With mounting debts and job insecurity, many people in our consumerist society feel compelled to continue to spend lots of money every day, leading to higher debts and severe financial problems if they are laid off. Why does this happen?
Often we spend money because we are discontented. We are looking for something but we don’t know what we are seeking, so, when we find something we like, we buy it, mistakenly thinking that we have found what we were searching for.
However, the pleasure of owning the new item is very short lived and before we know it, we are discontented again and searching for something else. How can we break this vicious circle? The answer is to focus on what we already have in our lives and appreciate those things, making the very best of what we have.
No one has a perfect life. Not a single person on this planet has complete perfection in every aspect of his or her life and so it is very easy to focus on what is less than perfect in your life. Why not turn that around and focus on what is good in your life?
We all have aspects of our life which we are happy with, whether it is having a wonderful family or a nice home, living in a beautiful location, owning a devoted pet, having a fulfilling job or business, or enjoying absorbing hobbies and interests.
Write down ten areas of your life that you are content with. When you feel discontentment creeping in, look at that list and truly appreciate one or more aspects of your life right now. The next step is to think of ways in which you could make those aspects of your life even better. Try to think of ways that cost little or no money, or even make you money.
For example, if you are happy with your home, you may wish to improve it further by clearing out all of the clutter. If you come across lots of things that you have bought and never used, why not organize a garage sale or sell everything on eBay? Instead of wasting time on shopping, you will be using your time purposefully and you will be earning money rather than spending it unnecessarily.
Another way in which you can appreciate what you have without spending much money is by developing your skills to improve certain aspects of your life. For example, if you don’t have much money to spend on new items for your home, why not have a go at making something instead of racking up expenses on your credit card.
Read also Five Simple Ways To Save $1,000 This Year.
Even if you have only very basic creative skills, you can look on the Internet for free video tutorials that will enable you to improve your skills and make something that will be useful. Such creative pursuits give you a lot more satisfaction than shopping.
So, whenever you feel discontentment creeping in, avoid going shopping. Focus on the good things in your life and think of ways in which you could improve them without spending money. During the course of this process, it is likely that you will need to develop new skills. This will bring you more satisfaction and enjoyment than shopping ever did, and it won’t bring credit card debt along with it.
