- How Much Money Is Needed To Invest In Rental Property?
- Should A Real Estate Investor Get An Agent’s License?
- 5 Big Factors That Affect The Costs Of Renovating Your Home
- SIBOR Hike – What You Can Do With Your Current Loan
- 6 Basic Don’ts Of Real Estate Negotiation Tactics
- Will New Condo Relaunches Trigger The Great Property Sale We Have All Been Waiting For?
- 10 Proximity Amenities That Add Value To Real Estate
- How To Get Personal Loans More Easily With Good Credit
7 Tips To Cure Yourself From Affluenza
There is surely no better time in the history of the world to enjoy yourself.
You can now order sushi to be delivered to your home, book a trip to Hawaii with a few clicks of the mouse, and look great with a famous name printed on your handbag while leaving your daily spa session.
In fact, while you are sleeping soundly at night, transactions are quietly being made on your credit cards on the subscription services you have signed up for.
But as you probably know (or will eventually know), the indulgence that you pamper yourself with comes with a price.
If you consider yourself wealthy, great.
But if you are not exactly rich yet living the life of a celebrity, pretty soon the money men will catch up with you.
They might coax you out of your affluenza, or simply slap the consciousness back into you.
Affluenza is a disease coined by combining the words “affluence” and “influenza”.
It is the addiction to not just spending money, but to spend big on luxury.
It’s not your fault that you desperately desire the glittering beautiful items retailers display in their windows.
Some common symptoms of this condition include the time when you could not sleep at night because the bright colors of a branded handbag keep flashing in your mind, food become tasteless unless it is presented in a gourmet art form at a high class restaurant, you are convinced that your skin is allergic to air and only a branded skin care regime can save you, your time becomes so expensive that you can no longer afford to waste a minute with taking public transport, etc.
You get the picture. I’m sure you will now be able to think of a hundred other symptoms.
If you find that you are suffering from the symptoms of the disease, and you want to cure it instead of bragging about it, here are some tips that can slowly rid you of this sinful contagious virus.
1) Go through your wardrobe
Remember the time when you thought you need more cash and found that you have $50 stashed in the pair of jeans you wore last week?
I’m not going to give you a lesson on doing your laundry. But instances like these can occur when you feel the urge to buy more stuff.
Sure the cute bling travel bag will make you the envy of other travelers when you wait for it at the conveyor belt.
But maybe you have an even more sparkly luggage in your wardrobe that you have neglected for a year. It is waiting for it’s turn for your short attention span.
Go through your stuff in the garage and attic. Even the boot of your car.
You might actually have more stuff than you know.
It’s time to put them to good practical use instead of buying something new for any reason you can think of.
2) Don’t buy at the top
Yes, more people will envy you if you are holding onto the latest smart phone launched 3 days ago.
But come on. New gadgets are launched every month.
What’s the point of keeping up with things like this. They are going to be outdated anyway when a newer version debuts.
Many products cost less as the market hype dies down. That is the smarter time to buy.
You have to stop seeing new trendy products as statements you are making to the world.
Start seeing the practical uses they are supposed to serve.
People don’t really care if your computer has the latest quad-core processor. It’s all in your head.
3) New in, old out
Alright, it is not always possible to control your urge to buy something. Especially when your credit card is nagging at you to let it do it’s job.
If you have to buy something new, make sure it replaces the old one.
This means you should trade out the old item or sell it on a place like eBay.
You get to clear up the old stuff and make more room for your personal items.
And you get to collect a little cash back. It’s like your own little cash rebate program.
4) Go cold turkey for a month
It can sound like a daunting challenge indeed to go cold turkey for a month.
The key is to look towards the end of the tunnel instead of what is outside it.
Look forward to counting your savings at the end of the month.
It can very well be enough to send shockwaves through your home.
You will then realize how much you are throwing away and what you can actually buy with the money you spend on feeding the affluenza virus.
And who knows, you might even go back to your lifestyle when you have a better picture of what’s going on in your life financially.
5) Stop seeking instant gratification
Give yourself time to reach a goal.
For example, the accessories for your car can be slowly bought over time. You don’t need to do a total overhaul to get the performance and look you crave.
By going one step at a time, you might even get a better feel of what specific changes you need to make in order to reach your objectives.
The same can be said of your home.
It takes time to slowly add the decorations and fittings to give your home a cozy ambience.
Little by little, you make improvements.
Don’t go for instant gratification or the household budget can burst without prior warning..
When major changes turn out to be disasters, you might have to change the whole thing all over again.
6) Go old school
Do you really need to buy a treadmill to stay in shape?
What’s wrong with a run in the park?
The air is fresher and you to get to see things more interesting than a wall.
Do you really need to watch a movie at the cinema when your can rent it in a month at the store across the street?
You save on tickets and the overly expensive popcorn.
You get to pause when you need to take a bathroom break, and you get to rewind to watch as scene again.
That’s way better than going to the cinema.
7) Learn to take pleasure from desire
Where’s the fun when you can have anything you want?
Desire is just a state of mind. It is just a feeling.
This means you can actually control your reactions when these feelings are triggered.
The next time you feel that urge to splurge, attempt to enjoy the urge rather than seek closure by spending.
0 comments