In our modern world we are up against it in any effort to keep a tab on our spending habits. Just put it this way. It only takes a minute for someone to go full flow into splashing the cash and build up that monthly credit statement. But it will take a long long time to save and build up that savings account that you might have forgotten about. Here are the 5 big temptations that are stopping us form putting some control on over-spending.
Easy access to credit
Thanks to technology, money is always available due to ATMs and credit cards. And the work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Even major retailers promote their own credit cards to customers. It will be a very big surprise to find a young adult who does not have an ATM card or credit card. These things make it so easy to buy things as the cost of an item is not truly felt until the bill arrives in the mail.
So convenient it is these days to get your own credit cards that you do not even have to enter a bank to get them to send you one. Everything can be done online. It sometimes feel that lenders are doing their best to give away money. But surely you know that is not the case. Card issuers want you to use their cards so that you can charge it and they can send you that bill at the end of the month. And hopefully, you let the outstanding roll over and start paying interest. Buying things with credit cards when you are unable to afford it is the prime reason people get into debt these days.
Easy delay of payments
For the budget conscious and thrifty person, a credit card offers a convenient way to pay for their groceries and regular items without having to carry cash. They are just accumulating the total bills for the month and settle the outstanding bills as 1 consolidated payment.
For more and more people, carrying debt over to the next month, and to the next, is becoming a common practice. It does not help when lenders state clearly that there is a minimum required payment. This can make people think that they are not required to make full payments on what they owe as long as they meet those minimum amounts. But surely, any reasonably thinking adult would know that they would run out of road to wiggle through eventually.
You are never going to get out of debt if you make it a regular habit of overspending and underpaying. You are going to keep paying interest on what you owe and realize later that your outstandings are not getting lower even when you have been making minimum payments. Start taking responsibility on how you use credit facilities.
Car loans
Can you imagine life without your own set of wheels? People living in the city who have easy access to public transport may not need a car. But for the rest, it is an essential to have a vehicle whether for themselves or for the family.
As soon as you walk into a car showroom, that little boy in you would wake up and want the next car that is slicker than the previous one. It does not help that dealers often make it so affordable to drive one away. It doesn’t matter that the car cost $60,000, because you are only going to pay $600 a month.
Very often, you will only realize the financial implications of the car loan you had signed up for when you get home. Add up all the payments you have to make over the tenor and you might realize that you will eventually pay 25% more than the price of the vehicle. Good move…
Social pressure
You can admit it. You want your peers to know or get the impression that you are doing well for yourself. You order the lobster, put on a designer coat, hold the latest smart phone, etc. All these just to hold your own in the social game.
I got news for you. Your friends don’t care how rich you appear to be. It’s all in your own head. Learn to appreciate the value of money. Even though a gourmet meal can cost $50, remember that you can have a meal just as hearty for $10 somewhere else.
The feel good factor
I must admit, spending money does feel good. At least until the bill arrives. No matter how much pleasure you feel from your retail therapy session, you are going to feel pain and misery as well when you eventually have to pay for it. By that time, the feel good factor is long gone while you have to make ends meet for months to come.
A spending habit can be an addiction. If you suspect that you might have it, you have to attempt to eliminate it before you get too deep. The worst will come when you start to use credit to pay for credit. That will result in a whirlwind of debt that will never reach the bottom. Going cold turkey could be the best solution in some cases to avoid getting too deep.