Shop Until You Drop... Dead

There is only so much you can talk about investments that at one point or another, everything just sounds repetitive. That was the idea of my previous article for the Business Mirror, which hovered on the topic of investment cliches. And on hindsight, even my blog tackle the same topics you would read on books available in the local bookstore. However, what I seek to do is to present old topics in a new light.

My thoughts, examinations and perspectives on investments and personal finance are just tidbits of wisdom that I wish to impart. At the end of the day, personal finance is what you do, on your own, with your money. I can only guide you in the right direction, but ultimately the decision rests with you. Your success is dependent on the choices and most importantly, sacrifices, that you make.

The "urge to splurge" is always there, especially when you go to the malls. Most, if not almost all, claim that they will only do window shopping, only to find themselves holding a plastic bag with an item from the department store. It is difficult to control it, and even I succumb to it. The urge to splurge is stoked whenever you feed your impulse. It's typical, you know you don't want it, but you buy it. After you buy the item, it's stuffed at home gathering dust. You realize that you satisfied a want, not a need.

But is that all that bad? At the risk of sounding condescending and self-serving, I don't believe so. You see, spending makes us happy, albeit temporarily. There is a school of thought that states that shopping soothes the souls (but not the soles ^^) of not a few people.

In short, money makes us happy. Bo Sanchez, a leading Catholic personality even espouses that idea. In essence, money is not the root of all evil. Humanity is.

We, being imperfect, fall prey to such things as temptation and addiction. When these emotions overpower our logical thinking, that is the time money becomes an evil, because we use it and want it, for the wrong reasons.

If you find yourself not being able to control your spending, it is wise not to bring any of the following ATM card, credit card, debit card. Say what??? Sayang ang miles!

Well, my friends, ang mas sayang, yung pera mo!

Try this instead, since you know that you never will be able to fully control your spending, try minimizing it. Bring some cash, say Php 200-300. Just have that amount in your wallet. Then walk around the mall, enjoy the sights, listen to the sounds. Then before you know it, you probably either won't buy anything, or you'll just be spending 300, at most.

Remember, your spending should never exceed your net take home pay. That happens whenever you use your credit card, or the ATM card even. Impulse buying happens because you think you know you can pay for it. It happens because you don't do planned spending. In a future article or blog entry, I'll talk more about that.

This is no surefire way to cure our impulse buying habits. If you still find yourself falling into the same cycle of bad habit, just stay home and watch TV. Or sleep. Like I usually do. Haha ^^