I cannot be the only one who has gone completely off the rails of my previously conservative spending habits in the last year. It’s hard to tell if it’s been the pandemic, the exorbitant amount of time spent on the internet, or the seemingly increasing number of ads showing up in the content I consume. No matter the reason, I have been consistently shelling out increasing amounts of my paycheck each week for products I don’t need. Last week it was a Care/Of subscription, after seeing one too many social media ads. This week it was stickers, that I simply had to buy more of to avoid paying shipping costs (we all know my total ended up being more than if I had just paid shipping). These recent spending habits go directly against the way I was raised, in a household that avoided unnecessary expenses. It seems that now that I have expendable income, all I can do is spend. All this overspending has made me seriously re-evaluate the way I’m spending my money. Let’s chat about it.
On a more personal note, as my days get busier and my workload increases, I find myself “splurging” on more and more products as a “treat” to myself. The hard truth? These aren’t splurges. I’m regularly spending too much money. Now, don’t get me wrong. I fully support treating yourself to a nice cup of coffee, or the pair of jeans you’ve been eyeing for months. That’s where my purchasing began, until I was treating myself to $30 items and refusing to buy the essentials because I needed to save. My priorities were– and still are– wildly out of whack. Just today, I reloaded my Starbucks card for $25, after swearing I couldn’t spend any more money.
Our world is changing and, if you’re at all like me, it’s time to reevaluate our priorities. The advertising world has gotten very good at selling products as influencer marketing and ad targeting become more and more effective, myself an example. It seems while I was buried in work and college classes, I was convinced that these products would bring me happiness. Oh, how wrong that was.
My challenge to you: start a budget, save for the things you actually want or need, spend time with people who make you happy, and question the products marketed to you. Maybe together we can move towards a more “woke” way of spending our money. Remember, put your money where your mouth is and show ‘em who’s boss.