit.
Try to put barriers in place that stop you from making purchases simply because of a good ad. An easy way to do this is to remove credit cards from your phone and computer.
Create a specific savings plan. For financial goals, you can create savings goals in Online & Mobile Banking
Make small practical changes that address the overspending mindsets you have, and you’ll make progress sooner rather than later.
If you’re still having difficulties getting your spending under control, GreenPath Financial Wellness can help. They offer free one-on-one financial counseling with caring, compassionate experts who can help build budgets, manage everyday finances, build and repair credit, and so much more.