According to the writer of the article when some obtains new possessions [which you didn't need] this usually creates a spiral of consumption which leads you to buy more things which you'd previously would not have bought. Log InHow to overcome this urge for compulsive spending? Just don't buy things you don't need.
Well you need to understand that a lot of people are not as financially smart as everyone else. In our school curriculum, financial management is not being taught which causes students to not know the value of money. In my case, I was a book worm ever since I was young and I frequently read financial books because my mother bought a lot of them. This improved my financial education and enabled me to start saving, and investing, and look towards the future than spend all of my money on things I don't need.
This isn't the only reason. There are some pretty depressing psychological reasons for overspending too. It can fill a void, an emotional need or give that glimmer of happiness that can only be replicated with the purchase of something else (or so they think).
There is a term called "retail therapy" and it can be a therapy indeed when people acquire new things. Some people also are collectors, so having new things makes them happy and fulfilled. That's why people tend to buy things that they don't need.
I think for me, I buy things I don't need because they spark my attention. Whereas, if I stay at home and don't go to malls or browse online, I won't buy those things. So the simple solution is really what you said, don't buy things that we don't need. But that can be quite a hard task to accomplish because there are just too many temptations out there. And avoiding the mall can be quite a difficult task as well. I guess you have to have self-control to be able to avoid all these temptations.
Another reason I think people buy excess stuff is advertising. When you look at most Christmas advertising during the holiday season, it's basically telling you that you're a bad parent if you don't buy your kid the hottest toys or the latest technology. There are ads that tell you "you deserve this" or "doesn't your family deserve the best?" and those messages sink in and make people feel compelled to spend. There are people whose entire job is designing ads to make people buy things they don't need.
So true.. advertising is wicked smart and plays on people's biggest insecurities in such fluffy ways. The pressure! There truly is a big difference once the tv goes off for good. I honestly believe it's saved us FAR more than just the bill for service.
Steve Jobs once said "People don't know what they need until we show it to them." There are people who make a living from telling people what they are supposed to want and need. Not having your TV on probably keeps you out of the way of a lot of advertiser brainwashing.
I think that people buy things they don't need because they feel like they can. Whether they can afford those things or not is an entirely different conversation. People find things that they think are too good of a deal to resist or do it to a make themselves feel good for a while. There is a high that some people get by aquiring new things not unlike the high you get from a drug.
Yes! Perfectly said.. that's exactly it isn't it? That's what I meant.. half the buying, I'm sure, is of things you only needed once someone showed you why you needed it lol. This will make life easier, this will make you feel happier, that will look amazing on you, this will clean so much better than our last version and so much worse than our next! Until that moment, it wasn't a thought. I did far more buying when I paid attention to ads.. but even tv shows and movies. I still watch some here and there, of course, but I've stepped away enough that I'm no longer affected, thankfully.
I used to be like that - buying things that we don't reallyl need. And the reason? First reason is the price, cheap prices have an attraction to buyers. Another reason is uniqueness. I bought a lamp table that is cute with a unique design, not aware that we have no place for it. In the process, I had to give it to my sister to be of good use than be stored in our stock room. Now I am careful in buying things because my husband would reprimand me.
It's such utterly simple advice, but it's exactly right. This is a lesson I had to learn. I got a bit of a "high" from getting a great deal. I still quite like it, but I had to learn to redefine what "good deal" meant. It wasn't a bargain if I was buying more than I needed or buying things I wouldn't use just because they were cheap. I had to be learn not to overbuy, no matter how great the sale appears at first glance.
